The exchange of information between East and Western Europe on trends in film development, producing and marketing in their respective markets is to receive a boost through a new venture entitled Crossings, which has been devised by Berlin-based Script House and will be launched at next week's Transilvanian Film Festival in Cluj (Romania) from June 2-6.

Speakers at the Cluj workshop will include Script House CEO Juergen Seidler, script analyst Franz Rodenkirchen, distributor/marketing expert Juergen Fabritius, Romanian writer-director Cristi Puiu, Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung CEO Manfred Schmidt, Israel Film Fund's managing director Katriel Schory, Eurimages' executive secretary Renate Roginas, No Man's Land producer Cedomir Kolar and Christina Kallas of the Balkan Film Fund.

The first Crossings workshop in Cluj will be followed by similar events between June and December 2004 in Slovenia, Serbia, Albania, and Germany organised in regional partnerships with the Slovenian Film Fund and Cultural Association, Belgrade's Institute Za Film, the Albanian Cineaste Association, and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

According to the organisers, these workshops are targeted at "on the one hand, professional producers, writers and directors and, on the other hand, the next up-and-coming generation. We also want to address governmental and public decision makers and invite them to the conferences to get a better understanding of filmmaking."