36th Fiff to host workshops by prominent producers
Compiled from Dispatches
German, Turkish producers will hold workshops at 36th Fajr International Film Festival (Fiff). German cinematographer and producer Thomas Mauch will hold workshops which are part of the programs organized for the festival’s Dar-ul-fonun educational section.
With a career spanning over 50 years in both film and television, Mauch has collaborated with numerous top filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Edgar Reitz, and Alexander Kluge.
Students from international film schools in 50 countries have applied to take part in the Dar-ul-fonun section that was initiated in the festival’s 34th edition to discover emerging talents from among film students in Iran and other countries.
In another intensive workshop by Turkish producer Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan, the students will explore the entire spectrum of the work of a film producer. The complete overview of production fundamentals includes a detailed introduction to the creative producing process, the creation of a film package, story and script analysis, an introduction to production management, as well as topics in pitching, entertainment law, and case studies.
Born in Istanbul, Atakan graduated from the Department of Film and Television at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Marmara University. From 1986 to 1999, she worked in various roles in the television advertisement industry and specialized as a producer. After 1994, she continued her work at the company she cofounded.
In 1999, Atakan transitioned to the film industry and started producing international film projects. In 2007, she initiated Zeynofilm — a company dedicated to producing film projects.
In 2010, Atakan was awarded the European Film Academy’s Best European Co-producer award. The same year, she launched the Yapımlab Workshops, with which she aims to share her experience and knowledge as a producer with young filmmakers.
Atakan is still the vice president of EWA — the European Women’s Audio-visual Network — which works towards equal opportunities for women working in the audio-visual industries in Europe and around the world. In 2014, she was awarded the Uçan Süpürge Bilge Olgaç Achievement Award, and her latest production ‘Winter Sleep’ won the Palme d’or at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, the festival’s most prestigious award.
She started the Antalya Film Forum, a co-production and project development market organized as part of the International Antalya Film Festival since 2014, and continues to as its director. Atakan also organizes the Turkey section of the Young Audience Award — a project by the European Film Academy. She is the art director of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Platform and a member of the European Film Academy and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy.
Films selected from 13 countries will compete in the Eastern Vista (Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries) category at 2018 Fiff.
China, Vietnam, Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Georgia, Kazakhstan, India, Palestine, Japan, Mongolia, Kuwait and Syria will take part in the festival. Three Iranian feature-length movies will also vie for awards.
The organizers have appointed a panel of jury which includes four foreign and one Iranian members to judge in the Eastern Vista and International Competition categories. Up for grabs are three awards for Best Asian Film, Best Asian Short, and Best Asian Director.
Presided over by Iranian scriptwriter and director Reza Mirkarimi, the event’s 36th edition will be held in Tehran from April 19-27 at the Charsou Cineplex.
The domestic version of the Fajr Film Festival came to an end on February 11 after naming the winners from Iran.