With the new year well on its way it is time once again to bring about focus on Frontières and it's ongoing and awesome work to help create more international genre films.
While we would hesitate to call it a divine calling there is something certainly heavanly about their work. Which brings us to their first project of the year, the Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum happening in Amsterdam in February from the 22nd through the 24th.
For the first time a project from South America will participate in a Frontières program. The Monster Within, by filmmaker Rodrigo Susarte (Ventana 2014), is a joint effort from his native Chile and their partner in Europe in Denmark. Prior to this, two projects from Mexico were as far as the LatAm community have come from in the past to participate in a Frontières program.
On the home front there are a number of Canadian projects to look out for. Thomas Robert Lee (Empyrean 2016), Casey Walker (A Little Bit Zombie 2012) and Nicole Dorsey (Delta Venus - in post) will represent the maple leaf this year.
Other notable directors going to Amsterdam with projects include our friend Can Evrenol (Housewife 2017). Spanish filmmaker Miguel Llansó, the director responsible for the 2015 Ethiopian oddity Crumbs is bringing his next project with him, with possibly the best title of the bunch, Jesus Shows You The Way to The Highway. German filmmaker Norbert Keil (Replace 2017) is bringing a the new project Reunion, which he wrote with Richard Stanley.
And finally, both the Frontières Platform in Cannes and the Frontières International Co-Production Market at Fantasia in Montreal are now open for submissions. Follow this link to the official Frontières website to find out more.
Frontières is returning to Amsterdam with a line-up of 13 projects for the 2nd edition of the Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum. Initiated by the Fantasia International Film Festival and the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes, with support from the Netherlands Film Fund, the genre-focused Forum invites to Amsterdam (February 22-24) 13 projects at the late financing stage to work with a select group of industry experts in finance, sales & distribution.After an extremely competitive selection process, this year’s Forum has been expanded to include a 13th project featuring a South American team coming from Chile (THE MONSTER WITHIN, Chile/Denmark). Said Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director, Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes : “We are delighted to open the selection for the Amsterdam Forum to Latin America, thanks to our new partner CinemaChile! The 13th project coming from Chile is very promising!”Moreover the line-up includes 12 European and North American projects with teams behind such films as FREE FIRE, CRUMBS, BASKIN, and THE TRANSFIGURATION. In addition to Chile, the represented countries are Canada, Iceland, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. The schedule of events will be rounded out with a special screening of Frontières alumnus LES AFFAMÉS by Robin Aubert, presented by Telefilm Canada in partnership with the EYE Film Institute and the Imagine Film Festival, as well as expanded networking opportunities for members of the Dutch film industry.“We’re very excited to bring together truly intriguing talents and exceptional industry leaders while in Amsterdam,” said Lindsay Peters, executive director of Frontières. “This year’s Forum selection has an abundance of gifted storytelling, from a sci fi martial arts mini-epic to some truly weird and wonderful fantastic tales - showing that the creative force of the current genre industry is only going to keep growing.”Julie Bergeron, Head of Industry Programs, Marché du Film, added: “After 5 years of continual development, growth, and innovation, Frontières has become the generally acknowledged leader in the genre film industry as a market and networking facilitator, and effectively works to bridge the gap between the genre and arthouse communities. Frontières is proud to have welcome to its past editions successes such as RAW, 78/52, TURBO KID, LES AFFAMÉS, HOUSEWIFE, ERREMENTARI and soon to be revealed ANIMAS.”CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN FOR CANNES PLATFORM & FANTASIA MARKET2018 will also see the 2nd edition of the Frontières Platform in Cannes and the 10th edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market at Fantasia in Montreal. The Frontières Platform in Cannes, a Marché du Film industry program, will include a proof of concept presentation and a buyers’ showcase of work-in-progress films. The Frontières International Co-Production Market will then convene at Fantasia in July with a selection of projects at the development stage.After Amsterdam, Frontières will start preparing for Cannes and then Montreal. The calls for submissions for the Frontières Buyers Showcase in Cannes, as well as the International Co-Production Market at Fantasia in Montreal, are now open. More information on: www.frontieresmarket.comFrontières is co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. The Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum is made possible thanks to the support of the Netherlands Film Fund, Cinema Chile and Telefilm Canada.Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum - Amsterdam, February 22-24, 2018:Complete List of ProjectsBACKGROUND NOISE (USA)Director: Michael O'SheaWriters: Amanda Kagiwada & Michael Ryan Assip and Michael O'SheaProducers: Susan Leber (Susie Q Productions) and Peter Phok(Phok Productions )THE BALLAD OF AUDREY EARNSHAW (Canada/Ireland)Director/Writer: Thomas Robert LeeProducers: Gianna Isabella (Gate 67), Thomas Robert Lee, Julianne Forde & Ruth Treacy (Tailored Films), Marie-Claude Poulin (Executive Producer, MCP Productions), Patrick Ewald (Executive Producer, Epic Pictures)BLACK CONFLUX (Canada)Director/Writer: Nicole DorseyProducers: Michael Solomon (Band With Pictures) Kerry Gamberg (Butter Pictures)CENSOR (UK)Director: Prano Bailey-BondWriters: Prano Bailey-Bond & Anthony FletcherProducer: Helen Jones (Silver Salt Films)JESUS SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIGHWAY (Spain/Estonia/Ethiopia)Director/Writer: Miguel LlansóProducers:: Sergio Uguet de Resayre (Lanzadera Films,) Alasti KinoLAMB (working title) (DÝRIÐ) (Iceland/Sweden)Director: Valdimar JóhannsonWriters: Sjón & Valdimar JóhannsonProducers: Hrönn Kristinsdóttir & Sara Nassim (Go to Sheep), Piodor Gustafsson (Spark)THE MONSTER WITHIN (Chile/Denmark)Director: Rodrigo SusarteWriter: Valeria HofmannProducers: Florencia Larrea & Gregorio González (Forastero), Lene Borglum (Space Rocket Nation)THE PAPER TIGERS (USA)Director/Writer: Tran Quoc BaoProducers: Michael Velasquez, Al'n Duong, Yuji Okumoto, Dan Gildark (Beimo Films LLC)PERIHAN (Turkey)Director/Writer: Can EvrenolProducer: MO Film - Müge BüyüktalaşREUNION (USA/Germany)Director: Norbert KeilWriters: Richard Stanley & Norbert KeilProducers: Gudrun Giddings (G4C Innovation), Sam Sarkar, Daisy Hamilton, Norbert Keil (Wunderbar Film)SEA FEVER (Ireland/Belgium)Director/Writer: Neasa HardimanProducers: Brendan McCarthy & John McDonnell (Fantastic Films), Jean-Yves Roubin, (Frakas Productions)TIN & TINA (TIN Y TINA) (Spain)Director/Writer: Rubin SteinProducer: Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo (La Claqueta PC)WHITAKER (Canada/UK)Director: Casey WalkerWriters: David Suridge & George PerryProducers: Andy Starke, Pete Tombs, Ben Wheatley (Executive Producer) (Rook Films), Casey Walker (Cave Painting Pictures), Jonathan Bronfman (JoBro Productions)