ACE 28 Producers Selected

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the eighteen producers selected to participate in the 28th ACE Session (2018/2019) with their projects in development.

Marco Alessi – Dugong – Italy
“Li muerti” by Massimiliano Verdesca

Francesca Andreoli – tempesta – Italy
“Valley of Thieves” by Caterina Carone

Christophe Audeguis – the cup of tea – France
“Ducks” by Neary Adeline Hay

Daniel Bekerman – Scythia Films – Canada
“The Eden Express” Director TBD

Maria Blicharska – Donten & Lacroix Films – Poland/France
“Comrades” by Olivier Patte and Rafael Lewandowski

Katja Draaijer – Baldr Film – The Netherlands
“Alpha” by Jan-Willem van Ewijk

Sophie Erbs – Cinema Defacto – France
“The Hunt of the Puma” by Marcela Said

Alise Ģelze – Tasse Film – Latvia
“Lovable” by Stanislavs Tokalovs

Dyveke Graver – Oslo Pictures – Norway
“A Prayer for the Dying” by Dara Van Dusen

Milos Lochman – moloko film – Czech Republic
“The Nightsiren” by Tereza Nvotová

Mike MacMillan – Lithium Studios Productions – Canada
“I Will Not Go Quietly” Director TBD.

Jan Macola – Mimesis Film – Czech Republic
“Resurrections” by Petr Vaclav

Alan Maher – Marcie Films – Ireland
“Chronicle in Time” by Andrew Legge

Emily Morgan – Quiddity Films – UK
“White” by Emily Young

Elli Toivoniemi – Tuffi Films – Finland
“Love of Wolves” by Zaida Bergroth

Izabella Tzenkova – Kotva Films – Bulgaria/USA
“Serenity” by Aslihan Unaldi

Alexander Wadouh – Chromosom Films – Germany
“Mission” Director TBD

Michael Wrenn – Invisible Republic – Australia
“These Kingdoms” by Shane Danielsen

These eighteen producers have been selected to attend the three residential ACE workshops with a project in development. Fourteen countries are represented in the selection: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK.

The selection committee was made up of members of the ACE board, ACE consultants, ACE president Antoine Simkine and director Jacobine van der Vloed. A record number of applications was received this year and the selection was made following interviews in  Amsterdam and Toronto.

The eighteen producers will attend four main events that make up the core of the training. The first is the Content Development Workshop held mid-October in Helsinki, Finland in collaboration with the Finnish Film Foundation and Aalto University. It consists of plenary sessions and individual meetings analysing the concepts, dramaturgy and target audiences of producers’ projects. Other sessions provide insight into early development problems such as preparing intention notes, working with talents and maintaining good relationships with writers and directors.

The second workshop is the Financing Strategies Workshop, held mid-November in Prague, Czech Republic, in collaboration with the Czech Film Fund and APA, the Czech Producers Association. The core of the workshop is made up of interactive sessions exploring international financing opportunities and strategies through detailed analysis of producers’ finance plans, with input provided by over 40 high-grade professionals from across the industry. These financing sessions are unique to ACE, creating an 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 is the Business Prospects Workshop held in the Netherlands (in partnership with the Netherlands Film Fund) at the beginning of April. This workshop aims to help the producers discover new business models and strategies in order to expand their knowledge and field of competence regarding marketing, (online) distribution, legal aspects, and overall management of their company and team.

Alongside these workshops the producers will also have the chance to have personalised consultations with script, finance and marketing experts throughout the year. After having completed the three workshops the participants are welcomed into the ACE Network by attending the ACE Annual Reunion, which will take place in Copenhagen in April 2019, thanks to the support of the Danish Film Institute.

The ACE Network has around 220 active members from more than 45 countries. Network members gather for further training and professional events at all major festivals and markets during the year, and regularly co-produce with each other.