The Croatian short feature film “Stain” by screenwriter and director Sara Alavanić and producer Lucija Perić was declared the best project of the workshop, while a special award was given to the Greek short feature film “Hero” by screenwriter and director Alexandros Rellos!
DKE - MEDIA offices from Croatia, Austria, Greece and the Film Center of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Mediterranean Film Festival Split, organized from 14 to 18 June a workshop called How to develop and present projects for the international market, culminating in the pitching forum.
The focus of the workshop itself was to guide professionals and provide adequate answers to questions about the most effective ways of preparing and presenting one's own project to the professionals – producers, distributors and sales representatives, but at the same time to the general public.
The experienced and renowned German film producer Roshanak Behesht Nedjad was in charge of conducting the workshop (her recent films “Mission Ulja Funk” (2021), “Delegation” (2023) premiered as part of the Berlin International Film Festival). Behesht Nedjad is a member of the European and German Film Academy and a graduate and mentor of the most famous European educational program for film producers EAVE – European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs.
After the end of the workshop, the culmination of which was the pitching forum, the committee consisting of producer Roshanak Behesht Nedjad (In Good Film), marketing and distribution expert Christina Pelekani (Endorphin Film Sales) and head of DKE – Croatian MEDIA Office, Martina Petrović, decided to allocate the financial amount of 1,500 euros under the sponsorship of UJE d.o.o., a long-term partner of the Mediterranean Film Festival Split, to the short feature film “Stain” by screenwriter and director Sara Alavanić and producer Lucija Perić as the best project of the workshop.
The committee explained their decision with the following words:
“Stain” is the project that will benefit the most from the financial award. It's a skater film told from a female perspective, and the focus is on a generation that was lost and found. The film is fresh, highly visual and entertaining at the same time.
Also, the committee decided to award a special award to the Greek short film “Hero” by screenwriter and director Alexandros Rellos and explained their decision with the following words:
A special mention was given to the Greek short film “Hero” for its unique take on the question “Is there an expiration date for heroes?”.
A total of eight projects were selected to participate in the workshop: the Austrian project “Soldier” by screenwriter and director Vivian Bausch, the Montenegrin project “At the height of the season” by screenwriter and director Zvonimir Grujić and producer Miljan Vučelić, two Greek projects, “Hero” by screenwriter and director Alexander Rellos and “Swimming on rocks” by screenwriter and director Marija Tsioli and producer Eva Gavriilidou, and four Croatian projects: “Stain” by screenwriter and director Sara Alavanić and producer Lucija Perić, “Nature and Poetry” by screenwriter and director Jasna Safić, “180 Days of Stubbornness” by screenwriter and director Luka Čurčić and “Here comes the summer” by screenwriter and director Ante Marin.
We would like to thank all the participants of the workshop for their active engagement and dedicated work, the partners DKE – Offices from Austria and Greece, as well as the Film Center of Montenegro, and the Mediterranean Film Festival Split, which for the second year in a row is on the list of European festivals supported by Creative Europa MEDIA. The pitching workshop with which we jointly strengthen cross-border cooperation is an integral part of this year's celebration of “15 years of success: MEDIA and Croatia”.
