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.

IN COMPETITION

“All the Dead Ones” by Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra
Produced by Clément Duboin (ACE FR)

“Berlin Alexanderplatz” by Burhan Qurbani
Produced by Fabien Maubach (ACE DE)
Co-produced by Leontine Petit (ACE NL)

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

“The Roads Not Taken” by Sally Potter
Co-produced by Kurban Kassam (ACE UK)

SPECIAL GALA

“My Salinger Year” by Philippe Falardeau
Produced by Luc Déry (ACE CA)
Opening Film

PANORAMA

“Days of Cannibalism” by Teboho Edkins
Co-produced by Koji Nellissen (ACE NL)

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

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

“If It Were Love” by Patric Chiha
Produced by Charlotte Vincent (ACE FR)

“Pari” by Siamak Etemadi
Produced by Giorgos Karnavas (ACE GR)
Co-produced by Borislav Chouchkov (ACE BU),
Laurette Schillings (ACE NL) and Frans van Gestel (ACE NL)

“Shine Your Eyes” by Matias Mariani
Produced by Claire Gadea (ACE FR) and Junyoung Jang (ACE UK)

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

FORUM 2020

“The Exit of the Trains” by Radu Jude and Adrian Cioflâncă
Produced by Ada Solomon (ACE RO)

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

“Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine” by Alex Piperno
Produced by Frank Hoeve (ACE NL)

GENERATION 14PLUS

“Jumbo” by Zoé Wittock
Co-produced by Gilles Chanial (ACE LU)

“Paradise Drifters” by Mees Pijnenburg
Produced by Iris Otten (ACE NL)

“Pompei” by Anna Falguères and John Shank
Produced by Valérie Bournonville (ACE BE) and Clément Duboin (ACE FR)

“Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi
Co-produced by Nicole Gerhards (ACE DE)

Encounters

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

ACE Producers is pleased to announce the sixteen producers that have been selected for the first edition of the ACE Animation Special that will take place during Animation Dingle in Ireland this coming March.

The selected participants are all 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). Producers were selected either with or without an animation project in the early stages of development, though each runs a company focusing its sights on animation. Eleven countries are represented in the selection: Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.

“Animation was high on my list”, ACE director and head of studies, Jacobine van der Vloed said, “I’m thrilled to have established a partnership with Screen Skills Ireland and Animation Dingle and to be bringing such a great group of international producers to Ireland to discover the global potential of their animation projects.” The group consists of experienced producers from both inside and outside the ACE Network.

In close collaboration with Screen Skills Ireland and Animation Dingle and support from other key Irish partners – Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Skillnet, IDA and Animation Ireland, Creative Europe Desk Ireland – the 5-day workshop will be held from March 17th to 22nd 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.

Jonathan Clarke – Ireland – Distillery Films
“Sullivan Sails” series by Carol Freeman

Jérôme Dopffer – France – Les Productions Balthazar
“Diotime and the Lions” feature by Santi Minasi

Fabian Driehorst – Germany – Fabian&Fred
Attending without a project

Stephen Fagan – Ireland – Studio Meala
“Queen Méabh” feature by Elle Power

Kristine Knudsen – Norway – Den siste skilling
“Checkmate” feature, director tbc

Vladimir Lhotak – Czech Republic – Hausboot
“Golem” feature by Jiří Barta

Galilé Marion Gauvin – Canada – Productions l’unité centrale
Attending without a project

Rebecca Mark-Lawson – UK – Tyke Films
“Half Nelson” feature by Alice Nelson

Heather Millard – Iceland – Compass Films
“Ormhildur the Brave” series by Thorey Mjallhvit

Catryn Ramasut – United Kingdom – ie ie productions
“Candylion” feature, director tbc

Arash T. Riahi – Austria – Golden Girls Film
“Micromeo” feature by Jean Claude Carriere & Virgil Widrich

Nancy Florence Savard – Canada – 10th Ave Productions
Attending without a project

Marleen Slot – The Netherlands – Viking Film
Attending without a project

The first edition of the ACE Animation Special took place online, you can read our report here.

A previous version of this post also included Sinisa Juricic (Croatia – Nukleus film), Patrice Nezan (France – Les Contes Modernes) and Denis Vaslin (The Netherlands – Volya Films) as participants. Unfortunately, they had to withdraw from the workshop.

BRIGHT FUTURE – Tiger Competition

“La fortaleza” by Jorge Thielen Armand
Co-produced by Marleen Slot (ACE NL)

“Kala azar” by Janis Rafa
Co-produced by Giorgos Karnavas (ACE GR)
Tiger Competition Nominee

BRIGHT FUTURE – MAIN PROGRAMME

“Make Up” by Claire Oakley
Produced by Emily Morgan (ACE UK)

VOICES – MAIN PROGRAMME

“They Moneychanger” by Federico Veiroj
Co-produced by Hernán Musaluppi (ACE AR)

“The Orphanage” by Shahrbanoo Sadat
Produced by Katja Adomeit (ACE DK)
Developed during the ACE 24 Workshops

VOICES – LIMELIGHT

“Adoration” by Fabrice Du Welz
Co-produced by Bart Van Langendonck (ACE BE)

“Atlantique” by Mati Diop
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE BE)

“The Barefoot Emperor” by Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Co-produced by Laurette Schillings (ACE NL)

“Filles du joie” by Frédéric Fonteyne, Anne Paulicevich
Produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (ACE BE) and Yael Fogiel (ACE FR)

“Fire Will Come” by Oliver Laxe
Produced by Mani Mortazavi (ACE FR)

“Goud” by Rogier Hesp
Produced by Katja Draaijer (ACE NL) and Frank Hoeve (ACE NL)

“Muidhond” by Patrice Toye
Co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (ACE BE)

“Paradise Drifters” by Mees Peijnenburg
Produced by Iris Otten (ACE NL)

“The Perfect Candidate” by Haiff Al Mansour
Produced by Roman Paul (ACE DE)

“Sibyl” by Justine Triet
Produced by Philippe Martin (ACE FR) and David Thion (ACE FR)

“A Son” by Mehdi M. Barsaoui
Produced by Marc Irmer (ACE FR)

“The Whistlers” by Corneliu Pormboiu
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE DE) and Janine Jackowski (ACE DE)

“The Wild Goose Lake” by Dioa Yi’nan
Produced by Shen Yang (ACE CN)

VOICES – ROTTERDÄMMERUNG

“Savage State” by David Perrault
Produced by Sylvain Corbeil (ACE CA)

DEEP FOCUS – REGAINED

“An Impossible Project” by Jens Meurer
Produced by Jens Meurer (ACE DE)

“Living the Light – Robby Müller” by Claire Pijman
Co-produced by Alexander Wadouh (ACE DE)

DEEP FOCUS – SIGNATURES

“Little Joe” by Jessica Hausner
Produced by Bertrand Faivre (ACE UK/FR)

PERPECTIVES – SYNERGETIC

“Occupied Cinema” by Senka Domanovic
Co-produced by Sinisa Juricic (ACE HR)

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

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

“Jumbo” by Zoé Wittock
Co-produced by Gilles Chanial (ACE LU)

“Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi
Co-produced by Nicole Gerhards (ACE DE)

World Cinema Documentary Competition

“The Mole Agent” by Maite Alberdi
Co-produced by Ingmar Trost (ACE DE) and Denis Vaslin (ACE NL)

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

Premieres

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

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

“Herself” by Phyllida Lloyd
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE IE)

Spotlight

“Collective” by Alexander Nanau
Co-produced by Bernard Michaux (ACE LU)

“The Perfect Candidate” by Haifaa Al Mansour
Produced by Roman Paul (ACE DE)

Best European Film

“System Crasher” by Nora Fingscheidt
Produced by Jakob Weydeman (ACE DE)

“The Favourite” by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE IE)

“The Traitor” by Marco Bellocchio
Produced by Simone Gatoni (ACE IT) and Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

European Comedy

“Tel Aviv on Fire” by Sameh Zoabi
Produced by Bernard Michaux (ACE LU) and Miléna Poylo (ACE FR)

“The Favourite” by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE IE)

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci

“Atlantics” by Mati Diop
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE BE)

European Director

“The Favourite” by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE IE)

“The Traitor” by Marco Bellocchio
Produced by Simone Gatoni (ACE IT) and Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

European Actress

Helena Zengel for
“System Crasher” by Nora Fingscheidt
Produced by Jakob Weydeman (ACE DE)

Olivia Colman for
“The Favourite” by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE IE)

European Actor

Ingvar E. Sogurdsson for
“A White, White Day” by Hlynur Pálmason
Co-produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE DK)

Alexander Scheer for
“Gundermann” by Andreas Dresen
Produced by Claudia Steffen (ACE DE)

Pierfrancesco Favino for
“The Traitor” by Marco Bellocchio
Produced by Simone Gatoni (ACE IT) and Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

The inaugural edition of the ACE Series Special is starting on Monday the 4th of November 2019 and will run until Saturday the 9th of November 2019.

The workshop will be held in Brussels in collaboration with VAF (the Flanders Audiovisual Fund) and supported by Flow Postproduction, Casa Kafka Pictures and Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Flanders, with notable thanks to the recent support of CFAP.

16 experienced producers have been selected to attend the 6-day workshop, representing eleven different countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

Focusing primarily on the creative and financial aspects of TV series production, the ACE Series Special will also offer sessions on distribution, audiences, international approaches and business strategies, with a two-day course in the use of story development tools for TV drama.

The workshop will revolve around group sessions, interactive plenary sessions and one to one meetings conducted by or held with eminent professionals from the TV and wider audiovisual industries: Florentijn Bos (Flow Postproduction), Jules Debrock (Flow Postproduction), Jonas Dornbach (Komplizen Film), Paolo Finotto (Flow Postproduction), Dariusz Jablonski (Apple Film), Denis Leroy (Banijay Studios), Marc Lorber (Lionsgate),  Isabelle Molhant  (Casa Kafka), Emmanuel Oberg (Screenplay Unlimited), Richard Pommerat (Wild Bunch TV), Tatjana Samopjan (Fractal Volcano), Antoine Simkine (Les Films d’Antoine), Gregory Strouk (Wild Bunch TV), Elly Vervloet (VRT), Christian Vesper (Fremantle), Fleur Winters (Lemming Film) and Michele Zatta (RAI Fiction). The group sessions of the workshop will be moderated by Aleksi Bardy (Helsinki Filmi) and Laura Gragg (Freelance).

On Thursday the 7th of November, an open afternoon will be held at the VAF, welcoming Belgian and Dutch producers to participate in sessions on international production and broadcasting.

For more information on the Series Special please contact: series@ace-producers.com

AUSTRIA

“Joy” by Sudabeh Mortezai
Produced by Oliver Neumann (ACE AT)

BRAZIL

“The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão” by Karim Aïnouz
Produced by Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

COLOMBIA

“Monos” by Alejandro Landes
Co-produced by Leontine Petit (ACE NL)

CZECH REPUBLIC

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

FINLAND

“Stupid Young Heart” by Selima Vihunen
Produced by Elli Toivoniemi (ACE FI)

GERMANY

“System Crasher” by Nora Fingscheidt
Produced by Jonas Weydemann (ACE DE)

ICELAND

“A White White Day” by Hlynur Palmason
Co-produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE DK)

ITALY

“The Traitor” by Marco Bellocchio
Produced by Simone Gattoni (ACE IT) and Viola Fügen (ACE DE)

LUXEMBOURG

“Tel Aviv on Fire” by Sameh Zoabi
Produced by Bernard Michaux (ACE LU) and Miléna Poylo (ACE FR)

THE NETHERLANDS

“Instinct” by Halina Reijn
Produced by Laurette Schillings (ACE NL)

PALESTINE

“It Must Be Heaven” by Elia Suleiman
Produced by Thanassis Karathanos (ACE DE) and Serge Noël (ACE CA)

ROMANIA

“The Whistlers” by Corneliu Porumboiu
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE DE) and Janine Jackowski (ACE DE)

SAUDI ARABIA

“The Perfect Candidate” by Haifaa Al Mansour
Produced by Roman Paul (ACE DE)

SENEGAL

“Atlantics” by Mati Diop
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE BE)

URUGUAY

“The Moneychanger” by Federico Veiroj
Co-produced by Hernán Musaluppi (ACE AR) and Claudia Steffen (ACE DE)

ACE Producers is broadening its perspective with a workshop that focuses primarily on animation production. In close collaboration with Screen Skills Ireland and Animation Dingle and support from other key Irish partners – Screen Ireland, BAI, Animation Skillnet, IDA and Animation Ireland – the 4-day workshop will be held from the 18th to the 22nd March 2020. The ACE Animation Special is a hands-on workshop for 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).

ACE Producers’ director Jacobine van der Vloed sees the new workshop as a valuable addition to the programmes that ACE has to offer: “With this initiative we will be enabling producers within our network and beyond to strengthen their skills in the animation field. Through our collaboration with the Animation Dingle festival, Screen Skill Ireland and other partners, we are offering an opportunity to broaden producers’ networks and understanding of animated content.”

Gareth Lee, manager at Screen Skills Ireland, added, “Screen Skills Ireland is delighted to team up with ACE Producers, Animation Dingle, and other key partners to offer this fantastic skills development opportunity. By providing producers with the required skills and knowledge to diversify into animation, this workshop will make an important contribution to the health of the animation industry in Ireland and abroad, as well as support the production of exciting, new animated content.”

Maurice Galway, founder and festival director of Animation Dingle is thrilled to welcome ACE Producers to Dingle: “I know this rich area will offer much inspiration to their work here on the peninsula.”

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 animation production, the ACE Animation Special will also offer sessions on the development process, co-producing, international distribution, audiences and business strategies. The workshop will also include one or more sessions on the different approaches needed for animated TV series as well as offering the producers a chance to work on their projects, have meetings with animation experts and network with their peers.

Visit the ACE Animation Special page for further information and details on how to apply.