U sklopu trećeg izdanja događanja "Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way" glavna nagrada žirija u iznosu od 5000 eura dodijeljena je projektu Wool autorice i producentice Milene Džambasović (Film Road Production) iz Srbije.
Žiri je dodjelu glavne nagrade obrazložio sljedećim riječima:
"Uzevši u obzir kvalitetu svih projekata koji su sudjelovali, ali i osjećaj hitnosti koji je prisutan na ovom području, za žiri je velik izazov bio odabrati samo jedan. No motivacija žirija koja stoji iza odabira pobjedničkog projekta ističe da je ovo priča o snažnoj glavnoj ženskoj ulozi - crnoj ovci koja se vraća u svoj rodni grad u Srbiji, koja sa svojom zajednicom pokreće mali biznis s vunom i nosi ga u svijet. Žiri smatra da je ovo smiješna, topla, autentična priča s univerzalnom privlačnošću i jedinstvenom perspektivom s velikim potencijalom za međunarodnu publiku. Dobitnik glavne nagrade Series Rough Pitch je WOOL, koji predstavlja autorica i producentica Milena Džambasović."
Producentica koja stoji iza pobjedničkog projekta, Milena Džambasović, o osvojenoj nagradi, ali i samom događanju rekla je sljedeće:
"Bilo mi je zadovoljstvo prisustvovati ovoj radionici s nevjerojatno posvećenim mentoricama Helene i Valeriom. Iskreno cijenim njihovo suosjećanje i ohrabrenje tijekom cijelog rada. Jako sam impresionirana napretkom pitchinga svih sudionika, ali i činjenicom da sam toliko toga naučila o sebi u tako kratkom vremenu kroz tehniku pitchinga. Planiram inkorporirati u svoj rad, vježbati i koristiti ono što smo zajedno naučili. Ne samo da je ovo iskustvo bilo nevjerojatno inspirativno, već i vrlo zabavno.
S druge strane, ova nagrada puno znači i jako je potrebna u procesu razvoja TV serije WOOL. Osim toga, daje mi potvrdu da smo na pravom putu u procesu razvoja projekta i da trud nije uzaludan. Smatram da sama ideja organizacije događanja Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan way nama producentima, kreatorima, piscima iz ovog dijela svijeta može dati znak da su naše priče važne i da postoji način da ih poboljšamo kroz rad s iskusnim mentorima, a nagrade koje možemo dobiti imaju značaj za daljnji razvoj projekta."
Nagrada Series Mania Forum u obliku akreditacije za sudjelovanje na Forumu sljedeće godine dodijeljena je projektu iz Hrvatske, pod nazivom Stringers scenarista Nikole Kuprešanina / Force Majeure.
Solène Moreau (Series Mania Forum) dodjelu akreditacije obrazložila je sljedećim riječima:
"Profesionalna akreditacija za sudjelovanje u sklopu Series Mania Foruma 2024. dodijeljena je projektu Stringers. Projekt nudi specifičan pogled na pitanja današnjice o novinarima u oružanim sukobima. Osim toga, osobno iskustvo autora kao 'stringera' daje snažan, autentičan glas priči. Vjerujemo da projekt ima snažan međunarodni koprodukcijski potencijal te se nadamo da akreditacija Series Mania može pomoći u ostvarenju tih partnerstava."
Scenarist koji stoji iza projekta Stringers, Nikola Kuprešanin o osvojenoj nagradi, ali i samom događanju podijelio je sljedeće:
"Series Mania je svakako jedan od ključnih marketa i festivala namijenjenih TV serijama te mislim da će sudjelovanje na njemu uvelike pomoći traženju potencijalnih partnera i koprodukcija. To što su 'Stringeri' na radionici prepoznati kao potentna serija za međunarodnu suradnju i publiku samo je dodatni poticaj i razlog za optimizam. Nadam se da će posjet Series Mania marketu dodatno osnažiti vidljivost i prepoznatljivost 'Stringera' jer je priča i tema koju obrađuju itekako relevantna za današnje vrijeme."
Naposljetku, nagradu Special Mention / Posebno priznanje tutorice Helene Granqvist i Valeria Richter dodijelile su projektu Estavela iz Crne Gore, iza kojeg stoje Matija Jovanović (scenarist i redatelj), Milo Vučinić (scenarist) te Nemanja Popović (producent / Makina Production).
Tutorice su dodjelu nagrade Special Mention / Posebno priznanje objasnile sljedećim obrazloženjem:
"Za posebno priznanje tutorica odabrale smo jedan projekt i tim koji je prošao nevjerojatno putovanje u sklopu radionice. Budući da su bili duboko u svom projektu i krenuli s mjesta punog energije i zbunjenosti, ovaj tim se okupio i isporučio pitching koji je bio jasan, iznenađujući, smiješan te potpuno usklađen s tonom i energijom njihova projekta. U duhu svoje priče o Estaveli otkrili su da, iako Crna Gora ima mladu filmsku industriju, ova tri kreatora imaju mnogo etabliranog talenta i kreativne energije. Posebno tako izdvajamo tri mušketira iz Crne Gore – Milu, Matiju i Nemanju. Čestitamo."
"Iako ova nagrada nije novčane prirode, važna nam je iz tri razloga. Prvi razlog je određena vrsta osobnog zadovoljstva i potvrde koja pridonosi našem autorskom samopouzdanju i vjeri u projekt 'Estavela'. U tom smislu nagradu vidimo kao dobar poticaj da projekt postane zreliji, konkretniji, a samim time i kvalitetniji. Drugi razlog je veća vidljivost nas kao autora i našeg projekta u lokalnim i regionalnim okvirima, što može povećati naše šanse za pronalaženje sponzora u razvoju pilot-epizode serije, kao i u daljnjim fazama projekta. Treći, no ne manje važan razlog je širenje kulturne mreže i mreže potencijalnih kolega i suradnika na području Balkana," rekli su Matija Jovanović, Milo Vučinić i Nemanja Popović.
Voditeljica DKE – Ureda MEDIA Hrvatske Martina Petrović naposljetku je zaključila:
"Ovom inicijativom nastavljamo čuvati, razvijati i promovirati europsku kulturnu raznolikost, ali i povećavati konkurentnost i ekonomski potencijal AV sektora iz regije. U isto vrijeme, putem Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way poštujemo i jedinstvenost svakog projekta i njegova autora stvarajući i razvijajući sigurne prostore za kulturno različite priče koje još treba ispričati. Također, iz godine u godinu razvijamo pozitivan trend o pričama iz regije u isto vrijeme razbijajući nametnute nam stereotipove, bilo da se radilo o temama ili neadekvatnoj ponudi iz regije. Upravo zbog toga trebaju nam jednake prilike, kao i one koje se nude projektima na razini cijele Europe kako bismo pokazali da itekako imamo što ponuditi – a u tome se upravo ova inicijativa pokazala uspješnom!"
Snimku cijelog događanja moguće je pogledati na poveznici.
Koristimo ovu priliku kako bismo se zahvalili svim suorganizatorima: DKE – Uredima MEDIA iz Bugarske, Crne Gore, Grčke, Mađarske, Sjeverne Makedonije i Srbije, partnerima događanja: Hrvatskom audiovizualnom centru, Bugarskom filmskom centru, Filmskom centru Crne Gore, Filmskoj agenciji Sjeverna Makedonije te Filmskom centru Srbije, organizaciji WIFT Sweden, kao i tutoricama Helene Granqvist i Valeriji Richter.
Jedno veliko hvala i članicama žirija: Andrei Hoffmann / koordinatorici Co-Pro Series u sklopu Koprodukcijskog sajma u Berlinu, Solène Moreau / koordinatorici programa za pisanje / Series Mania Forum, Anni Lajla Utsi / International Sámi Film Institute, Dunji Vujovic / TV4 te Grace Maharaj / voditeljici / WIFT Sweden.
Upućujemo iskrene čestitke pobjednici trećeg izdanja „Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way“ i unaprijed se veselimo četvrtom izdanju 2024. godine!
Vaš DKE – Ured MEDIA Hrvatske!
As part of the third edition of the event ‘Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way’, the jury's main prize of EUR 5,000 was awarded to the project Wool by the author and producer Milena Džambasović (Film Road Production) from Serbia.
The jury explained the awarding of the main prize with the following words:
'With many strong projects in this selection and a sense of urgency across the field, it has been a huge challenge for the jury to pick only one project.
The jury’s motivation highlights that this is a story about a strong female lead - a black sheep coming back to her hometown in Serbia, who starts a small wool business with her community and takes it to the world. The jury thinks this is a funny, warm, authentic story with a universal appeal and a unique perspective with great potential for an international audience. The winner of the Series Rough Pitch main award is WOOL, represented by creator and producer Milena Džambasović.'
The producer behind the winning project, Milena Džambasović, had the following to say about the award and the event:
'It was a pleasure to attend this pitching workshop with amazingly dedicated tutors Helene & Valeria. I sincerely appreciate their compassion and encouragement throughout the work. I was so impressed by everyone’s improvement of the presentations of their stories, and also learning about myself in such a short period through the pitching technique. I plan to incorporate, practice, and use what we learned together. Not only has this been incredibly inspiring but, lots of fun too.
On the other hand, this award means a lot and it’s very much needed in the development process. It also assures me that we are on the right track in the project development process and that the effort is not wasted. I find that the idea to organize a Balkan pitching event can give us producers, creators, and writers, from this part of the world, a sign that our stories are important and that there is a way to improve them through working with experienced tutors and the awards we can receive have a meaning for the further development of the project.'
The Series Mania Forum award in the form of accreditation for participation in the Forum next year was awarded to a project from Croatia called ‘Stringers’ by screenwriter Nikola Kuprešanin / Force Majeure.
Solène Moreau (Series Mania Forum) explained the awarding of the accreditation with the following words:
'The project offers a specific point of view addressing issues of today about journalists in armed conflict. The writer’s personal experience as a stringer adds a strong authentic voice to the story. We believe that the project has strong international co-production partnership potential. Series Mania accreditation can hopefully help unlock those partnerships.'
The screenwriter behind the ‘Stringers’ project, Nikola Kuprešanin, shared the following about the award he won, but also about the event itself:
'Series Mania is certainly one of the key markets and festivals dedicated to TV series, and I believe that participating in it will greatly assist “Stringers” in finding potential partners and co-productions. The fact that "Stringers" wasrecognized as a promising format for international collaboration and audience at the workshop is an additional encouragement and reason for optimism. I hope that attending Series Mania market will further enhance the visibility and recognition of "Stringers" because the story and theme they address are highly relevant in today's times.'
Finally, tutors Helene Granqvist and Valeria Richter awarded the Special Mention award to the project ‘Estavela’ from Montenegro, behind which is the creative team Matija Jovanović (screenwriter and director), Milo Vučinić (screenwriter) and Nemanja Popović (producer / Makina Production).
The tutors explained the Special Mention award with the following explanation:
'For the coaches’ special mention, we see one project and team that had an incredible journey within the days of the workshop. Being deep inside their project and starting from a place full of energy and confusion, this team pulled together and delivered a pitch that was clear, surprising, funny, and aligned with the tone and energy of their project. In the spirit of the "Estavela" of their story they revealed that even if Montenegro has a young film industry, there is a lot of established talent and creative energy present with these three creators. Our special mention goes to The Three Thumbs-up Musketeers from Montenegro – Milo, Matija, and Nemanja – congratulations.'
'Although this reward is not of a monetary nature, it is important to us for three reasons: The first reason is a certain kind of personal satisfaction and validation that contributes to our authorial self-confidence and belief in the "Estavela" project. In this sense, we see the award as a good incentive for the project to become more mature, concrete, and therefore of higher quality. The second reason is increased visibility for us as authors and our project in local and regional contexts, which may increase our chances of finding more sponsors in the pre-production of the pilot episode of the series and the further stages of the project. The third, no less important reason, is the expansion of the cultural network and a network of potential colleagues and collaborators in the Balkan region.' said Matija Jovanović, Milo Vučinić and Nemanja Popović.
The head of CED - MEDIA Office of Croatia, Martina Petrović, finally concluded:
"With this initiative, we continue to preserve, develop, and promote European cultural diversity but also increase the competitiveness and economic potential of the AV sector from the region. At the same time, through Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way, we respect the uniqueness of each project and its author by creating and developing safe spaces for culturally diverse stories that still need to be told. Also, from year to year, we develop a positive trend about stories from the region while at the same time breaking the stereotypes imposed on us, whether it is about topics or inadequate offers from the region. This is exactly why we need equal opportunities, as well as those that are offered to projects at the level of the whole of Europe to show that we have something to offer - and that's exactly what this initiative proved to be successful about!"
A recording of the entire event can be viewed at the link.
We use this opportunity to thank all co-organizers: CED - MEDIA Offices from Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, and Serbia, the event partners: Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Bulgarian Film Center, Film Center of Montenegro, North Macedonian Film Agency and Film Center of Serbia, as well as tutors Helene Granqvist and Valerija Richter.
A big thank you to the members of the jury: Andrea Hoffmann / coordinator of the Co-Pro Series as part of the Co-production fair in Berlin, Solène Moreau / coordinator of the writing program / Series Mania Forum, Anna Lajla Utsi / International Sámi Film Institute, Dunja Vujovic / TV4 and Grace Maharaj / presenters / WIFT Sweden.
We send forward our sincere congratulations to the winner of the third edition of the ‘Series Rough Pitch – The Balkan Way’ and look forward to the fourth edition in 2024!
