Karlovy Vary Unveils New Proxima Competition, Replacing East of the West Sidebar – Global Bulletin

FESTIVAL

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is replacing its East of the West sidebar, established in the 1990s and converted to a competition section in 2005, with the new Proxima Competition, dedicated to showcasing works from upcoming filmmakers and challenging new works from established auteurs. The aim of the new section is to “celebrate, together with the Crystal Globe Competition contemporary cinema with a slate of forward thinking and notable discoveries,” according to organizers.

“Proxima is replacing the popular East of the West competition which was established in the 1990s with the aim to aid filmmakers from the former Eastern Bloc to emerge out of the region’s politically indoctrinated isolation, an isolation that existed on both institutional and psychological levels,” KVIFF artistic director Karel Och explained.

“Now that the festival is confident that the mission has been accomplished, it is crucial to consider and contextualize the region from a global perspective. Both the Crystal Globe competition and Proxima are committed to grant space to the most envelope-pushing cinema from Central and Eastern Europe. As of 2022 though, KVIFF’s second competition will drop the geographical limitations associated with East of the West and open the submissions window to the rest of the world,” he added.

APPOINTMENT

Mediapro has appointed Eugeni Sallent, recent CEO at the Mediapro Group’s headquarters in Colombia and Italy, as the new head of The Mediapro Studio LatAm. Sallent takes charge of all Mediapro Studio offices and production projects from the region, reporting to Marta Ezpeleta, head of international offices, distribution, co-productions and acquisitions for The Mediapro Studio. A computer engineer and MBA, Sallent steps into the new role as The Mediapro Studios continues to increase the number of productions and co-productions in its pipeline, working closely with partners locally and internationally for both broadcasters and digital platforms. Recent company credits include International Emmy-nominee “Pequeña Victoria” for Telefe and a second season for Amazon Prime Video, “Siempre fue yo” for Disney Plus and Nickelodeon’s Club 57, and “Las Bravas” for WarnerMedia.

SUPPORT

Sikhya Entertainment founder and CEO Guneet Monga, actor Ratna Pathak Shah (“Jaane Tu”) and Vishal Gondal, CEO and founder of GOQii ,have been named as new industry supporters for the BAFTA Breakthrough program, supported by Netflix and run by the British Academy of Film and Television. Representing their native fields of film, television and games, respectively, the trio will help BAFTA in maneuvering India’s domestic talent pool and promote BAFTA’s charitable initiatives aimed at growing opportunities for individuals to pursue careers in the arts. Bafta Breakthrough highlights Indian talent through its bespoke support program which helps participants grow a greater understanding of the industry, develop their individual crafts, recognize and address barriers to progression and establish a larger, global network of individuals who can influence their careers.

UNSCRIPTED

Paris-based Federation Kids & Family has closed a deal with the BBC to send its unscripted kids dance series “Let’s Dance” to the U.K. “Let’s Dance” is produced by TVOkids in Canada and Pillango Productions’ Sarah Haasz, and will arrive on CBeebies and iPlayer in early 2022. Filmed inside the National Ballet Dance School of Canada, the series features ordinary kids with a passion for dancing a simple routine which is performed at a surprise location. Participants also take part in a series of video confessionals where they discuss the challenges facing them along the way.

ACQUISITION

HBO Max has picked up Emmy-winning kids’ comedy math series “Odd Squad” for Latin America. Produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and Fred Rogers Productions for PBS with support from TVOkids, “Odd Squad” features a group of kid agents who use cutting edge, although often unpredictable, gadgets to investigate strange occurrences by using math to solve problems. The series first premiered on TVOkids in Canada and PBS Kids in the U.S. in 2014, eventually inspiring an “Odd Squad” feature starring Jack McBrayer in 2016. The series will be available on HBO Max in Latin America early next year.

*****

The BBC has picked up Warner Bros. Television’s hit DC superhero series “Superman & Lois” and will broadcast the show in an early slot on BBC One starting Dec. 4., will all 15 episodes of the show’s first season landing on BBC iPlayer that same day. “Superman & Lois” was developed by Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing who executive produce alongside Sarah Schechter, David Madden and Geoff Johns. The series is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

AWARDS

The 2021 European Film Awards have announced eight award winners from the fields of cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, make-up & hair, original score, sound and visual effects which will be honored at this year’s ceremony, held on Dec. 16 in Berlin.

The winners were selected by a jury including cinematographer Camilla Hjelm from Denmark, VFX supervisor Matt Kasmir from the U.K., editor Jelena Maksimovic from Serbia, costume designer Ursula Patzak from Italy, sound designer Célia Sayaphoum from France, production designer Francis “Kiko” Soeder from Germany, composer Başar Ünder from Turkey and make-up artist Leendert van Nimwegen from the Netherlands.

2021 European Film Award Winners:

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Crystel Fournier (“Great Freedom”)

EDITING

Mukharam Kabulova (“Unclenching the Fists”)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Márton Ágh (“Natural Light”)

COSTIME DESIGN

Michael O’Connor (“Ammonite”)

MAKE-UP AND HAIR

Flore Masson, Olivier Afonso, Antoine Mancini (“Titane”)

ORIGINAL SCORE

Nils Petter Molvær, Peter Brötzmann (“Great Freedom”)

SOUND

Gisle Tveito, Gustaf Berger (“The Innocents”)

VISUAL EFFECTS

Peter Hjorth, Fredrik Nord (“Lamb”)