| Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media | |
PRESS RELEASEPRODUCTION VALUE – The second edition of the international, MEDIA-supported workshop for assistant directors and line producers was carried out successfully.The Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media FOCAL organized PRODUCTION VALUE for the second time in co-operation with its partners - the Erich Pommer Institut (Berlin) and the Norwegian Film Development (Oslo) - and with a generous support of the European Union's MEDIA Programme. This new edition of the film workshop for line producers and assistant directors from all over Europe confirms once more that there is a high demand for such professional training opportunities. About forty people from fifteen European countries applied for the workshop. It finally took place from 12 to 19 January 2008, in Potsdam, Germany, with twelve selected participants. They improved their skills and expertise in budgeting and scheduling by working on film projects, under the direction of renowned and respected professional assistant directors and line producers: Michael Schwarz (Oliver Twist, Faraway, So Close), Laura Fattori (La Sconosciuta, Gangs of New York), Stuart Renfrew (Bridget Jones' Diary, The Queen), David Martínez Álvarez (La Mala Educación, The Dancer Upstairs) and Mathias Schwerbrock (Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder, Wolfsburg). The six film projects they worked on are European co-productions currently being developed: Sennentuntschi, CH/DE; Playing for the Enemy, DE/ES/UK; Harry's Mona Lisa, UK; Mother and Child, FR; Yuma, PL/DE; Swamp, NO. The producers of the projects were present during two days of the workshop; the directors for half the projects. The work was very intense, completed by encounters where the participants could share their knowledge on the profession, their experience and on their country with the other participants and the experts. The Swiss director Denis Rabaglia (Pas de Panique, Azzurro, Grossesse nerveuse), instigator of the workshop, sees in this second edition "a confirmation that the presence of assistant directors and line producers at an early stage of development of a film is a great advantage for the producer and the director. This way, questions of feasibility can be discussed in a creative partnership which allows to considerably reduce the gap between ambitions and means, between wishful thinking and reality." The workshop «Production Value» will be repeated in 2009. Application deadline is 31 October 2008. Lausanne, 22 January 2008 For details on PRODUCTION VALUE (content, experts and partners), please consult: www.productionvalue.net Information about FOCAL and professional training in cinema and audiovisual arts in Switzerland and Europe can be found on: www.focal.ch Participants in the 2nd edition: Line producers: |