mannheim story second thoughts by zora rux

Source: DFFB

‘Second Thoughts’

The International Film Festival Mannheim Heidelberg is launching a new talent initiative, Cutting Edge Talent Camp. 

The inaugural edition of the Talent Camp will run Nov 9-15.

Zsuzsi Bánkuti, former head of acquisitions at sales company The Match Factory and current Community Coordinator at Locarno Open Doors, is heading the initiative.

The programme is launched under Mannheim Heidelberg’s new festival director Sascha Keilholz and head of programme Frédéric Jaeger; the festival already has a long history of supporting new talents, including programming the first films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Frederick Wiseman.

The organisers have selected rising German talents who are working on first or second features. Bánkuti explains that the Camp is not a project market and instead “is more about sharing international perspective for the talents.” The directors and producers don’t have to be German born but have to have studied in Germany.

Mentors and experts taking part in workshops, masterclasses and roundtables with the talents will include Ido Abram (Eye International), Paolo Bertolin (Venice, Cannes Directors’ Fortnight), Alexis Hofmann (BAC Films), Julien Razafindranaly (Films Boutique), Titus Kreyenberg (Una Film), Paz Lazaro (Berlinale) and Marcin Luczaj (New Europe Film Sales).

In line with Germany’s current pandemic rules, the inaugural edition will take place online only, but the hope is it will be a physical meeting in future years. Bánkuti also hopes in future years the Camp can also partner with high-profile film schools in other countries.

Partners/backers for the Talent Camp include Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media(BKM) and Media and Film Society Baden – Württemberg (MFG).

Bánkuti says, “Germany is too big sometimes; many amazing talents can disappear there before going international. I would give them a chance to try it the other way around.”

The selected 10 participants for 2020 are:

Eva Hoffmann (director, Academy of Media Arts Cologne), in early development with her first feature Fly on Green Ice Cream

Tamer Jandali (director, Academy of Media Arts Cologne), previously directed Easy Loveand is in development with his second feature Resistance

Eva Knopf (director, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg), previously directed documentaries Majubs’s Journey and Myanmarketand now in development on hybrid feature Kintsugi

Henrika Kull (director, University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf), previously directed Jibriland now has her second feature in post

Borbála Nagy (director, German Film and Television Academy Berlin) in development on first feature Nothing to See Here, a Hungary-German co-production

Roxana Richters (producer at Chromosom Film, German Film and Television Academy Berlin), in post with Florian Hoffman’s first feature Stille Postand in development on his second feature Time of the Monsters

Anna Roller (director, graduate of University of Television and Film Münich), previously directed the award-winning short The Last Children of Paradise, now developing her first feature Dead Girls Dancing

Zora Rux (director, German Film and Television Academy Berlin), in post with her first feature Second Thoughts

Mariam Shatberashvili (producer, German Film and Television Academy Berlin), now in post with Alexandro Koberidze’s TheWind Has Blown(working title)

Sara Summa (director, German Film and Television Academy Berlin) previously directed The Last To See Them, now in development with her second feature A Safe Place

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