Producers LINK 2022

Rea Apostolides studied ancient and modern Greek History at Oxford University and produces documentaries for Anemon in Athens. Recent work includes When Tomatoes Met Wagner (2019, Berlinale, Greek entry for the 2020 Academy Awards, Arte, NHK); Citizen Europe (2019, Arte, Screen Ireland, CNC, Bulgarian Film Center, RTE, ERT, RTP); Berlinale Teddy Award winner Obscuro Barroco (2018), and Dolphin Man (2018, ARTE, CNC, WOWOW, Greek Film Centre, Knowledge, TVO, ERT, CYBC, SVT, Yes DBS, TSR). Rea also runs CineDoc and CineDoc Kids, that monthly screen award-winning documentaries and films for children across Greece. She was founder and co-ordinator of Moving Docs, an EDN-run network for the pan European distribution and promotion of documentaries.

Anemon
Based in Athens, Anemon produces films for the international market and is dedicated to creating projects that draw attention to intercultural understanding and the environment. In parallel, it has steadily invested in building an audience for documentaries and films for children in Greece. In 2010, it founded CineDoc, a film distribution network that organises monthly event screenings in cinemas, schools and cultural venues across Greece. The company also creates ancillary products to facilitate the audience engagement of each film. The company has recently completed Disasters and Triumphs, a seven-part landmark historical series for SKAI TV Greece; The Greek Bar Jacket, a documentary about the Greek artisans behind DIOR’s 2022 Collection, and Antoine the Fortunate, a Greek-French-Austrian co-production. Films co-produced by Anemon as a minority producer include Venus De Milo (Yuzu, France), Marble Travelogue (Muyi Film, Holland), Long Way to Ithaca (Bassim Pictures, South Korea) & Mediterranean Under Siege (Boreales, France).

A man of many parts with a love for animated entertainment, Head of Studio Mikołaj Błoński acts as all kinds of producer: creative, line & executive. In 2018 Mikołaj joined Pigeon Studio. He worked as part of a Production Manager team that spearheaded organizational efforts to introduce new quality of explainer videos to the Polish market. Then, from 2020, Mikołaj moved to the newly created feature animation service studio branch – Pigeon Productions. As a creative producer, Mikołaj does hands-on work with scriptwriters, story artists, illustrators, animators and musicians to create a flawless workflow for every kind of project. As line producer, Mikołaj is responsible for maintaining open communication channels with all production departments with other parties to manage the quality expectations of each project, and to serve as the “face” of Pigeon Productions for outsiders. As executive producer he takes care of all financial & paperwork of the studio and works on its development strategy. Besides animation Mikołaj is a natural wine & craft beer enthusiast!

Pigeon Productions
A newly created branch of the Pigeon Studios family, Pigeon Productions is a studio providing animation services, founded by free-spirited producers whose drive is to make sure that each creative project they undertake makes a point. We bring our skills and love of animated entertainment into everything we do, from shorts to full feature films. The main area of our activity is the animation service for preschool films and series. At the moment we are working on two commissioned cartoon series, eight shorts films and we are finishing three developments.

Rosa Duvekot obtained a master’s degree in film studies at the University of Antwerp. She worked as a researcher and line producer in the Netherlands on documentaries such as Now Something is Slowly Changing and the youth film Foreplay. In 2019-2020 she joined the European program Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris to extend her knowledge of producing fiction films and international co-productions. Afterward, she started working at the Belgian company A Private View, where she worked on the series Mister Paper and Rusty 2 and the feature films My Dad is a Sausage and Sea Sparkle. In September she will start a new adventure at the Belgian production company Cassette for timescapes.

Cassette for timescapes
Cassette for timescapes produces films and XR projects that combine innovative vision and social or political engagement. With our projects we like nothing better than to defy the rules and cross over the boundaries between genres. With a main focus on creative documentaries, we also produce fiction films, television series and interactive projects. Cassette for timescapes has successfully co-produced with the US, UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands and aims at distributing its films worldwide through a tailor-made impact strategy for each project. With Cassette for timescapes we want to make work of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by making films that portray one or more SDGs; by setting up partnerships that help to achieve these various goals; by endorsing impact campaigns that focus on the SDG themes and feed the debate in a constructive, nuanced way.

Giannis Exintaris has been a creative producer for the last 28 years (1994-2022). He has produced feature films, several TV shows and commercials, shorts, music videos, documentaries, musicals and various events. His work has won awards at festivals across 4 continents. Excellence in quality and innovation have always been his main aims, and have driven him to invest in cutting edge technology and partnerships with high-end professionals. He is a graduate of the UK National Film and Television School (Entrepreneurial Business course – CBEE).

Feelgood Entertainment
Feelgood is the leading film and distribution company in Greece and Cyprus, a well-known and beloved movie brand and a trustworthy partner of artists and industry stakeholders. It is a company that combines quality, commerciality and business ethics across all its endeavours. Feelgood is the theatrical agent of THE WALT DISNEY Co. (Disney, Marvel. Lucas, 20th Century) and SONY PICTURES and is also very active in the field of acquisition of independent and Greek films, as well as co-production. Feelgood is also the biggest non-theatrical distributor through its collaboration with FILMBANK, under the label THE MOVIE SAFE. It has a wide portfolio of prestigious independent & Greek films, handling all rights and acting as co-producer and sales agent.

Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer produced feature-length non-fiction such as the award-winning The Graveyard of the Illegals since 2009 before she co-founded elemag pictures in late 2014 and expanded into fiction. She has since co-produced Emre Kayis’ The Anatolian Leopard, awarded with the FIPRESCI Award at TIFF 2021; Vincent Cardona’s Magnetic Beats, awarded the Prix SACD at Director`s Fortnight Cannes 2021, and Sonia Liza Kentermann’s Tailor (Black Nights Film Festival 2020). Roman Bondarchuk’s fiction debut Volcano premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Filmfest Munich 2018 and has since travelled to more than 45 international film festivals, picking up, in the process, a dozen awards. Tanja is an EAVE Producers Workshop alumna, has represented in 2020 Germany as European Producer on the Move and is a member of EWA, DAE, Produzentenverband, AG Dok and the European Film Academy.

Elemag pictures
Elemag pictures is a Germany-based film production company (based out of Gera/Thüringen) focusing on developing, co-producing & producing high-quality international films with a strong appeal to large audiences worldwide. Founded in late 2014 by Borislav and Viktor Chouchkov, Jan Krüger and Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer, elemag pictures’ trademark is very high-artistic quality and remarkable human stories of originality, capable of engaging audiences around the globe. The Elemag pictures associates are recognized and multi-awarded at numerous national and international film festivals, and within professional networks, the European Producers Club, Documentary Association of Europe, EAVE, Atelier Cinema d´Europe and the European Film Academy.

Kjersti Greger has a background working in the Scandinavian film industry for about 20 years, but has just recently started as a film producer for the Norwegian company Klipp og Lim in Trondheim. With 7 years experience as a Norwegian film commissioner and industry advisor for the mid regions of Norway, she has a good look from the other side of the producer’s table, but handling the creative development and finance of bigger formats is still a challenge and a work in progress she enjoys to its fullest. Since the beginning of 2021 she has completed two short films and started development on two TV series within the company. She’s also attached as a Norwegian minor co-producer on the development of an Icelandic-Norwegian-Belgian feature film for children.

Klipp og Lim
Klipp og Lim was established in 2001 as a creative agency in Norway and has, besides agency work, delivered many short films and TV series for Norwegian broadcasting and festivals/markets. Within the company we work with both live action and animation, with a focus on productions in 2D and puppet animation. At the moment we have two TV series and a feature co-production in development.

Marte Hansen started her career as a producer of award-winning short films like Quiet on Set and Explosions in the Heart. In total, she has produced more than 15 short films, including her graduation film from The Norwegian Film School, The Culture, which won more than 12 international awards. In 2022 she premiered the feature film Battle: Freestyle, a youth dance film which was produced in collaboration with Netflix. Currently she is at the finishing stages of the co-production Sister, What Grows where the Land is Sick? (2022) which is set for competition at this year’s Locarno Film Festival.

Hummelfilm
Hummelfilm is an Oslo-based company which has produced a variety of features, documentaries, and television series since being established in 2011. Amongst many others, they produced the feature films Føniks (2017) and Nothing to Laugh About (2021). Hummelfilm has worked closely with Yellow Bird since 2013. Together they have produced 3 seasons of the internationally acclaimed TV-series Occupied (2015-2020) and are currently in post-production on the TV series Headhunters. Hummelfilm has co-produced several films such as The German Doctor, Captain Sabertooth, Underdog, Daniel, Så jävla Easy Going, and Den siste våren.

Kaja Jałocha is a graduate of the Polish National Film School in Lodz and has been a participant at several workshops including Script Circle, Script Consultant Training at Atelier Scenariuszowe and KIPA’s Accelerator for Young Entrepreneurs of the AV Sector. She worked as assistant to the producer at Aurum Film and was involved in such productions as Corpus Christi and Leave no Traces. Currently, she is a development executive at Shipsboy. Among other projects, she is working with Ewa Rozenbajgier on a sequel to the family comedy Detective Bruno.

Shipsboy
Shipsboy is a Warsaw-based production company working on fiction feature films and serialized content. Founded in 2013, it is managed by Joanna Szymańska, a producer with 15 years of experience. Shipsboy’s main focus is on original stories with the potential to reach wide audiences, both nationally and globally. Our recent credits include the family adventure comedy Detective Bruno and Operation Hyacinth (Netflix Original), a critically acclaimed crime drama and winner of Best Polish Film Award at IFF EnergaCamerimage 2021 as well as Best Polish Script at Gdynia FF. Shipsboy is a member of the Polish Producers Alliance.

Thea Benedikte Karlsen graduated from Kingston University in 2015 where she took a bachelor in Film Studies. Since then she has worked within the Norwegian film industry. She started as a runner and production secretary, but quickly moved up to work as a freelance production coordinator between 2015 and 2018. From 2018 she started working full-time as an in-house co-ordinator at Fantefilm. In 2019 she was promoted to Junior Producer and last year she moved up to be a producer. She is now currently working as a producer at Fantefilm and her first film, Teddy’s Christmas, is currently in post-production. At the same time she is working with developing a new children’s and family film, which is a mixture of live action and animation. In her time at Fantefilm she has worked on films such as The Quake (2018), Forgotten Christmas (2019) Betrayed (2020) and Teddy’s Christmas (2022).

Fantefilm
Fantefilm is a leading production company in Norway which aspires to produce larger-than-life movies for a big cinema audience. Their projects are true to their genre, with in-depth characters pitched into extraordinary situations. Their first feature film, Cold Prey, broke all Norwegian box office records within the horror/slasher genre. Fantefilm introduced disaster films to Scandinavia in 2015 when The Wave hit Norwegian theatres and became one of the biggest Norwegian-produced box office hits. The sequel The Quake (2018) became the number one box office film of 2018. In 2016 Fantefilm released its first children’s and family film Santa Swap (2016), based on a novel by Alf Prøysen. The film broke box office records in Norway within the genre. Since then, the company has produced a second family film, Forgotten Christmas (2019) and very soon a third with Teddy’s Christmas. Previously, Fantefilm produced the Cold Prey trilogy (2006, 2008, 2010), Jackpot (2011), Ragnarok (2013), Betrayed (2020) and The North Sea (2021).

Maria Kempken lives in Leipzig and is both an actress (who graduated with distinction) and a graduate of the filmmaker program TP2 Talentpool (focusing on production & dramaturgy, 2020-2021). She has more than 15 years of professional experience in theater, film and television. Since 2019, she has developed, wrote, produced and distributed the comedy series einfach Maria together with producer Joachim Weiler. In March 2022, the show had its German TV broadcast (MDR & ARD Mediathek). With einfach Maria she was invited to various international series festivals and won, among others, the RTL Startup Prize for the best series concept. With her production company Black Mary Films she was selected by the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) as a producer for the startup initiative MEDIAstart. As a writer and producer, Maria Kempken develops film and series concepts with a focus on TV and streaming platforms. She works closely with the Cologne production company FFP New Media.

Black Mary Films
Black Mary Films was founded by Maria Kempken in Leipzig in 2021 and was selected in the same year by the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) as one of 10 young companies from central Germany for the MEDIAstart start-up program. The company currently focuses on the development of fictional film and series material, also as a satellite co-operation with the Cologne production company FFP New Media. The first film to be produced under the Black Mary Films label is the graduation film Anna (30min), a novel adaptation of Jostein Gaarder’s youth novel ‘2084.’ The film is being made as a co-production with the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and was shot in Norway and Germany in 2022. The premiere is planned for 2023. The director is Jonathan Behr.

Founder of Cornelius Films and executive producer, Mikel Mas this year produced the animated series Mironins (broadcast by RTVE, TVC, Àpunt, Ketnet, and recently purchased by TF1 and multiple platforms in China), and Mironins – the Movie (winner of a Gaudí Award, nominated for a Goya, and presented at festivals such as Cinekid, Ecran Jeunesse in France, and CHIFF in Australia). Mikel Mas is developing his first stop motion animated feature as a producer, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irene Iborra, in co-production with France (Vivement Lundi !). It already has the participation of RTVE, the Spanish broadcaster, and TVC, the Catalan broadcaster. It also has the support of ICAA (The Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, Spain) and ICEC (Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies, Catalonia).

Cornelius Films
Cornelius Films develops and produces fiction, documentary and animation projects. This year the company produced the animated series Mironins (broadcast by RTVE, TVC, Àpunt, Ketnet, and recently purchased by TF1 and multiple platforms in China), and Mironins – the Movie (winner of a Gaudí Award, nominated for a Goya, and presented in festivals such as Cinekid, Ecran Jeunesse in France, and CHIFF in Australia). Cornelius Films is developing its first stop motion animated feature as a producer, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irene Iborra, in co-production with France (Vivement Lundi !). It already has the participation of RTVE, the Spanish broadcaster, and TVC, the Catalan broadcaster. It also has the support of ICAA (The Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, Spain) and ICEC (Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies, Catalonia).

Nikos Moustakas is the Administrative Manager of the Athens-based production company Bad Crowd. Nikos has been in the film business since the 1980s, producing a varied filmography of more than 50 feature films, documentaries and mini TV-series throughout his career, including international co-productions with France, Germany, Turkey, Serbia, Romania, Argentina, Norway and Cyprus among others.

Bad Crowd
Bad Crowd specializes in film & TV mini-series and our editorial line concerns art films, TV mini-series and documentaries with strong stories and social issues. Through our international network of artists, we aim to create artworks all over the world. We have produced a great number of films that have been both selected for, and awarded at, international festivals. Bad Crowd aims for every project to be a part of a co-production, and thus we co-operate with France, Germany, Turkey, Serbia, Romania, Argentina, Norway and Cyprus among others. Also, we participate in programs supported by Creative Europe and Eurimages.

Maaike Neve graduated from the University of Amsterdam in Media & Culture. She wrote her thesis on Dutch Children’s movies and conducted a lot of research into the representation of kids in the medium. In 2014 she did an internship at BIND, at which point her passion for films and stories became even greater, leading to her being taken on as Assistant Production Manager across a number of diverse films and series. Since 2016 she has worked at BIND as a Junior Producer where she is also closely involved in the development of new films. In 2018 she was part of LIM (Less is More) as a script development trainee. At Cinekid 2018 Maaike was part of the Producers Program and in 2020 she attended Rotterdam Lab at IFFR. Recently she was an ACE participant. Maaike produced, among other projects, the much-praised, award-winning feature film My Extraordinary Summer with Tess and the 4-time Golden Calf-winning feature film The Judgement.

BIND
BIND’s objective is to tell striking, unique stories that move and inspire, that open eyes and take root. BIND develops and produces genuine, provocative films about real people and the quest for their identity. Films that have proven to be a powerful way to portray contemporary topics in an intriguing or surprising manner. Our aim is to create an effective connection between engaged filmmakers and their audience. BIND productions have been awarded with an International an Emmy, a Silver Bear, TIFF awards, a Prix Jeunesse and several Golden Calves including Best Film, as well as nominated for an IFFR Tiger Award, a SXSW Grand Jury award, Crystal Bear etc. My Extraordinary Summer with Tess was awarded the Special Mention by Generation jury at Berlinale 2019.

After Nicky Onstenk finished her bachelor’s degree of Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam in 2015, she started studies at the Netherlands Film Academy. She graduated in 2019 with the graduation film Porfotto (nominated for a Student Academy Award 2020). After graduation she started working for IJswater Films. Last year she produced the short film Spotless by Emma Branderhorst, that won the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale Film Festival and Best Dutch Short Film at Cinekid Festival. At the moment she’s working on multiple projects that are focused on youth, such as the short Magma (directed by Luca Meisters) and the documentary Luc (directed by Tim Bary). Numerous features and documentaries are in development.

IJswater Films
Amsterdam-based production company IJswater Films (‘Icewater Films’) has been producing high quality features, shorts, documentaries and TV dramas by emerging or established talent for almost 25 years. Titles include a.o. The Polish Bride (Cannes Critics Choice, Golden Globe Nominee), The New World (Int. Emmy Award Best Actress), the NL/BE/RO co-production In Blue (Best Feature Austin IFF, Winner 3 Dutch Academy Awards), the French-language L’été et tout le reste (Venice Orizzonti, TIFF, Winner Best Dutch Short), Father (Locarno FF, Nomination Best Dutch short documentary), the Spanish-spoken feature La última primavera/Last Days of Spring (selection Cannes Acid, Winner New Directors Award San Sebastian Film Festival), the shorts Nova by Luca Meisters (Buff Malmö FF 2021) and the pre-school children series Kabam! In 2021 Spotless (winner Berlinale Crystal Bear) was released. This fall the children’s film Until Sunset will be broadcast on Dutch television and The Man from Rome by Jaap van Heusden will premiere.

Maks Piłasiewicz graduated from Cultural Studies – Science of Culture (Visual Anthropology) at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. Since 2014 he has collaborated with various film festivals, among them Reykjavik International Film Festival, the Warsaw Film Festival, etc. Beside his film festival experiences, Maks was producing and co-ordinating various projects and events related to the international film industry. He is still associated with the Iceland Documentary Film Festival and Żubroffka International Short Film Festival as a programmer, advisor and head of guest service. In 2020 he joined Animoon’s team. He oversees international co-productions and project development. He is working on various projects within the Animoon portfolio.

Animoon
Animoon produces animated projects of high artistic and narrative quality, mainly based on original ideas. The studio portfolio consists of short and full-length animated films and animated series, with projects dedicated to a wide audience – starting from youngest viewers, through teenage, families and onto adults. Animoon works closely with executive producers who specialise in different animation techniques, hence the artistic variety of the studio’s portfolio. Animoon’s productions are made with audiences both from Poland and abroad in mind. Each one of our projects is developed and promoted as a separate brand. Animoon is constantly looking for interesting projects across all formats in which we could be involved as a co-producer or producer.

Maarten Schmidt founded Storyhouse in 2013, after working in The Netherlands. He worked in the creative and production department on 30 films, most of which are documentaries with one Cannes-selected feature fiction: Blue Bird. All have been broadcast, some with an international theatrical release and some were awarded at major film festivals.

Storyhouse
Storyhouse focuses on youth content, bold investigative documentaries and true story fiction. Maarten is now seeking financing for a new youth animation series by Mariana Cadenas and two feature length documentaries by Quentin Noirfalisse, Friedrich Moser and Guido Verelst as well as a developed script for a teen fiction film by writer Johan Vandevelde.

Maša Udovičić has been involved in the animation business for more than 20 years working as an animator and compositing artist on films, TV series and commercials. For the last 12 years she has been working as a producer and in 2013 founded the Zagreb-based animation studio Luma Film. She has produced 12 short animated films (two were co-productions) and one educational animated series. In addition to producing animation, her interest focuses on the popularisation of the form, organising educational programs for professionals and for kids. For four years she ran a national branch of ASIFA and organized animation evenings and the International Animation Day in Zagreb. In 2019 she founded the School of Animation for Children at the Tuškanac Cinema. She is a member of HRUP (Croatian Producers Association).

Luma Film
Founded in 2013 in Zagreb, we have eight permanent associates and one employee. In the production of animated content, our focus is on 2D animation. We produce 2D author animated films, series, commercials and educational videos. We run programs with a goal to popularize animation among young people. We co-operate with producers of other film genres and provide consultations about the use of animation.

Marija Vlahović graduated at the Faculty of Visual Arts in Podgorica, majoring in Audiovisual Production. She studied film production at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. In 2016 she started her professional career and in 2017 started working for the production company Artikulacija Film. In 2019 she joined Aba Film where she has worked on over 20 projects (documentaries, feature films, commercials, music videos, TV series and theatre festivals) performing various production roles. Currently, she is working on two projects, a documentary and a feature film, both supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro. She lives in Podgorica.

ABA Film
Established in 2019, ABA Film is a production company and film equipment rental firm in Montenegro. Beside production and international co-production, Aba Film offers full production services in Montenegro.

Max de Wolf graduated from the Production Programme at the Netherlands Film Academy in 2016. After completing his studies he started as a junior producer at production company HALAL, where he supported filmmakers making advertisements, music videos, short films and features. At Topkapi Max will focus on working with young talent. He just finished shooting feature film Happy Ending by Joosje Duk, which is part of the Netflix New Voices Competition and will probably be released in 2023. As well as this, Max is developing a youth film Alma by writers Saar Ponsioen and Emily Reekers, which was part of the Cinekid Script Lab in 2019.

Topkapi Films
Topkapi develops and (co)produces television series, feature films and non-fiction projects for the Dutch and international market. With over twenty years experience, Topkapi focuses on extensive development and thrives to build long-term relationships with writers, directors and producers. Topkapi Films is run by producers Frans van Gestel, Arnold Heslenfeld and Laurette Schillings. Producer Max de Wolf focuses on working with new talent. Robert Oey leads Topkapi’s non-fiction department. Titles successfully (co)produced by the company include Another Round (Druk), Instinct, Girl, Tailgate, Layla M., Benedetta and the major period drama series Turbulent Skies.