Croatian project Koke by Igor Jelinović selected for ‘First Films First’ programme
Koke is the debut feature film in development by writer and director Igor Jelinović whose project is one of only eight selected among 102 applications received by the Goethe Institute. ‘First Films First’ in an intensive educational programme for young film directors from South East Europe during which they develop their first feature length films.
Koke is an arthouse comedy in development. It is the story of mom’s vivacious sister ‘Koke’ and the bitterly humorous family trials of a modern family from Split. The project in development is produced by Eclectica (Zagreb).
The programme consists of four modules which take place within a year, where participants will go through all phases of developing their first feature film projects.
The first workshop will take place during the first week of June within the framework of the Transylvania International Film Festival in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Selected projects, along with Igor Jelinović’s Koke from Croatia, are: Emilios Avraam (Emerald) Cyprus, Selcen Ergun (Snow and the Bear) Turkey, Ivan Gergolet (The Man Without Guilt) Slovenia, Magdalena Illiev (Family and Friends) Bulgaria, Haris Raftogiannis (The River) Greece, and Vojin Vasović (The End of the World) Serbia.
The theme of the second workshop is ‘Finding a unique visual style for your film & further script development’. It will take place in September, 2018, in Macedonia’s Bitola, during the “Manaki Brothers” International Cinematographers Film Festival. The third workshop, ‘Directing actors’ will be held in November/December, 2018, in Belgrade, during the Auteur Film Festival. The final module, ‘Getting ready for the big world – Pitching & packaging your project’, will be held in March, 2019, within the framework of the Sofia International Film Festival.
The programme concludes with pitching presentations before internationally relevant producers, distributors and fund representatives in Sofia, at one of the leading regional co-production markets.
Organisers encourage all of those whose projects were not selected to continue developing them and re-apply next year.
The ‘First Films First’ programme offers young authors mentorship by European film professionals through different phases of project development, as well as skills which will enable them to participate in the international film scene. Through collaboration with prominent European authors and experts, they will receive first-hand insight and practical knowledge regarding contemporary European film industry. All other details about the programme are available at this link.
Last year, another Croatian project, Murina by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, was selected into the same programme.
Cover photo: Igor Jelinović
(*photo credit; www.slobodnadalmacija.hr)