While the main events at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival have captured the spotlight — with films such as the Oscar-nominated Bosnian director Danis Tanović’s My Late Summer making its world premiere and Hollywood A-listers Alexander Payne, Meg Ryan, and Paul Schrader on hand across the week – the wheels of business have been turning away in the background.
The third edition of the SFF’s CineLink Producers’ Lab has gathered 15 Southern European producers with between two and five years of experience for an immersive program of industry training and networking. The goal of the program is to help the producers’ tackle the universal issues facing contemporary cinema while “equipping participants with the knowledge and understanding of digital supply chain changes and the ever-evolving landscape of film distribution.”
The Producers’ Lab is “aimed at stimulating personal and professional growth for film professionals in Southeast Europe,” according to organizers. “Under this umbrella, the program contributes significantly to the continuous development of the local and regional film and audio-visual industries, providing world-class training opportunities and facilitating access to markets and networks.”
The program – which wrapped on Aug. 20 – revolved around a series of masterclasses, panels, screenings and discussions led by seasoned industry professionals, including some of the heavyweights at this year’s festival. During his masterclass, Payne offered this little gem to industry hopefuls: “To make a film, you have to sit down and start writing, spending 5,000 to 10,000 hours crafting a story. Without a chair, there’s no movie.”
CineLink takes place against the backdrop of a European film industry that is only slowly edging its way back to the box office and production levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the annual Council of Europe industry report found that box office returns in Europe last year were up 22.3 percent on 2022 to around $7 billion, but still 12 percent down on pre-pandemic figures. There was good news on the production side: The 2,347 films produced last year is the second-highest on record (after 2019), but that excitement was tempered by the fact that European films accounted for just 26.4 percent of the local box office, compared to a record 70 percent for U.S. movies.
Still, films are being made, and this year’s Sarajevo co-production market provided plenty of examples for the young CineLink producers to follow. Like the in-development feature Selfless, put together by the Qatar-born, France-raised Algerian filmmaker Meriem Mesraoua and French producer François d’Artemare via a partnership between Netflix and the European Women’s Audiovisual Network’s inaugural Series Accelerator Program.
The CineLink Work in Progress section has this year continued to present the work of some of the region’s rising stars – with nine features (including one documentary) selected. Among them was the latest from Georgian writer-director Ana Georgian writer-director Ana Urushadze, whose debut Scary Mother picked up Locarno’s best first feature award while being put forward by Georgia for Oscar consideration. Urushadze’s Supporting Role (Zazafilms, Allfilm, Enkeny Films, Zeyno Film, Cinetrain, Melograno Films) follows the fictional story of an aging major Georgian film star who stumbles upon the role of a lifetime.
“In the ever-evolving landscape of cinema, resilience and diversity help bring new voices to our CineLink Work in Progress Section,” said Ishak Jalimam, the newly appointed head of CineLink. “Each film reflects unique narratives and visual styles, showcasing rich human experiences. This selection includes projects developed through CineLink workshops as well as newly discovered ones, ranging from deeply personal tales to narratives set in war-torn regions. Collectively, these films examine the individual’s position in contemporary society, building on diverse themes and creativity to explore fresh perspectives.”