The Meetings on the Bridge in Istanbul are getting ready for the 7th edition

Meetings on the Bridge in its 7th Year; Film Development and Work in Progress Workshops, Funds for Co-Productions, Panels and Meetings

The Meetings on the Bridge will celebrate its seventh year during the 31st edition of the ıstanbul Film Festival to take place 31 March-15 April 2012. Meetings on the Bridge brings together producers, directors, scriptwriters and representatives of organizations so as to continue providing opportunities for initial international presentations of new feature films, as well as setting the stage for co-productions.

While Meetings on the Bridge continues to collaborate with filmmakers from Turkey throughout the year, it shares with them the developments in the international film industry, as well. Filmmakers and professionals from abroad who wish to receive information on the Turkish cinema consult this platform.

The Film Development Workshop application deadline is 23 January 2012

The Film Development Workshop which receives interest from European film professionals and distributors increasingly each year will be held 10-11 April 2012. The application deadline for projects from Turkey is 23 January 2012. Providing an international platform for Turkish filmmakers to present their projects to European professionals, the workshop also leads the way for project owners to perform their initial negotiations for co-productions. The owners of the projects conduct one-to-one meetings with producers, distributors and representatives of institutions from Europe and organisations including Eurimages, ARTE, Berlinale, Binger Lab, Cinelink, Cinemart, Torino Film Lab and Fortissimo Films.

A new workshop launched this year: Work in Progress

Open to feature films from Turkey which have completed at least 50% of their shooting or which are at their post-production stage, the Work in Progress workshop will be launched this year, again within the framework of Meetings on the Bridge. During the workshop aimed at supporting film projects from Turkey at the production stage, producers will find the chance to make the initial international presentations of their films.

A maximum of 5 films to be selected by the Meetings on the Bridge advisory board will participate in the workshop at their offline editing stages. At the end of the workshop, the film to be selected by the international jury consisting of 3 members will be presented with the 1000Volt Post-Production Award. The application deadline for Work in Progress workshop is 9 March 2012.

The deadline for applications for Turkish-German Co-Production Development Fund is 2 March 2012

Seven projects selected from among the 13 film projects submitted to the Turkish-German Co-Production Development Fund, established through the cooperation of Istanbul Film Festival-Meetings on the Bridge Platform, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Funds receive support from the fund in 2011. The deadline for the second term applications of the same fund is 2 March 2012. The projects to be supported will be announced at the Meetings on the Bridge award reception during the Istanbul Film Festival in April. With a total budget of 150,000 Euros, and established by the above-mentioned three institutions which are pioneers in their fields with the purpose of increasing cultural cooperation between the two countries and supporting co-productions, this fund welcomes all Turkish-German co-productions that have not begun shooting yet.

Meeting and Panels on Turkey-Holland co-productions during Istanbul Film Festival and Holland Film Festival

Within the scope of the 400th Anniversary of the establishment of Turkish-Dutch diplomatic relations, the Turkish-Dutch Co-Production Meetings and Panels will be organized with the cooperation of Istanbul Film Festival-Meetings on the Bridge and Netherlands Film Festival-Holland Film Meetings. Aiming at bringing together film professionals from the two countries so as to pave the way for co-productions, these meetings will be held in Istanbul in April and in Utrecht in September.

Meetings on the Bridge Workshops

Topics including co-productions, international festivals and funds, new media and distribution channels are taken up during the Meetings on the Bridge workshops by expert professionals and cinema professionals, and proposals for solutions were discussed. The program for the 2012 workshops which will be open to all filmmakers and film enthusiasts is to be announced in March 2012.

Meetings on the Bridge in 2011

In 2011, a total of 109 film projects were submitted to the Film Development Workshop and Turkish-French Co-Production Meetings, and 30 foreign guests were hosted in the Meetings on the Bridge events. 17 speakers from Europe and 75 participants as audience contributed the seminars, where co-productions and the new developments in the industry were discussed. Ten feature film projects received support awards.

Istanbul Film Festival and Meetings on the Bridge celebrated the international accomplishments of the Turkish film industry in the recent years and the supported film projects, at a reception organized in May, following the festival, within the framework of the Cannes Film Festival-Producer's Network.

For further information please send an email to onthebridge@iksv.org