SAME BUT DIFFERENT (Detlev Buck, Germany) 

by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor

With nearly a third of the films on offer in Toronto coming from the European continent, the Festival is a very important launching pad for both established and emerging talents to make an impression in North America. That is why the support of the European Film Promotion organization, a conglomeration of the governmental promotion offices from across the continent, is so vital to bring recognition and visibility in a very crowded festival field.

Specifically, EFP's Film Sales Support (FSS) financially supports the promotion and marketing of 55 films from across Europe in Toronto this year. It's the highest number of European films ever supported by FSS on an international film festival since the initiative was launched six years ago. EFP's activities in Toronto are backed by the Media Programme  of the European Union.

This year, Toronto screens about 120 European films out of a total of 335 productions from 64 countries. Almost half of the films are benefiting from Film Sales Support. Last year, 68 percent of the FSS supported films in Toronto were sold to non-European countries, mainly to North and South America but also to Asia, Russia and the Middle-East. FSS not only covers half of the promo costs for films selected for Toronto which are unsold to North America but also pays towards the travel costs of some of the talent. 

Here is the complete list of international sales companies and the films screening in Toronto supported by this crucial initiative:

Bavaria Media (Germany)

Deliver us from Evil (Fri os fra det onde) by Ole Bornedal, Denmark, Sweden 2009
Phantom Pain (Phantomschmerz) by Matthias Emcke, Germany 2009
 

Celluloid Dreams (France)

Vincere by Marco Bellochio, Italy 2009
Vision (Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen) by Margarethe von Trotta Germany, France 2009

Coach 14 (France)

Police, Adjective (Politist, Adjective) by Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania 2009

ContentFilm International (UK)

Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold, UK, The Netherlands 2009

Coproduction Office (France)

Lourdes by Jessica Hausner, Austria, Germany, France 2009
Women Without Men by Shirin Neshat, Germany, Austria, France 2009
 

Corazón International (Germany)

Once Upon a Time Proletarian by Xiaolu Guo, UK, Germany 2009

Doc & Film International (France)

My Queen Karo by Dorothée van der Berghe, Belgium, The Netherlands 2009
The Danse - The Paris Opera Ballet (La Danse) by Frederick Wiseman, France, USA 2009

Ealing Studios (UK)

Dorian Grey by Oliver Parker, UK 2009

Filmax International, Sogedasa (Spain)

REC 2 by Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza, Spain 2008
V.O.S. by Cesc Gay, Spain 2009

Films Boutique (Germany)

She, a Chinese by Xiaolu Guo, UK, France, Germany 2009
The Happiest Girl in the World (Cea mai fericita fata oin lume) by Radu Jude, Romania, The Netherlands 2009
To Die Like a Man (Morrer como un homem) by Joao Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal, France 2009

Films Distribution (France)

Cell 211 (Celda 211) by Daniel Monzon, Spain 2009
La Pivellina by Rainer Frimmel & Tizza Covi, Austria, Italy 2009
Same Same But Different by Detlev Buck, Germany 2009

Fortissimo Films (The Netherlands)

The Last Days of Emma Blank (De laatste dagen van Emma Blank) by Alex van Warmerdam The Netherlands, Belgium 2009

Handmade Films (UK)

Cracks by Jordan Scott, UK, Ireland 2009

HanWay Films (UK)

Creation by Jon Amiel, UK 2009
Perrier's Bounty by Ian FitzGibbon, Ireland, UK 2009
Triage by Danis Tanovic, Ireland, Spain, France 2009

Intramovies (Italy)

Giulia Doesn't Date at Night (Giulia non esce la sera) by Giuseppe Piccioni, Italy 2009

Le Pacte (France)

The Refuge (The Refuge) by François Ozon, France 2009

Les Films du Losange (France)

The Day Will Come (Es kommt der Tag) by Susanne Schneider, Germany, France 2009

m-appeal (Germany)

Slovenian Girl (Slovenka) by Damjan Kozole, Slovenia, Germany, Croatia, Serbia 2009

Mirmar Film Production (Norway)

Together (Sammen) by Matias Armand Jordal, Norway 2009

MK2 (France)

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (L'enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot) by Serge Bromberg & Ruxandra Medrea, France 2009
The Day God Walked Away (Le jour ou dieu est parti en voyage) by Philippe van Leeuw, Belgium, France 2009
The Misfortunates (De Helaasheid Der Dingen) by Felix van Groeningen, Belgium, The Netherlands 2009

Protagonist Pictures (UK)

The Unloved by Samantha Morton, UK 2009

Pyramide (France)

Hadewijch by Bruno Dumont, France, Germany 2009
Irene by Alain Cavalier, France 2009
Leaving (Partir) by Catherine Corsini, France 2009
 

Roissy Films (France)

I, Don Giovanni ( Io, Don Giovanni) by Carlos Saura, Italy, Spain 2009

Sola Media (Germany)

Turtle: The Incredible Journey by Nick Stringer, UK, Germany, Austria 2008
 

The Match Factory (Germany)

Soul Kitchen by Fatih Akin, Germany 2009

The Works International (UK)

The Front Line (La Prima Linea) by Renato de Maria, Italy, Belgium, France, UK 2009
Glorious 39 by Stephen Poliakoff, UK 2009

TrustNordisk (Denmark)

Applause (Applaus) by Martin Pieter Zandvliet, Denmark 2009
Max Manus by Espen Sandberg & Joachim R¢nning, Norway 2008
Videocracy by Erik Gandini, Sweden 2009

Umedia (France)

Bassidji by Mehran Tamadon, France, Switzerland, Iran 2009
Every Day is a Holiday (Chaque jour est une fête) by Dima El-Horr, France, Germany, Lebanon 2009

Velvet Film (France)

Moloch Tropical by Raoul Peck, France, 2009

Westend Films (UK)

The Disappearance of Alice Creed by J. Blakeson, UK 2009

Wide Management (France)

Eamon by Margaret Corkery, Ireland 2009
Men on the Bridge (Köprüdekiler) by Asli Özge, Germany, The Netherlands, Turkey 2009
The House of Branching Love (Haarautuvan rakkauden talo) by Mika Kaurismäki, Finland 2009

Wild Bunch (France)

Enter The Void (Soudain le vide) by Gaspar Noé, France, Italy 2009
The Good Heart by Dagur Kari, Island, Denmark, France 2009

For more information on all the European films screening in Toronto, visit:  

http://www.efp-online.com/en/activities/projects/toronto_filmlist.php