Youth Movement, Women Making Mark at Sarajevo’s CineLink Co-Pro Market
For a few busy days before the frantic fall festival slate hits high gear in Venice, Toronto and Telluride, key players from the international film world can be found mingling at Sarajevo’s stately Hotel Europe, the hub for the Bosnian festival’s CineLink Industry Days.
A highlight of the buzzy industry program each year is the Co-Production Market, which in its 15th year has become one of the leading platforms for emerging talents from the region. According to CineLink industry coordinator Armin Hadzic, roughly 70% of the projects pitched in the market get produced within three years of appearing in Sarajevo, with most of those going on to get international festival premieres and distribution.
Though just 19 projects were selected from more than 150 submissions this year, Hadzic says at least 30 could have made the cut, testifying to the growing maturity of the local market. The co-production forum’s track record is strong; recent films launched in Sarajevo include Adina Pintilie’s Golden Bear winner “Touch Me Not,” and Ljubomir Stefanov’s Sundance-awarded documentary “Honeyland.”
Founded as a platform to introduce key international players to filmmakers from Southeastern Europe – a geographical footprint that in recent years has expanded to include countries from the Middle East, North Africa, and the former Soviet Union – the Co-Production Market has stayed true to its name by building bridges between local filmmakers and international producers and funders. “The region really developed an approach to co-productions,” says Hadzic, a fact that he credits not only to CineLink’s robust platform but a distinctive flexibility embedded in the region’s DNA. “I think we are very adaptable in this part of the world.”
Founded as a platform to introduce key international players to filmmakers from Southeastern Europe – a geographical footprint that in recent years has expanded to include countries from the Middle East, North Africa, and the former Soviet Union – the Co-Production Market has stayed true to its name by building bridges between local filmmakers and international producers and funders. “The region really developed an approach to co-productions,” says Hadzic, a fact that he credits not only to CineLink’s robust platform but a distinctive flexibility embedded in the region’s DNA. “I think we are very adaptable in this part of the world.”