Third edition of the New British Film Festival invites film professionals from UK and Serbia for a series of panels, presentations and networking opportunities through a INDUSTRY SIDEBAR program. British Council and Serbia Film Commission are bringing projects and film professionals to present and discuss topics such as script development, co-productions, marketing and distribution of independent and low budget films, all the way to tech influences in storytelling and development of VR projects and immersive technologies. Besides panels and sharing experiences festival guests and attendees will have opportunities for networking and discuss their own project ideas between UK and Serbia.
All panels and presentations will be conducted in English. Attendance is open to professionals, students and film connoisseur with previous registration on THIS LINK.
For more information please contact Serbia Film Commission at info@filminserbia.com
PROGRAM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17th – Cinema Hall DKCB
11.00h – 13.00h LOST AND FOUND: SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP – Paul Fraser
Paul Fraser is a writer, director and a “script doctor”. He wrote scripts for the movies A Room for Romeo Brass, 24/7, Heartlands, Somers Town and collaborates regularly with The Script Factory and the Arvon Foundation as well as reading and advising screenwriters on a one to one basis – offering script reports and mentoring over a number of drafts. The workshop will offer tools and techniques to question and edit your script. The session will also explore how to find and generate story ideas as well as provide an insight into the mechanics of the industry. Followed by Q&A session.
14.00h – 15.20h WHY DO WE MAKE MOVIES? DO FILMS MATTER? Lecture by Mike Downey
In this talk for the British Council, prolific film producer and Deputy Chairman of the European Film Academy Mike Downey will share with us his thoughts on 2017 and can we see beyond film as mere entertainment and practice it as a true calling. Regular expert in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Motovun, Pula and other regional festivals Mike’s producing experience spans over 50 feature films including Srdjan Dragojevic’s Parada.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18th – Gallery Artget (Ist floor DKCB)
11.00h – 13.00h PRODUCING IN UK PANEL – Caroline Cooper Charles (Universal Spirits), Sophie Venner (Venner Films)
Caroline works with emerging writing and directing talent at her production company, Universal Spirits. Among many projects she well-known for her works for The Incident. As well, Caroline was head of Creative England’s Film Enterprise Fund, investing £2m to support the growth and sustainability of film businesses outside London. Sophie Venner who produced BAFTA winning short film Room 8 UK will share her views on the state of the co-productions in Europe and UK today.
14.00h – 15.30h MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION OF LOW BUDGET/INDEPENDENT FILMS by Mia Bays (Missing in Action)
Mia and her company Missing in Action have been advising and working with more than 50 features, launching careers and producing across film and docs for over two decades. Her lectures and trainings are always very popular among professionals due to valuable tools and strategies Mia shares with attendants. In addition Mia is running Birds Eye View platform for advocacy of female perspective in film industry which makes her workshops even more interesting and insightful.
15.30h – 17.00h WHAT ARE THE SALES AGENTS SAYING? By Yana Georgieva (Bankside Films)
Yana Georgieva will introduce the sales perspective of film and how sales agents make decisions when considering a project. Georgieva will present insight into Bankside Films latest Line up of projects and the logic behind every film they work with. The presentation will also showcase examples of films “Belle” and “War on Everyone” from first pitch to global distribution that turned to be success and breakthrough for new talents.
SUNDAY, February 19th
11.00h – 12.30h – VR: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES by Catherine Allen
Catherine is an independent digital media producer. Her work is all about creating breath-taking, immersive experiences for audiences, where they learn something new or get a glimpse of life from a different perspective. This can be through apps, virtual reality, video, location based media, binaural audio, live experiences or a mixture of all of these mediums. She has worked with Siemens, the RSC, Disney, The Science Museum and most notably the BBC where she produced first VR interview No Small Talk (part of the festival’s VR Arena).
13.30h – 14.45h ABANDON NORMAL DEVICES – Gabrielle Jenks
Director of Abandon Normal Devices Gabrielle Jenks was previously at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and is a creative producer and film programmer interested in interdisciplinary practice. An advocate for the role of festivals in supporting emerging talent and practice she has over 10 years of curating and programming work for a number of diverse organizations like the Tate, Liverpool Biennial, Google, Siemens and the BBC. She is executive producer of feature films by Gillian Wearing and AL&Al and has worked extensively with internationally established artists like Eva and Franco Mattes, the Yes Men, Oneohtrix Point Never and Rafael Lozano Hemmer. Festival takes place biennially, occurring in a new location every two years, making it the UK’s only roaming digital festival.
15.00h – 16.15h HAPPY FINISH: FROM VFX to VR – James Mossahebi
Happy Finish is a renowned production studio and agency offering cross-platform creative production services in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Their success in interactive content for leading global brands, agencies and creative made them one of the world’s most impressive portfolios. Happy Finish pairs some of the world’s most talented artists with developers working at the forefront of real-time graphics, allowing them to create immersive creative content that has never before been possible. James is VR Director & DOP at Happy Finish, producing VR content for leading brands and agencies around the world.
To register your attendance at the Industry Sidebar simply select panels and sessions you want to attend below.
Complete list of film program NEW BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL
