Cristina Grosan’s mob drama Lesdenzero is one of 11 feature film projects selected for Central Stage, the showcase of titles from Central Europe at the industry programme of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF, July 3-11).
Grosan has co-written the film with Arne Kohlweyer, for producer Marek Novak. Lesdenzero is a Czech Republic-Switzerland-Hungary-Romania co-production, which is currently in development.
Scroll down for the list of Central Stage and Book-to-Screen projects
Hungarian-Romanian filmmaker Grosan has directed two previous features, including sci-fi Ordinary Failures, which debuted in Giornate degli Autori at Venice in 2022.
Run for the first time last year, the Central Stage platform showcases feature projects of established filmmakers in late-stage development, production or post-production.
This year’s selection also includes two Ukrainian features: Antonio Lukich’s Screaming Girl, and Marysia Nikitiuk’s Noah.
The projects will be showcased through conversations about the filmmakers’ career paths and co-production possibilities across the participating Central European countries. Projects in development will be eligible for the €20,000 ($23,203) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at the KVIFF industry awards.
The Central Stage showcase will take place at 2pm CEST on Monday, July 6.
Book showcase
KVIFF has also selected eight books by authors from Central and Eastern Europe for its inaugural Book-to-Screen showcase.
Producers seeking new material for film and television adaptations can attend a presentation of the books at 10.30am CEST on Tuesday, July 7.
The titles include Iulian Ciocan’s Queen Of Hearts, a dystopian satire set in post-communist Chisinau, Moldova; and Adam Robinski’s children’s title The River Odyssey Of Kora From Willow Meadow, about a young beaver named Kora.
“Our long-term ambition with Book-to-Screen at KVIFF is to become a true Central-Eastern European IP market that helps develop dialogue between the film and publishing industries and create a more transparent environment for adaptation rights in the region,” said Hugo Rosak, head of KVIFF Film Industry Programs.
KVIFF industry titles
Central Stage
The Flying Mountain (Switz-Ire-Austria) wri-dir. Nicolas Steiner; prods. Katrin Renz, Stefan Jäger, Nicolas Steiner, David Collins, Eamon Hughes, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Bady Minck
Screaming Girl (Ukr-Ire) dir. Antonio Lukich; wris. Antonio Lukich, Ailbhe Keoghan; prods. Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko, Jessie Fisk, Annie Barclay
Noah (Ukr-Cro-Bel) wri-dir. Marysia Nikitiuk; prods. Igor Savychenko, Hrvoje Osvadić, Sébastien Delloye
Lesdenzero (Czech-Switz-Hun-Rom) dir. Cristina Grosan; wris. Arne Kohlweyer, Cristina Grosan; prod. Marek Novak
The Stones Are Rolling To Prague (Czech-Slovakia) wri-dir. Tomas Hodan; prods. Jakub Kraus, Martin Palán, Tibor Búza
A Few Branches Off (Czech) wri-dir. Tomas Pavlicek; prods. Eva Váchová, Pavel Vácha
Tribe (Pol-Alb) wri-dir. Olga Chajdas; prod. Karolina Galuba
Trainrider (Ger) dir. Sebastian Fritzsch; wris. Jan Bredehoft, Sebastian Fritzsch; prods. Corinna C. Poetter, Daniel Ehrenberg
Yugoslavia, My Fatherland (Slovenia-N Mac-Ser) dir. Goran Vojnovic; wris. Goran Vojnovic, Aleksandar Popovski; prods. Boštjan Ikovic, Miloš Ivanović
Cowgirl (Slovakia-Czech-Hun) dir. Michal Blasko; wri. Jakub Medvecky; prods. Jakub Viktorín, Tomáš Hrubý
Hansi (Austria) dir. Sebastian Brauneis; wris. Sebastian Brauneis, Helmut Emersberger; prod. Ulrich Gehmacher
Book-to-Screen
Playing Wolf (Czech) by Zuzana Rihova
The True Way Out (Czech) by Patrik Banga
Cupid At The Kremlin Wall (Geo) by Aka Morchiladze
Aspic Bistro (Lith) by Ieva Dumbryte
Queen Of Hearts (Mol) by Iulian Ciocan
The River Odyssey Of Kora From Willow Meadow (Pol) by Adam Robinski
The Zone (Slovakia) by Daniel Majling
Amadoka (Ukr) by Sophia Andrukhovych
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