Competition

“And Tomorrow the Entire World” by Julia Von Heinz
Produced by Fabian Gasmia (ACE DE)

“Never Gonna Snow Again” by Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
Produced by Mariusz Wlodarski (ACE PL), Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

“Miss Marx” by Susanna Nicchiarelli
Co-produced by Valérie Bournonville (ACE BE)

“Pieces of a Woman” by Kornel Mandruczo
Executive producer Viktória Petrányi (ACE HU)

“Lovers” by Nicole Garcia
Produced by David Thion (ACE FR), Philippe Martin (ACE FR)

“Quo Vadis, Aida?” by Jasmila Zbanic
Co-Produced by Roman Paul (ACE DE), Eric Vogel (ACE NO)

Horizons

“Apples” by Christos Nikou
Produced by Angelos Venetis (ACE GR), Mariusz Wlodarski (ACE PL) and Associate producer Antoine Simkine (ACE FR)

“The Man Who Sold His Skin” by Kaouther Ben Hania
Produced by Thanassis Karathanos (ACE DE)

“La nuit des Rois” by Philippe Lacote
Produced by Yanick Letourneau (ACE CA)

Venice Days

In Competition

“The Stonebreaker” by Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio
Produced by Alessandro Borrelli (ACE IT)

“Oasis” by Ivan Ikic
Co-produced by Amra Baksic Camo (ACE BA) , Antoine Simkine (ACE FR), Koji Nelissen (ACE NL) and Miha Cernec (ACE SI).

Out of Competition

“Saint-Narcisse” by Bruce LaBruce
Produced by Paul Scherzer (ACE CA)

Venetian Nights

“Nilde Iotti, il tempo delle donne” by Peter Marcias
Produced by Mario Mazzarotto (ACE IT)

Venice Critics’ Week

In Competition

“Non odiare” by Mauro Mancini
Produced by Mario Mazzarotto (ACE IT)

“Shorta” by Anders Ølholm and Frederik Louis Hviid
Produced by Signe Leick Jensen (ACE DK)

We are pleased to announce the results of the ACE Board elections.

Eight members were re-elected while five new members are welcomed onto the board: ACE producers Jonas Dornbach, Danielle Guirguis, Marc Irmer, Rajko Jazbec and Marleen Slot.

Here is the list of the ACE Board 2020 – 2021.

ACE PRODUCERS EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ido Abram – Eye Film Institute – The Netherlands
Aleksi Bardy – Helsinki Filmi – Finland
Sébastien Beffa – Playtime – France
Bruno Bettati – Jirafa Film – Chile
Signe Byrge Sørensen – Final Cut for Real – Denmark
Tom Dercourt – Cinéma Defacto – France
Jonas Dornbach – Komplizen Film – Germany
Eve Gabereau – Modern Films – United Kingdom
Raimond Goebel – Pandora Film – Germany
Danielle Guirguis – Smarthouse Films – The Netherlands
Marc Irmer – Dolce Vita Films – France
Rajko Jazbec – CognitoFilms – Switzerland
Jelena Mitrovic – Bas Celik – Serbia
Dries Phlypo – A Private View – Belgium
Martin Pope – Magiclight Pictures – United Kingdom
Antoine Simkine – Les Films d’Antoine – France
Marleen Slot – Viking Film – The Netherlands
Ada Solomon – Hi Film – Romania
Karla Stojakova – Axman Productions – Czech Republic
Cecilia Valmarana – Rai – Radiotelevisione Italiana –  Rai Movie – Italy

CANNES OFFICIAL SELECTION 2020

“Another Round” by Thomas Vinterberg
Co-produced by Laurette Schillings (ACE NL) and Frans van Gestel (ACE NL)

“Falling” by Viggo Mortensen
Produced by Daniel Bekerman (ACE CA) and Chris Curling (ACE UK)

“Flee” by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen (ACE DK)

“Nadia, Butterfly” by Pascal Plante
Executive producer: Sylvain Corbeil (ACE CA)

“Passion Simple” by Danielle Arbid
Produced by David Thion (ACE FR)

“Sweat” by Magnus von Horn
Produced by Mariusz Włodarski (ACE PL)
Developed during the ACE 27 Workshops

“Pleasure” by Ninja Thyberg
Produced by Erik Hemmendorff (ACE SE)
Co-produced by Leontine Petit (ACE NL)

16 producers were selected for the ACE Animation Special, of whom 13 eventually participated in what became a 4-day online version of the workshop (18th – 21st March 2020).

Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of animation production, the ACE Animation Special also offered sessions on the development process, co-producing, international distribution, audiences and business strategies. The workshop included sessions on the different approaches needed for animated TV series as well as offering the producers a chance to work on their projects.

Besides the solid and active partnership with Gareth Lee from Screen Skills Ireland and Maurice Galway and John Rice of Animation Dingle, the ACE Animation Special was generously sponsored and supported by partners Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Skillnet, IDA, Animation Ireland and Unreal Engine.

Having been forced to cancel the physical event 5 days before it was due to start, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ACE management redesigned the workshop into an online compatible version to be ready to begin on Wednesday the 18^th of March. Converting a programme to be held online held many challenges but also opportunities. For example, the timing of the sessions was challenging for the two Canadian participants, however ACE recorded each of the sessions so that nothing would be missed. Also, the length of the sessions was shortened as staying engaged with a session on screen is more difficult than in person.

The ACE management succeeded in maintaining most of the sessions that were initially planned and only four consultants were unable to attend due to work engagements brought on by the crisis. Interviews, case studies, plenary sessions, group sessions and one-to-one meetings were all integrated. Due to the fact of it being held online, it was possible to invite additional consultants, such as producers Pavel Strnad and Roman Paul, who did a case study on “Alois Nabel” and “Waltz with Bashir” respectively.

All sessions were moderated by ACE members Lisa Marie Russo and Martin Pope, the latter conducting many of the session himself as an established animation producer.

The first day concentrated on choosing material and featured an interview with Aardman Studios founder Peter Lord. The second day revolved around animatics, world and story development with input from Jam Media head of development Chris Dicker. The third concentrated on the physical production of animation with sessions by producer Simon Quinn and an interview with Cartoon Network’s Sarah Fell. The fourth and final day was specifically about financing and distribution including sessions by GFM Films’ Michael Ryan and Jean Baptiste Babin of Backup Media.

The week following the workshop, ACE held one-to-one meetings between the producers and consultants online. Producers were matched with four different consultants in order to speak about their projects or ask questions relating to the workshop’s sessions.

Although many were initially sceptical about the possibility of holding the workshop online, the participating producers all expressed themselves to be extremely pleased by how well it worked and how much they learnt from it. Go to the testimonials page of the ACE website for some quotes from the participants.

Due to the recent measures put in place internationally to combat the spread of Covid-19, ACE Producers will be holding the ACE Animation Special online from Wednesday the 18th of March until Saturday the 21st of March 2020.

Due to take place in Dingle, Ireland this week, a devised timetable and online system have been set up in order to hold a revised version of the workshop online. This has been made possible thanks to the invaluable help of ACE’s vice-president Martin Pope (Magic Light Pictures) as well as the programme’s incredibly supportive consultants and enthusiastic participants.

In light of all recent developments regarding Covid-19 and the decision of the World Health Organisation to declare a pandemic, ACE Producers is very sad to announce that the upcoming ACE workshops can no longer take place as planned. This will effect the ACE Animation Special 1, the ACE 29 Business Prospects Workshop and the ACE Annual Reunion 2020.

ACE director Jacobine van der Vloed says “Due to the rapid changes we feel an obligation to cancel the events as they would gather people from so many different territories, some of which have already implemented quarantine upon arrival back home.
We also consider that as a European organisation we have a social responsibility towards all the other citizens in Europe and we should show solidarity.”

ACE is in close contact with its Network members, partners, consultants and workshop participants to attempt to devise new ways of delivering the trainings and/or new time frames for these events.

We would like to give sincere thanks, for their continued support and collaboration, to our Annual Reunion Partner (Screen Scotland), our partners of the Animation Special (Screen Skills Ireland, Animation Dingle, Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Skillnet, Unreal Engine, IDA,  Animation Ireland and Creative Europe Desk Ireland), our Business Prospects Workshop Partners (IFFR Pro, Creative Europe Desk NL, Copper en Co and Eye Filmmuseum), and of course our main sponsors, Creative Europe MEDIA and the Netherlands Film Fund.

ACE is pleased to announce the support of Unreal Engine from Epic Games. Unreal Engine will support the ACE Animation Special 1 which will take place on from the 17th till the 22nd of March in Dingle, Ireland.

Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of animation production, the ACE Animation Special will offer sessions on story development and the creative dynamics of animation production, the financing scheme in an international context, discovering the marketing potential and finding an (international) audience as well as budget, financing and production planning. The workshop will give the producers a chance to network with their peers and dive deeper into the different aspects of animation production.

The workshop is held in close collaboration with Screen Skills Ireland and Animation Dingle with support from other key Irish partners alongside Unreal – Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Skillnet, IDA and Animation Ireland, Creative Europe Desk Ireland.

Unreal Engine is a complete suite of development tools for anyone working with real-time technology. From design visualisations and cinematic experiences to high-quality games across PC, console, mobile, VR, and AR, Unreal Engine gives you everything you need to start, ship, grow, and stand out from the crowd.

Find out more information about Unreal Engine here.

The call for applications for the ACE Series Special 2 workshop is open.

The ACE Series Special is aimed at experienced producers who want to integrate a series division into their companies and/or deepen their knowledge of developing and producing TV drama series for an international audience. With more and more demand for content, with a market that is changing daily and as producers look for new ways of working and diversifying their output, the ACE Series Special is more essential than ever.

In collaboration with VAF (Flanders Audiovisual Fund) and CFAP, the 6-day workshop will be held at the end of October 2020 in Brussels, Belgium*. 16 producers will be selected for the 6-day 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 marketing, audiences, international approaches and business strategies, with a course in the use of story development tools for TV drama. The workshop will give producers a chance to work on their projects through one to one meetings with experts and group sessions with their peers.

*ACE will be paying close attention to the ever-changing international situation and will make any adaptations to the workshop necessary to ensure the safety of participants and guests.

WORKSHOP DATES
26th – 31st of October 2020

LOCATION
Brussels, Belgium

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.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
1st June 2020
16 places available

HOW TO APPLY
Visit www.ace-producers.com/series-special

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information please contact Specials manager Al Williams at series@ace-producers.com

Thanks to a new partnership with Film Center Serbia, the ACE 30 Financing Strategies Workshop will be held in Belgrade in June 2021.
Every September, ACE selects 18 experienced film producers, each with a project in development that is suitable for co-production and aimed at the international market, to take part in ACE’s annual programme of advanced training and then join the ACE Network. The Financing Strategies Workshop is the second of the four key training events which make up the ACE programme.

The core of the Financing Strategies Workshop, to be held in Belgrade, will be 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. Consultants that have previously attended include Bobby Allen (MUBI), Sébastien Beffa (Playtime), Philippe Bober (Coproduction Office), Jonas Dornbach (Komplitzen Film), Charlotte Mickie (Celluloid Dreams), Jelena Mitrovic (Bas Celik) and Agathe Théodore (Pathé).

Speaking of the partnership, the director of Film Center Serbia, Gordan Matic says “We are very proud that FCS will host some of the most influential producers in European film, thanks to this new partnership. I believe that many ACE members will start dreaming up their new films right here, in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2021.”

One afternoon during the Financing Strategies Workshop will be open to the local industry. The event will give regional professionals the opportunity to benefit from information usually only available to ACE members, and for ACE producers and consultants to network and get a better understanding of the local audiovisual landscape.

“The Financing Strategies Workshop is at the heart of the ACE programme”, says ACE director Jacobine van der Vloed, “and it’s become part of the calendar year for many of our consultants. They are all very excited to be going to Serbia, a country whose presence in European co-productions has become more and more frequent. We are very grateful to Film Center Serbia for this opportunity.”

The ACE 30 Financing Strategies Workshop will be held from the 7th to the 12th of June 2021.