LA BELLA ESTATE by Laura Luchetti will premiere at Locarno International Film Festival 2023 at the Piazza Grande. Producer Giovanni Pompili (ACE Italy) participated with the project in the ACE 30 Annual Programme.

1938. Young Ginia has just moved to Turin from the countryside. Looking for adventure she discovers the dazzling artists’ world and begins an affair with a painter. Amelia, the model who leads her into the bohemian quarters, is sensual, free, and different from anyone she has ever met. During her ‘beautiful summer’, Ginia yields to her first great love, celebrating the courage to be truly herself.

How did the ACE Annual Programme benefit you as a producer, and your ACE project?
Participating in the ACE Annual Programme definitely was a turning point for my education and career, as well as strengthening my industry knowledge and my international network. Meeting and sharing with my peers always brings different points of view on common topics and this is absolutely the greatest value the experience can bring. It helped me a lot to be able to look at myself from the right distance to my professional experience and to the company management.
And: The Annual Programme doesn’t finish with the workshop, but the ACE journey starts with it, being part of the association today is extremely important.

Unfortunately, we experienced it in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and we were still not used to handling this kind of online engagement. I did the first session from a hotel room while we were in Sardinia on the set of a shooting (SILENT LAND, co-produced with Lava Films and I/O Post) with COVID alert and protocol to manage and it was difficult to stay 100% focused. However, the ACE team did a tremendous job of making it as interactive and inspiring as possible. The feedback from my script team was invaluable, it was really the confrontation I needed at that time.

What was the most challenging in getting this film from script to the screen?
Making a film based on a book is always a great challenge. If the book is written by Pavese, a master of Italian literature, the challenge is even greater. With Laura, we talked a lot and the only way to respect such an important author was to make him our own. So, the script itself was the first challenge. In the production build-up, we had another big challenge given the fact that the film was supposed to be a co-production with France but four months before shooting everything fell through.
Thanks to our associate partners Lucky Red, Tapeless and True Colours who are handling international sales, we’ve managed to get to the set without changing or reducing the shooting days.

What’s ahead for you and your company? What are you currently working on?
In San Sebastián we will premiere in competition with PUAN, directed by Maria Alche and Benjamin Naishtat, a film I’m super proud of! It is an Argentinian-Brasilian-Italian-French-German co-production, led by Pasto and Pucara Cine together with Infinity Hill – Pandora Filmproduktion (Germany) – Atelier de Production (France) – Bubbles Project (Brazil)

In post-production, we have currently two films, the second feature by Carlo Sironi starring the French actress Noee Abita and co-produced with Julie Billy at June film in France and a minority co-production with the Netherlands based on the book A Beautiful Imperfection by Arthur Japin. It is produced together with Maarten Swart at Kaap Holland Films and Eye-Works Belgium starring Dar Zuso and Jonah Hauer-King.

In October we will have the principal photography of POLVO SERAN, directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet in co-production with Lastor Media (Spain) and Alina Films (Switzerland).

We are developing more films, both majority and minority co-production, it is in our souls to work on stories regardless of the passport of the authors. But the biggest challenge is to structure the company so that it can be independent of me, that is, to train professionals who can one day carry on what I started ten years ago.

SWEET DREAMS by Ena Sendijarević will premiere at Locarno International Film Festival 2023 in Concorso Internazionale. Producer Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands) participated with the project in the ACE 30 Annual Programme.

1900. A secluded island full of flora and fauna. Amidst another sugar crisis, Jan — patriarch and head of a sugar factory — dies, leaving his two women to their own devices: Agathe, his wife, and housemaid Siti, the mother to his bastard son. A family reunion follows. When the illegitimate son turns out to be the only heir, it’s every man, woman, child, plant, and animal for themselves…

How did the ACE Annual Programme benefit you as a producer, and your ACE project?
ACE 30 was an extraordinary edition as we started during the COVID-19 pandemic. We had the pleasure of participating in the ACE Annual Programme for over one and a half years. During that time, I developed SWEET DREAMS together with writer/director Ena Sendijarević from the first draft until a shooting script and from the start, it was clear that it was an ambitious project.
My fellow producers within the group helped shape both the content and financial set-up of the film. At the end of my ACE journey, we moved forward to a shooting period in the Summer of 2021. The shoot was bound to take place in Indonesia, however, the Delta COVID variant really hit hard that summer. During our pre-production, we had to stop due to safety reasons. Later, we tried to re-set it up in Indonesia, but also started researching alternatives, and came across the island of La Reunion and eventually moved the production there. We finally shot the film a year later in the summer of 2022. It was an extremely tough period. I’ve learned a lot from this process, from my fellow participants’ input and from being involved in helping them with their projects.

What was the most challenging in getting this film from script to the screen?
On a productional level, it was what I mentioned above, creating a period piece with a small budget amidst COVID-19. The co-production structure was Dutch, Swedish, Indonesian, and French, getting our different cultures and way of working in line and being the first ever international co-production to shoot in La Reunion meant we had to work very structured. I should not forget to thank my dear colleague Leontine Petit (ACE NL) and my producing partners: Erik Hemmendorff (ACE SE), Judy Tossell (ACE DE), Kristina Borjeson (FilmiVast), Mandy Marahimin (Tala Media, Indonesia) and Laurent Medea from (TikTak production, La Réunion). We had just completed the co-production PLEASURE, where Plattform was the majority producer, and it was great to continue our relationship and collaborate on SWEET DREAMS.

What’s ahead for you and your company? What are you currently working on?
We’re happy our different outfits (Lemming Film Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) have a lot going on in terms of production. In the meantime, we’re working on our development slate and strengthening the organisation and our team. We’re also spending quite some time on the creative alliance we’re part of called The Creatives to further intensify our collaboration.

Regarding the projects: We’re in post-production with Tallulah Schwab’s MR. K, Lucrecia Martel’s CHOCOBAR, Stefanie Kolk’s MELK, Wang Xiaoshuai’s ABOVE THE DUST, Justin Andersons SWIMMING HOME and Isabella Eklöf’s KALAK.

This fall, I’m finally shooting David Verbeek’s feature film THE WOLF, THE FOX & THE LEOPARD, a co-production between The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Croatia, Ireland, and Taiwan. We’re involved as a minority co-producer in VÄRN, directed by John Skoog, and produced by Erik Hemmendorff and Caroline Drab (Plattform), with Denis Lavant as the lead. We’re also working on SKIFF, a feature film by Cecilia Verheyden, produced by Elisa Heene (Mirage Films). In the Spring of 2024, I’m shooting Michiel ten Horn’s ANY OTHER NIGHT with our German (One Two Films) and Canadian (Lithium Studios) partners. We also have two series and a high school comedy going into production in the first half of 2023, so it’s pretty packed until next summer with a wide variety of great projects.

OFFICIAL SELECTION – COMPETITION

ABOUT DRY GRASSES by Nuri Bilge CEYLAN
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE Germany),
Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany) and Nadir Öperli (ACE Turkey)

ANATOMY OF A FALL by Justine TRIET
Produced by David Thion (ACE France)

CLUB ZERO by Jessica HAUSNER
Co-produced by Per Damgaard Hansen (ACE Denmark)

FALLEN LEAVES by Aki KAURISMAKI
Produced by Misha Jaari (ACE Finland)

FOUR DAUGHTERS by Kaouther BEN HANIA
Produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha (ACE France)
Co-produced by Thanassis Kharathanos (ACE Germany)

YOUTH (SPRING) by WANG Bing
Produced by Vincent Wang (ACE France)
Co-produced by Gilles Chanial (ACE Luxemburg)
and Denis Vaslin (ACE The Netherlands)

LA CHIMERA by Alice ROHRWACHER
Produced by Carlo Cresto Dina (ACE Italy)

KIDNAPPED by Marco BELLOCCHIO
Produced by Simone Gattoni (ACE Italy),
co-produced by Viola Fügen (ACE Germany)

OFFICIAL SELECTION – SPECIAL SCREENINGS

LE THÉORÈME DE MARGUERITE by Anna NOVION
Co-produced by Milena Poylo (ACE France)

LITTLE GIRL BLUE by Mona ACHACHE
Produced by Yaël Fogiel (ACE France)

OCCUPIED CITY by Steve MCQUEEN
Produced by Floor Onrust (ACE The Netherlands)

OFFICIAL SELECTION – CANNES PREMIÈRE

LE TEMPS D’AIMER by Katell QUILLÉVÉRÉ
Produced by David Thion (ACE France) and Philippe Martin (ACE France)
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE Belgium)

LOST IN THE NIGHT by Amat ESCALANTE
Produced by Nicolás Celis (ACE Mexico)
Co-produced by Viola Fügen (ACE Germany), Eva Jakobsen (ACE Denmark),
Leontine Petit (ACE Netherlands), Erik Glijnis (ACE Netherlands)

EUREKA by Lisandro ALONSO
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE Germany) and Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany)

OFFICIAL SELECTION – UN CERTAIN REGARD

GOODBYE JULIA by Mohamed KORDOFANI
Co-produced by Marc Irmer (ACE France)

HOW TO HAVE SEX by Molly MANNING WALKER
Executive producer: Giorgos Karnavas (ACE Greece)

LES MEUTES by Kamal LAZRAQ
Co-produced by Diana Elbaum (ACE Belgium)

LOS DELINCUENTES by Rodrigo MORENO
Co-produced by Bruno Bettati (ACE Chile),
Gilles Chanial (ACE Luxemburg), Hernan Musaluppi (ACE Argentina)

OMEN by Baloji
Co-produced by Sébastien Onomo (ACE France)

THE SETTLERS by Felipe GÁLVEZ
Co-produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE Denmark), Emily Morgan (ACE UK) and Ingmar Trost (ACE Germany)

SIMPLE COMME SYLVAIN by Monia CHOKRI
Produced by Sylvain Corbeil (ACE Canada)

UNE NUIT by Alex LUTZ
Co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (ACE Belgium)

QUINZAINE DES CINÉASTES

SHE IS CONANN by Bertrand MANDICO
Produced by Gilles Chanial (ACE Luxembourg)
Co-produced by Olivier Dubois (ACE Belgium)

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE

LEVANTE by Lillah HALLA
Co-produced by Claire Charles-Gervais (ACE France)

LOST COUNTRY by Vladimir PERISIC
Co-produced by Ankica Juric Tilic (ACE Croatia)

TIGER STRIPES by Amanda NELL EU
Co-produced by Fran Borgia (ACE Singapore),
Ellen Havenith (ACE The Netherlands) and Jakob Weydemann (ACE Germany)

VINCENT MUST DIE by Stéphan CASTANG
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE Belgium)

ACID

CAITI BLUES by Justine HARBONNIER
Produced by Julie Paratian (ACE France)

CHICKEN FOR LINDA! by Chiara MATLA and Sébastien LAUDENBACH
Produced by Marc Irmer (ACE France)

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the call for applications for the ACE Series Special 5, with thanks to support from Creative Europe MEDIA and LIAA – Latvian Investment and Development Agency.

A hands-on workshop for experienced producers who want to deepen their knowledge of developing and producing TV drama series for an international audience and/or integrate a series division into their companies. The workshop is open to members of the ACE Network or other producers of a similar level.

16-18 producers are selected for the workshop, each with a series in development. Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of TV series production, the ACE Series Special will also offer sessions on working with broadcasters and streamers, marketing, audiences, international approaches and business strategies. The workshop gives producers a chance to work on their projects through one to one meetings with experts and group sessions with their peers.

The core of the 2023 workshop will be held in Riga, Latvia with the support of LIAA – Latvian Investment and Development Agency and Creative Europe MEDIA. Further sessions will be held online before the workshop.

Topics covered include:

• The financing scheme of series in an international context;
• Discovering the market potential and finding an (international) audience;
• Strategically integrating a series department into an existing (film-)production company;
• Understanding the different production structures of series development
• Working with streamers and broadcasters.

Previous consultants include Reno Antoniades (Lee & Thompson LLP), Piv Bernth (Apple Tree Productions), Caroline Benjo (Haut et Court), Lars Blomgren (Banijay), Noemi Ferrer Schwenk (DR Sales), Mario Gianani (Wildside), Ed Guiney (Element Pictures) Elizabeth Kilgarriff (Firebird Pictures), Monica Levy (Federation), Marc Lorber (Lionsgate), Davide Nardini (Amazon Italy), Leontine Petit (Lemming Film) and Christian Vesper (Fremantle).

DEADLINE
6 June 2023

WORKSHOP DATES
30 October – 4 November 2023

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

• To be an owner, partner or associate of an independent film/TV production company;
• To be an ACE member or producer with a similar level of experience;
• To have a TV drama series in development that is at a relevant stage
  and suitable for co-production.

Producers from any country are welcome to apply, however, please note that the majority of spaces will be reserved for producers from MEDIA countries.

FEES
€2.500 (€2.250 for ACE Network Members).
The fee covers full board, accommodation and training during the workshops.
Travel costs are not included.

HOW TO APPLY
To request an application form please email info@ace-producers.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
ace-producers.com/series-special

ACE Producers has selected 16 experienced independent producers for the 4th edition of the ACE Animation Special. The intensive workshop is designed to provide extensive knowledge of how to diversify business with developing and producing long form/feature film and series animation productions for an international audience including cinema, broadcast and streaming. Supported by Creative Europe MEDIA and NL Film Fund, and organised in close collaboration with Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Ireland, Animation Skillnet and Animation Dingle, the ACE Animation Special will take place between 21 and 26 March 2023 in Dingle, Ireland.

Producers applied with animated features and series projects in early development. Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of feature and long form animation production, the ACE Animation Special will offer sessions on animatic story development, international production workflows, the creative dynamics of animation production, financing strategies and international distribution. The workshop will also include one or more sessions on physical line production as well as case studies on completed animation projects. Group sessions, plenary sessions and one to one meetings will together build a workshop where producers learn from each other’s experiences and those of key industry guests.

Experts/consultants confirmed for this year’s edition include Sébastien Onomo (Special Touch Studios), Simon Quinn (Big Fat Studio), Martin Pope (Magic Light Pictures), Marleen Slot (Viking Film), Eleanor Coleman (Indie Sales), Paul Young & Giovanna Ferrari (Cartoon Saloon), Michael Ryan (GFM Animation), Sarah Muller (BBC) and John Reynolds (Sow You Entertainment).

Rozálie Brožková – Czech Republic – Vernes s.r.o.
“The Seniors”

Dan Dixon – United Kingdom – Snafu Pictures
“The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil”

Claire Finn – Ireland – Lighthouse Studios
“Savage Town”

Eurydice Gysel – ACE Belgium – Czar Film & TV
“WOLF 302M”

Kathryn Kennedy – ACE Ireland – Kennedy Films
“The Thin Place”

Mark Lacey – United Kingdom – Enemy Films
“Rabbit”

Cameron MacLaren – Canada – MacLaren Productions
“The Perdu Woman”

Marianne Mäkelä – Finland – napafilms oy
“Last Carriage”

Carla Mooney – Ireland – Cardel
“A Hairy Situation“

Patrice Nezan – ACE France – Les Contes Modernes
“The True Story of Joan of Arc”

Simon Österhof – Sweden – Soja
“Albatross”

Radim Prochazka – ACE Czech Republic – Kuli Film
“Babu in the Night City”

Beata Rzezniczek – Poland – Madants
“Pale Pink”

Eirik Smidesang Slåen – Norway – ImaginærFilm
“Adil”

Chris Stenger – Netherlands – Family Affair Films
“The Marbelle of Bloom”

Ruben Thorkildsen – Norway – Storm Films
“CysteMfailure”

Every year ACE Producers accepts 18 experienced film producers into the renowned ACE Network after completing ACE’s Annual Programme of executive education. Interested producers are asked to submit a feature film project in development that is suitable for co-production and aimed at the international market along with their application.

Application deadline: 2 May 2023

Four events make up the core of the training programme, held in four different locations.

OCTOBER – CONTENT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Through pitching practice training and sessions on leadership and core values, the producers learn more about themselves and each other, their own businesses and the types of projects they produce. Group sessions and walk & talk discussions provide insight into early development problems such as preparing intention notes, working with talents and maintaining good relationships with writers and directors. During group sessions led by consultants, producers are encouraged to offer each other script advice, and analyse financing plans and marketing materials. Participants also benefit from individual consultancy meetings analysing the concepts, dramaturgy, financing plan, and target audiences of their projects.
8th – 14th October 2023 in Norway

NOVEMBER – FINANCING STRATEGIES WORKSHOP
Interactive sessions exploring international financing opportunities and strategies through detailed analysis of producers’ finance plans, with input provided by high-grade professionals from across the industry.  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.
20th – 25th November 2023 in Warsaw, Poland

APRIL – BUSINESS PROSPECTS WORKSHOP
Sessions on business growth, designed to provide producers with models of sustainable company management and ways to build businesses that have real value. Group sessions and panel discussions guide the producers through keener applications of marketing techniques and diversified commercial activities.
15th – 18th April 2024 in France

APRIL – ACE PRODUCERS ANNUAL REUNION
Held in a different country every year over a long springtime weekend, and open to all members of the ACE Network, this event is an occasion for experienced producers to share news, knowledge, opinion and practical advice in an informal but confidential environment.  Warts-and-all case-studies, production company showcases, insider-information sessions, and more.
19th – 21st April 2024 in Bordeaux, France

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

• Be an owner, partner or associate of an independent production company;
• Have been the delegate producer (i.e. the principal responsible producer) of at least one theatrically-released feature film;
• Have a fiction feature film project in development which is designed to attract international finance and distribution – ideally in the form of a first draft screenplay or long treatment;
• Be available and make a commitment to attend a selection interview during the first week of September, the Content Development Workshop (October), the Financing Strategies Workshop (November), the Business Prospects Workshop and the Annual Reunion (both in April).

APPLY

Please contact info@ace-producers.com to establish your eligibility or to set up a meeting if you have any questions about the programme.

Applications will primarily be evaluated on the producers’ track record and motivation, followed by the strength of the project and its co-production and collaborative potential.

Visit the workshop section of the ACE Producers website for more information on the Annual Programme and application process.

PARTNERS

The ACE 33 Annual Programme is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Netherlands Film Fund, Polish Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Oslo Film Commission, ALCA Nouvelle Aquitaine, CNC, Gironde Department, Procirep, German Films, Téléfilm Canada, Roma Lazio Film Commission, Screen Ireland, Focal and Rai Cinema.