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

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

“Berlin Alexanderplatz” by Burhan Qurbani
Produced by Fabian Maubach (ACE DE)
Co-produced by Erik Glijnis (ACE NL) and Leontine Petit (ACE NL)

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

“Corpus Christi” by Jan Komasa
Co-produced by Patrice Nezan (ACE FR)

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

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

“Father” by Srdan Golubović
Produced by Amra Baksic Camo (ACE BH), Cédomir Kolar (ACE FR)
and Jelena Mitrovic (ACE RS)

“Let There Be Light” by Marko Skop
Produced by Marko Skop (SK) and Pavel Strnad (ACE CZ)

“Martin Eden” by Pietro Marcello
Produced by Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

“Persian Lessons” by Vadim Perelman
Co-produced by Jamila Wenske (ACE DE)

“Servants” by Ivan Ostrochovský
Co-produced by Pavel Strnad (ACE CZ)

“The Painted Bird” by Václav Marhoul
Co-produced by Igor Savychenko (ACE UA)

“Uppercase Print” by Radu Jude
Produced by Ada Solomon (ACE RO)

“Wildland” by Jeanette Nordahl
Produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE DK)

“Willow (Vrba)” by Milcho Manchevski
Co-produced by Ildiko Kemeny (ACE HU)

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.

Competition Programme Feature Film

“All the Pretty Little Horses” by Michalis Konstantatos
Produced by Yorgos Tsourgiannis (ACE GR)
Co-produced by Fabian Massah (ACE DE ) and  Dries Phlypo (ACE BE)

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

Competition Programme Documentary

“House of Dolls” by Tudor Platon
Produced by Ada Solomon (ACE RO)

“Wood” by Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Michaela Kirst, Ebba Sinzinger
Produced by Ebba Sinzinger (ACE AT)

Kinoscope

“Wildland” by Jeanette Nordahl
Produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE DK)

“Gagarine” by Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh
Produced by Carole Scotta (ACE FR)

In Focus

“Full Moon” by Nermin Hamzagić
Produced by Amra Baksic Camo (ACE BH)

“Malmkrog” by Cristi Puiu
Produced by Anamaria Antoci (ACE RO)

“Uppercase Print” by Radu Jude
Produced by Ada Solomon (ACE RO)

“Willow” by Milčo Mančevski
Co-produced by Ildiko Kemeny (ACE HU)

Open Air

“Father” by Srdan Golubović
Produced by Jelena Mitrovic (ACE RS)
Co-produced by Amra Baksic Camo (ACE BH) and Cedomir Kolar (ACE FR)

Special presentations

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

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

“The Father” by Florian Zeller
Produced by Philippe Carcassonne (ACE FR)

Discovery

“Limbo” by Ben Sharrock
Produced by Angus Lamont (ACE UK)

“Spring Blossom” by Suzanne Lindon
Produced by Caroline Bonmarchand (ACE FR)

“Wildfire” by Cathy Brady
Produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina (ACE IT)

Contemporary world cinema

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

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

Gala presentations

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

Primetime

“Trickster” by Michelle Latimer
Executive producer Julia Sereny (ACE CA)

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.