Application deadline: 3 May 2021

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

During the tumultuous year that the industry and wider world has been facing, the ACE Network has proved to be an incredibly valuable beacon for its producers. In this time of uncertainty, the need for establishing connections, building networks and learning new ways of adapting within an ever-changing audiovisual industry has proven to be more important than ever.

Four events make up the core of the training programme, held in four different locations. ACE Producers is currently still preparing these workshops to be held on site, however due to the current climate, ACE Producers is aware of the need to adapt to different forms of training if necessary.

OCTOBER – CONTENT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Pitching practice, individual meetings and group sessions analysing the concepts, dramaturgy and target audiences of producers’ projects; Plenary sessions on managing talents and maintaining creative dialogues; Discussions on marketing during the early stages of development and examining new forms and formats for audiovisual storytelling.
4th – 9th October 2021

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.
15th – 20th November 2021

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.
4th April – 6th April 2022

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, roundtable discussions, insider-information sessions, and more.
7th April – 10th April 2022

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
If you are considering applying, please contact info@ace-producers.com to establish your eligibility and organise a meeting with producers’ liaison Al Williams.

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

PARTNERS
ACE Producers is supported by Creative Europe, the Netherlands Film Fund, Procirep, German Films, Téléfilm Canada, Screen Ireland, Focal and Rai Cinema.

Big Screen Competition

ACE Producers has selected 17 experienced independent producers for the ACE Animation Special 2021. The intensive workshop is designed to deepen their knowledge of developing and producing long form,feature film and series animation production for an international audience including cinema, broadcast as well as streaming. Producers applied with animated features and series projects in early development. Originally set to take place during Animation Dingle it was postponed to late June 2021 in Dublin due to the current situation. The selected producers will kick off the workshop with an online session in March giving them the opportunity to benefit from the online Animation Dingle programme.

The ACE Animation Special is supported by Screen Skills Ireland, Screen Ireland, Animation Skillnet, BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) and Animation Ireland in close collaboration with Animation Dingle.

Of this year’s event, ACE director Jacobine van der Vloed said, “We’re thrilled to be joining with our Irish partners once again for the Animation Special. Of course, the fact that we’re not going to be in Dingle in March is disappointing for all involved, but after our experience last year, we’re confident of delivering a dynamic workshop that will offer our producers the key knowledge to make their way in the animation industry.”

 

SELECTED ACE ANIMATION SPECIAL PRODUCERS:

Simonetta Amenta (ACE Italy), Eurofilm

Emilie Blézat (ACE France), SCIAPODE

Maria Blicharska (ACE Poland/France), Donten et Lacroix/Blick Productions

Fiona Copland (New Zealand), Field Theory

Valérie Delpierre (Spain), Inicia Films

David Epiney (Switzerland), Alina film

Marion Guth, (Luxembourg), a_BAHN

Chris Hees (United Kingdom), Bridge Way Films

Niamh Herrity (Ireland), Pink Kong

Nicole Kellerhals (Germany), X Filme Creative Pool

Tamsin Lyons (Ireland), Ink and Light

Errol Nayci (Netherlands), Storytellers Animation

Kristy Neville (Canada), Wildling Pictures

Sébastien Onomo (ACE France), Special Touch Studio

Iris Otten (ACE Netherlands), Pupkin Film

Aleksandar Protic (Serbia), MIR MEDIA GROUP

Vanessa Robinson (Ireland), Little Moon Animation

 

Topics covered include story development, visual world building and asset creation, international production workflows in multi-country co-productions, financing strategies, physical line production, the integration of an animation department into an existing (film-) production company as well as an assessment of the demands and expectation of broadcasters.

Among the experts of this year’s edition are Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning Magic Light Pictures producers Martin Pope and Michael Rose (“Zog and the Flying Doctors”), BAFTA-winning producer Claire Jennings (“Coraline”, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”) and renowned animation producer Simon Quinn (“Isle of Dogs”). The full list will be announced shortly. Last year’s expert line-up included Peter Lord founder of Aardman Studios, Chris Dicker, then head of development at Jam Media, Cartoon Network’s Sarah Fell, Michael Ryan of GFM Films and Jean Baptiste Babin of Backup Media.

Please find more information here:
https://ace-producers.com/animation-special/

For more information please contact:
alwilliams@ace-producers.com

A previous version of this post also included Michael Margulis (Ukraine – Kapi Animationas) as a participant. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the workshop.

Belgium
“Working Girls’ by Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich.
Produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (ACE Belgium) and Yael Fogiel (ACE France)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
“Quo Vadis, Aida?” by Jasmila Zbanic
Co-Produced by Roman Paul (ACE Germany)

 Chile
“The Mole Agent” by Maite Alberdi
Co-produced by Ingmar Trost (ACE Germany) and  Denis Vaslin (ACE The Netherlands)

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

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

 Greece
“Apples” by Christos Nikou
Produced by Angelos Venetis (ACE Greece), Mariusz Wlodarski (ACE Poland) and Associate producer Antoine Simkine (ACE France)

Estonia
“The Last Ones” by Kaouther Veiko Õunpuu
Produced by Katrin Kissa (ACE Estonia), Co-Produced by Ellen Havenith (ACE The Netherlands) and Misha Jaari (ACE Finland)

 Finland
“Tove” by Zaida Bergroth
Produced by Aleksi Bardy (ACE Finland)

 Ireland
“Arracht” by Tom Sullivan
Executive producers Brendan McCarthy (ACE Ireland) and John McDonnell (ACE Ireland)

 Ivory Coast
“La nuit des Rois” by Philippe Lacote
Produced by Yanick Letourneau (ACE Canada)

 Kosovo
“Exile” by Visar Morina
Produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE Germany) and Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany)
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE Belgium)

 Lithuania
“Nova Lituania” by Karolis Kaupinis
Produced by Marija Razgute (ACE Lithuania)

Netherlands
“Buladó” by Éche Janga
Produced by Koji Nelissen (ACE The Netherlands)

 North Macedonia
“Willow” by Milčo Mančevski
Co-produced by Ildiko Kemeny (ACE Hungary)

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

 Romania
“Collective” by Alexander Nanau
Produced by Bernard Michaux (ACE Luxembourg)

 Saudi Arabia
“Scales” by Shahad Ameen
Produced by Paul Miller (ACE The Netherlands)

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

 Ukraine
“Atlantis” by Valentyn Vasyanovich
Produced by Vladimir Yatsenko (ACE Ukraine)

Venezuela
“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos
Co-produced by Arash T. Riahi (ACE Austria)

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the call for applications for the Training Days NL, which has been set up in collaboration with the Netherlands Film Fund, NAPA, Film Forward and Eye Filmmuseum.

The ACE Training Days NL is a tailor-made 2-day programme designed for emerging producers at relatively early stages in their careers, who are looking to expand their network and learn more about the international context of the audiovisual industry. The workshop welcomes producers working in fiction, animation and documentary, and strives to make the industry inclusive and diverse.

For this workshop a total of 12 producers (6 Dutch and 6 from neighbouring countries) will be selected to join the workshop taking place in Amsterdam*. As ACE aims to encourage international collaboration, the call is open to emerging producers from the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Scheduled over two days, the Training Days NL will be themed around “The Essentials of International Co-Production & Finance”. The interactive workshop will include plenary sessions as well as group meetings provided with the help of ACE consultants and producers who have notably strong track-records in international co-production and financing, and who will share their knowledge and international expertise.

*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
29 – 31 March 2021

LOCATION
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

• Emerging producers at a relatively early stage in their careers, with an interest in international co-production (this workshop will not focus on line-production);
• Producers should have at least one credit on a short film;
• Producers will best benefit from the workshop when already working on a feature length project in development;
• Producers would need to be committed to attend the entire workshop.

FEES

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Extended deadline: 5 February 2021 (12 places available)

HOW TO APPLY
Send the following documents (in English and combined into one PDF) to info@ace-producers.com:

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Maegene Fabias at maegenefabias@ace-producers.com

Best European Film

European Comedy

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci

European Documentary

“Collective” by Alexander Nanau
Produced by Bernard Michaux (ACE LU)

European Short

“Genius Loci” directed by Adrien Merigeau
Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond (ACE FR)

European Director

European Actress

Natasha Berezhnaya for “DAU. Natasha” by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy and Jekaterina Oertel
Co-produced by Erik Hemmendorff (ACE SE)

European Actor

This year’s autumn meeting of Best Practice Exchange (BPX), normally held in Toronto during the film festival, took place online.

Split across three sessions the leaders of 24 national, regional and cross-border film funding agencies got together to discuss the effects of the pandemic and the initiatives undertaken by film agencies to adjust to the new world. Attendance included members from five continents.

They talked about new priorities and policies being actively considered by their agencies for implementation from 2021 onwards, to enable the production process, the distribution sector and audience development activities to return to creative and economic health.

BPX was started by  Simon Perry and Katriel Schory 8 years ago to encourage exchange and collaboration between the funds.

Of the online sessions, Simon Perry said, “Besides providing insight into the many ways in which film funding agencies are responding to the impacts of the pandemic on film production across the world, the online forums made it clear that public funding will henceforward be more vitally needed than ever in order to sustain independent film distribution and the survival of independent cinemas.”

BPX would like to thank for their contributions:

Alex Traila – CNC, Romania
Arben Zharku – Kosovo Cinematography Center
Bero Beyer – Netherlands Film Fund
Claas Danielsen – Mitteldeutscher Medienföderung, Germany
Claudia Triana de Vargas – Proimagenes, Colombia
Chris Payne – New Zealand Film Commission
Christa Dickenson – Telefilm Canada
Daniel Saltzwedel – Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany
Desirée Finnegan – Screen Ireland
Dita Rietuma – National Film Centre of Latvia
Graeme Mason – Screen Australia
Helge Albers – FF Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Jeanne Brunfaut – CFWB, Belgium
Karen Thorne-Stone – Ontario Creates
Laufey Gudjonsdottir – Icelandic Film Centre
Liza Dino – Film Development Council of the Philippines
Luis Chaby Vaz – ICA / Portuguese Cinema & Audiovisual Institute
Matti Paunio – Finnish Film Foundation
Neil Peplow – British Film Institute
Roberto Olla – Eurimages
Rolandas Kvietkauskas – Lithuanian Film Centre
Sarah Duve-Schmid& Berenice Honold – FFA / German Federal Filmboard
Sehad Cekic – Film Centre of Montenegro
Zuzana Bielikova – Slovak Audiovisual Fund

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the call for applications for the second ACE Animation Special. The workshop, which will be held in Dingle* during the 2021 Animation Dingle festival, is organised in close collaboration with the festival, Screen Skills Ireland and with additional support from Screen Ireland, Animation Skillnet and Animation Ireland.

The workshop is aimed at experienced producers who want to diversify their activities to include, and/or deepen their knowledge of developing and producing long form/feature film animation production for an international audience (cinema, broadcast or streaming).

16 producers will be selected for the workshop, preferably with a long form/feature length animation project at concept stage. Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of feature and longform animation production, the ACE Animation Special will offer sessions on anamatic 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.

*ACE Producers and ACE Animation Special partners 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
21st – 26th of March 2021

LOCATION
Dingle, Ireland

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

• To be an owner, partner or associate of an independent film/animation/TV production company;
• To be an ACE member or producer with a similar level of experience;
• To have a long form or feature length animation project at idea or concept stage; producers without a project are also welcome to apply but must demonstrate a clear motivation.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
1st December 2020
16-18 places available

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

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information please contact Head of Specials, Al Williams at
animation@ace-producers.com

Following the selection of eighteen experienced international producers for the ACE 30 programme, ACE Producers is gearing up to hold the session’s first workshop online from the 5th to the 10th October 2020.

Previously planned to be held in Mallorca thanks to the Mallorca Film Commission, the workshop will now be held in an online environment, due to the continued international situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The eighteen producers, based in fifteen different territories, will participate in their first workshop, concentrating on content development, specifically of the project that they each bring to the programme.

The decision was made to not postpone the workshop allowing the producers to already start benefitting from their shared knowledge. Of the decision, director Jacobine van der Vloed said, “The true importance of training and networking has become very apparent over these past months, with producers offering each other advice and support in these difficult times. We felt that we were well placed to adapt to the situation and allow the ACE 30 producers to meet each other as soon as possible and start their training.”

The workshop will offer carefully tailored sessions, which will aim to stimulate and engage the producers online, with group sessions and individual meetings, analysing the concepts, dramaturgy, and target audiences of the producers’ projects.

ACE Producers has previous experience of online events from holding regular
Networking and Support sessions for members of its Network and setting up an online version of the ACE Animation Special in mid-March, one of the earliest examples of adapting to an online environment seen in the audiovisual industry.

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