Muayad Alayan – Palcine Productions – Palestine
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” directed by Muayad Alayan

Jacqui Davies – Primitive Film – United Kingdom
“After London” directed by Ben Rivers

Stefan Eichenberger – Contrast Film – Switzerland
“Good Boy” directed by Matthias von Gunten

Brian J. Falconer – Out of Orbit – United Kingdom
“Harvesting” directed by Michael Lennox

Jessie Fisk – Feline Films – Ireland
“So, Perfect” directed by Nathalie Biancheri

Erik Glijnis – Lemming Film – The Netherlands
“Sweet Dreams” directed by Ena Sendijarevic

Lauren Grant – Clique Pictures – Canada
“Mush Hole” directed by Lisa Jackson

Anna-Maria Kantarius – Garage Film International – Sweden
“The Land of the Fern” directed by Ester Martin Bergsmark

Marta Lewandowska – Friends with Benefits Studio – Poland
“Symetry of the Island” directed by Anna Kazejak

Patrice Nezan – Les Contes Modernes – France
“War with the Salamanders” directed by Catherine Maximoff

Sébastien Onomo – Special Touch Studios – France
“Mami Wata” directed by Askia Traoré

Evelin Penttilä – Stellar Film – Estonia
“Beatrice” directed by Ain Mäeots

Giovanni Pompili – Kino Produzioni – Italy
“The Beautiful Summer” directed by Laura Luchetti

Radim Prochazka – Kuli Film – Czech Republic
“In a Storm and Winds” directed by Lukáš Masner

Marija Razgutė – M-FILMS – Lithuania
“Fake News” directed by Karolis Kaupinis

Milan Stojanovic – Sense Production – Serbia
“When the Kids Sing the Hits” directed by Mina Djukic

Joanna Szymańska – Shipsboy – Poland
“Politics of Love” director TBD

Vladimir Yatsenko – Limelite/Forefilms – Ukraine
“U are the Universe” directed by Pavlo Ostrikov

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the eighteen producers selected to participate in the 30th ACE Session (2020/2021) who will go on to join the ACE Network.

The selection committee was made up of members of the ACE board, ACE consultants, president Antoine Simkine and director Jacobine van der Vloed. Of the selection, Jacobine van der Vloed said, “We were overwhelmed by the number of applications this year. Faced with a year of unprecedented disruption and change, it’s heartening to see that producers are determined to forge forward, concentrating on training and development. We’re confident that the selected producers will learn a lot from each other and will be excellent additions to the ACE Network”.

The selected producers will attend three workshops with a project in development. Fifteen different territories are represented in the selection: Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Four events make up the core of the training. The first workshop, dedicated to content development, will take place online in early October with carefully tailored sessions which will aim to stimulate and engage the producers in an online environment. The Content Development Workshop will include group sessions and individual meetings, analysing the concepts, dramaturgy, and target audiences of producers’ projects.

In November, the second workshop, which offers the producers advice on possible financing strategies for their projects, will take place in Belgrade, Serbia, with the support of Film Center Serbia. The week-long workshop will be made up of interactive sessions exploring international financing opportunities and strategies through detailed analysis of the producers’ finance plans, with input provided by high-grade professionals from across the industry. The sessions offer a uniquely open exchange of experience and ideas which sheds light on the evolution of co-production practices, of public and private funding schemes, and of the global marketplace in the digital age.

The third workshop will look at the producers’ business strategies, providing them with models of sustainable company management and ways to build businesses that have real value. The workshop will integrate new elements specifically for this year, to help producers adapt their business models to face the challenges brought forward by the global pandemic. The Business Prospects Workshop will take place in Amsterdam with the kind support of the Netherlands Film Fund and is immediately followed by the ACE Annual Reunion, were the new producers will be officially welcomed into the ACE Network.

The Annual Reunion 2021 will be held in Edinburgh, with the support of Screen Scotland, after the postponement of the 2020 edition which was due to be held there.

ACE Producers is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, The Netherlands Film Fund, Procirep, Téléfilm Canada, German Films, Screen Ireland and Focal.

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the 19 producers and projects selected for the ACE Series Special 2.

Anamaria Antoci – Romania – Tangaj Production
“Hooked” written by Adrian Sitaru

Daniel Bekerman – Canada – Scythia Films  
“Lisa Howard” writers TBD

Pavel Bercik – Czech Republic – Evolution Films 
“Astronomer” written by Zdeněk Jecelín and Jan Hanzlík

Pandora da Cunha Telles – Portugal – Ukbar Filmes 
“Number 61” written by Kalaf Epalanga

Trish Dolman – Canada – Screen Siren Pictures 
“Bones of Crows” written by Marie Clements

Jean-Marc Fröhle – Switzerland – Point Prod 
“Winter Palace” written by Lindsay Shapero and Stéphane Mitchell

Viola Fügen – Germany – Match Factory Productions 
“The Report” written by Ben Bräunlich

Danielle Guirguis – The Netherlands – Smarthouse Films 
“Philips” written by Bart Oudshoorn and Bart Koene

Alexandra Hoesdorff – Luxembourg – Deal Productions 
“Hologrammatica” writers TBD

David Keitsch – Germany – Komplizen Serien 
“La Huaka” written by Ruì Díaz, J.I.M. Wels, Juan Ortiz and Elena Manzo

Ivan Madeo – Switzerland – Contrast Film Zurich 
“Davos” written by Adrian Illien, Julia Penner, Thomas Hess
and Michael Sauter

Sarah Marks – Belgium – MARKS 
“29” written by Charlotte De Bruyne, Sophie Kurpershoek and Anemone Valcke

Leontine Petit – The Netherlands – Lemming Film
“Augustus” written by Marco van Geffen & Philip Delmaar

Elli Toivoniemi – Finland – Tuffi Films 
“Copper Country” written by Ulla Heikkilä and Jenni Toivoniemi

Joris van Wijk – The Netherlands – Le Boxeur 
“The Man Who Stole the Bomb” written by Nadeem Rajwani

Pierpaolo Verga – Italy – o’Groove 
“Traitors for All” written by Edoardo De Angelis, Barbara Petronio and Michele Pellegrini

Jakob Weydemann – Germany – Weydemann Bros 
“Champions” written by Paul Salisbury and Friederike Jehn

Marijke Wouters – Belgium – De Mensen 
“Capturing Big Mouth” written by Hans Van Nuffel, Ahsan Naeem

Cristina Zumarraga – Spain – Tandem Films 
“Pleasure Spot” written by Alicia Luna

The selected producers will begin the programme with an online workshop on script development late October followed by a residential workshop in Brussels in March. The aim of the programme is to equip producers who have a strong track record in feature film production with the tools to transfer their skills into the world of series production.

The Series Special is supported by the VAF (the Flanders Audiovisual Fund) and CFAP.

With a record number of applications, the selection committee selected projects which had strong co-production possibilities, a unique pitch with potential to gather an international audience and producers who would be able to bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the group. Of the selection, Head of Specials Al Williams said, “We were overwhelmed by the quality of the applications this year and we feel that the final selection represents the high level of series development coming out of Europe and Canada at the moment.”

Previously scheduled to be held at the VAF in Brussels in October, the residential element of the workshop has been postponed due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis. The participants will now participate in October in an online portion of the programme, with group sessions and a development workshop by development expert Emmanuel Oberg. This will help them fine-tune their bibles and pitches before the main element of the programme which will be held from the 1st to the 6th of March in Brussels, gathering experts in series productions, financing, distribution and sales.

ACE held its first Series Special workshop in October 2020, emerging from the needs of the industry and the clear trend for producers diversifying their activities and moving towards series production. On setting up the progamme ACE director Jacobine van der Vloed reflected “It really is amazing the number of established feature film producers we are currently seeing, turning their sights towards series. With the ever-growing call for more content this doesn’t seem to be a trend that is diminishing, so we’re happy to be able to provide a space to guide these knowledgeable producers in the right direction”.

The 19 selected producers come from 12 different countries with female producers outnumbering their male counterparts. 13 of the producers are ACE Network members.