News

THE FRONT LINE awarded Film Sales Support for promotion at Asia’s most important film event

For the third consecutive year, Film Sales Support (FSS) is being awarded to European sales agents and production companies for the marketing of European films at the Pusan International Film Festival, taking place from 12 to 20 October this year. This year Ireland will be represented by David Gleeson's film THE FRONT LINE.

9 different European companies will receive financial incentives for promotional activities at Pusan for altogether 11 films from around Europe. 3 films from Eastern Europe are amongst those supported, namely from Lithuania, You am I (Kristijonas Vildziunas), from Latvia, The Hostage (Laila Pakalnina) and Hungary, White Palms (Szabolcs Hajdu). Directors Kristijonas Vildziunas and Laila Pakalnina are attending Pusan with the help of FSS to promote their films to the festival audience and the general public. Further films to receive help are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others (Germany), Uli Gaulke’s documentary Comrades in Dreams (Germany), Tiago Guedes’ and Frederico Serra’s Bad Blood (Portugal) and Ivan Cherkelov’s and Vassil Jivkov’s Christmas Tree Upside Down (Bulgaria).

FSS is European Film Promotion’s sales support initiative which was launched in 2004 with the backing of the Media Programme of the European Union. FSS follows a mandate to boost the visibility of European films outside of Europe. For a complete list of supported films with more details see below.

EFP will have an industry office at Pusan’s inaugural Asian Film Market (15-18 October) which provides space for the display of promotional material and opportunities for business meetings.

Beneficiaries of Film Sales Support at Pusan 2006:

• Beta Cinema (Germany)
  THE LIVES OF OTHERS (DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN) by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Germany 2005
  
• Flying Moon Filmproduktion (Germany)
  COMRADES IN DREAMS (Germany) by Uli Gaulke, Germany 2006
• Hargla Company (Latvia)
  THE HOSTAGE (KILNIEKS) by Laila Pakalnina, Latvia/Estonia/Slovenia, 2006
• High Point Films (UK)
  THE FRONT LINE by David Gleeson, Ireland/UK/Germany/Sweden 2006
• Madragoa Filmes (Portugal)
  BAD BLOOD (COISA RUIM) by Tiago Guedes and Frederico Serra, Portugal 2006
• MDC International (Germany)
  CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN by Ivan Cherkelov and Vassil Jivkov, Bulgaria/Germany 2006
• Media Luna Entertainment (Germany)
  FRAULEIN by Andrea Å taha, Switzerland/Germany 2006
  PINGPONG by Matthias Luthardt, Germany 2006
• Onoma (France)
  BELLE TOUJOURS by Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France 2006
  WHITE PALMS (FEHÉR TENYÉR) by Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary 2006
• The Match Factory (Germany)
  YOU AM I by Kristijonas Vildziunas, Lithuania/Germany 2006