European Film Academy Board Meeting held in Zagreb
European Film Academy, the main European film organisation that gathers leading filmmakers, producers, distributers and promoters held its autumn meeting, the last before the European Film Award ceremony, on Saturday, 22 October, in Zagreb, at the invitation and organised by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. The central point of the meeting were this year’s nominations for the prestigious European Film Academy Award. The list of nominations will be published at the European Film Festival in Seville on 6 November. The discussion also included the future of European Film Awards and cities where the upcoming ceremonies would take place.
After introductions and a short tour of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, on Friday evening, 21 October, an informal gathering of EFA board members and Croatian EFA members, filmmakers, HAVC representatives, guests and media representatives took place at the Museum of Broken Relationships. In addition to the distinguished guests, Head of the Board Yves Marmion, his deputy Nik Powell, and EFA board members Adriana Chiesa di Palma, Čedomir Kolar, Mike Downey, Despina Mouzaki, Antonio Perez Perez, Andrzej Zulawski, Per Holst, Daniela Ciancio, Antonio Saura, Michael Weber and Els Vandevorst, and EFA Secretariat members Marion Döring, Jürgen Biesinger, Maria von Hörsten and Rainer Pyls, the gathering was attended by HAVC representatives led by Head Hrvoje Hribar, Croatian directors Zrinko Ogresta, Daniel Kušan, Tomislav Radić, Ognjen Sviličić, Antonio Nuić, Dejan Aćimović, director and producer Marina Andre Škop, producers Boris T Matić, Damir Terešak, Tatjana Aćimović, Lana Ujdur and Zdenka Gold, head of the Austrian Film Commision Martin Schweighofer, film theorist and head of Invisible Film Festival Tanja Vrvilo and others. On Saturday, 22 October, the EFA members attended the Zagreb Film Festival screening of the film 1395 Days Without Red by Šejla Kamerić at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
We feel very honoured and happy that the last meeting before the award ceremony took place in Zagreb and we express our deepest gratitude to our host, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, for the organisation and warm reception. We are pleased to meet Croatian filmmakers, local film industry and HAVC employees. We established a relationship that could be the beginning of a long-term collaboration and friendship, said Marion Döring, Head of the European Film Academy.
The Zagreb meeting of the EFA Board was fantastic, we are very happy to have met the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and outstanding Croatian filmmakers and interesting spaces, such as the HAVC headquarters in Nova Ves, Museum of Broken Relationships in Upper Town, Museum of Contemporary Art in novi Zagreb and the beautiful building and people from the Academy of Dramatic Art, a real pleasure to talk to. I have to admit I was surprised by Croatian producers who, unlike their colleagues from other countries, are very enthusiastic when discussing their projects, work and future, said Nik Powell, British producer and head of the National Film and Television School.
Photo album
Photo by: Alan Vajdić