We proudly announce the selection for the eighth edition of TIES THAT BIND! Out of over 40 applications from Europe and Asia, 10 producers with feature films in development have been selected to participate together with 5 additional European professionals wanting to extend their knowledge and network towards Asia. TIES THAT BIND Asia/Europe Co-Production Workshop has become the reference for developing European-Asian co-productions. To name just some of the most recent success stories, Ties That Bind project Dog Days has premiered this year in Panorama section of the Berlinale 2016, Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories premiered in Berlinale competition 2015, Chi - Mr. Zhang Believes had its world premiere at Signs of Live section of the Festival del Film Locarno 2015, and Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere won Best Film at Venice Critics’ Week 2014.
The first Ties That Bind workshop will take place in Udine (Italy) from April 26 – 30, 2016 within the framework of the Udine Far East Film Festival (April 22 – 30, 2016). The second workshop will be organized in Singapore during the Southeast Asian Film Financing Forum (SAFF), a project market held alongside ScreenSingapore (Dec 7 – 9, 2016), matching the best Southeast Asian projects and filmmakers with financiers, festivals, and co-producers from around the world while being the regional touchstone for media investment and industry trends.
The TIES THAT BIND workshop will bring together 15 producers and other professionals from Europe and Asia to work on feature film projects in development. They will be working together throughout the year with leading experts from both continents on script development, pitching, co-production, financing, legal aspects, marketing, distribution and sales, and will meet with decision makers during both sessions, such as Meinolf Zurhorst (ZDF/ARTE, DE), Roger Garcia (Hong Kong International Film Festival, HK), Vincenzo Bugno (World Cinema Fund, DE), Iwana Chronis (Hubert Bals Fund, NL), Shanty Harmayn (Salto Film Company, ID), Elise Jalladeau (Charivari Films, FR), Sibylle Kurz (Pitching and Communication Skills, DE), Clare Downs (Script Consultant, UK), among others.
The selected participants for TIES THAT BIND 2016 are:
- Bożena Bogdziewicz, Kosmos Production, Poland
- Angelica Cantisani, Filming Europe, Italy/Belgium
- Stefano Centini, Hummingbird, Italy/Taiwan
Project: The Sand in My Eyes, director: Chia-Hsin Liu
- Samantha Faccio, Tucker Film, Italy
Project: The Angel in the Wall, director: Lorenzo Bianchini
- M. Raihan Halim, Papahan Films, Singapore
Project: Prey, director: M. Raihan Halim
- Uzma Hasan, Little House Productions, United Kingdom
- Taro Imai, Harakiri Films, Japan
Project: Marijuana Family, director: Yuki Kuwazuru
- Mikkel Jersin, Snowglobe, Denmark
Project: Jutlandia, director: Kasper Gaardsøe
- Vanja Kaludjercic, Holland Film Meeting, Croatia/The Netherlands
- Charles Lei, Thunder Communications, China
Project: The Proving Ground, director: Jonathan Finnigan
- Bradley Liew, Epicmedia Productions, Malaysia/Philippines
Project: Motel Acacia, director: Bradley Liew
- Marilyne Maia, Scope Pictures, France/Belgium
- Pamela L. Reyes, PelikulaRed, Philippines
Project: Lost Dahlias, director: Mikhail Red
- Paul Ruven, Talent United Film & Tv, The Netherlands
Project: Suddenly, director: Paul Ruven
- Isilay Yanbas, Karlakum Film, Turkey
Project: Clown is Down, Director: Esra Saydam
This year’s selection features a vast diversity of different subjects and genres:
The Sand in My Eyes depicts a childhood of poverty, abuse and melodrama which fuels young Taiwanese girl Jo’s desire for freedom and fear of placing her trust in those closest to her. Raised in 1990s lower-class Taipei in a family of mixed fortunes, Jo is forced to reconcile with her memories when she and her sister have to send their mother to a retirement house. After two relationships and one marriage, Jo has come to terms with her fear of entrapment and has become a mother herself, but many of the old scars have yet to shed a light on her present life. The Sand in My Eyes will be produced by Stefano Centini (Hummingbird, Italy/Taiwan) and directed by Chia-Hsin Liu.
The Angel in the Wall is the story of Pietro who under a threat of eviction hides himself inside his flat, ready for anything, except the cruel twist of fate that will force him to reassess his whole life. He builds a hiding place in the apartment’s long hallway and stays hidden even while a desperate young mother and her almost-blind daughter move in. He spies on them, trying to maintain his detachment as their voices and habits grow increasingly familiar. Only when Pietro and the mother come face to face, he sees a long-repressed truth return, turning his world, and the meaning of the story, inside out. The Angel in the Wall will be produced by Samantha Faccio (Tucker Film, Italy) and directed by Lorenzo Bianchini.
Prey is set in Singapore in 1859. Captain John Clarke, a soldier from the Royal British Army is tasked to investigate the killings of hundreds by a ferocious man-eating tiger known as the Beast of Siranjong. But after a brutal, bloody chess game of claws and bullets brought the good captain nowhere close to killing the beast, he will be forced to question himself if he is truly the hunter or the prey. Prey will be produced and directed by M. Raihan Halim (Papahan Films, Singapore).
Marijuana Family tells a story of Miyajima who caused a car accident damaging his daughter’s face. He tries to start a marijuana business to pay for her surgery. He is guided to an undisclosed place by his associate Dibba to pick up as much marijuana as possible, but Dibba robs all marijuana. Miyajima tries to hang himself but his attempt fails. Losing everything he has once thought he gained for his family, he finally realizes the importance of his family itself. Marijuana Family will be produced by Taro Imai (Harakiri Films, Japan) and directed by Yuki Kuwazuru.
Jutlandia takes place in 1950. Five years after World War II ended, Europe became involved in a conflict much farther from our shores, The Korean War, which set off the Danish personnel and legendary hospital ship “The Jutlandia” to Korea. On this perilous journey an inexperienced nurse and the neurotic medical student are put to the test of a lifetime as Jutlandia reaches Korean shores. Before long, the gravity of the situation becomes all too clear to the two idealists who are suddenly forced to take action and leave the ship to become part of the war. Jutlandia will be produced by Mikkel Jersin (Snowglobe, Denmark) and directed by Kasper Gaardsøe.
The Proving Ground is based on true events. Fearing for the safety of her family, a Chinese agent, Zhen, is tasked to bring an international team of scientists to investigate a suspicious viral outbreak during the Chinese Civil war. Her first task is to recruit maverick Cambridge professor Joseph Needham. Zhen and Needham lead the team into the remote Changbai Mountains. Tensions rise as the deadly nature of the outbreak becomes apparent: it’s the result of illegal biological warfare. As the evidence becomes irrefutable, things turn deadly.The Proving Ground will be produced by Charles Lei (Thunder Communications, China) and directed by Jonathan Finnigan.
Motel Acacia is a fantasy horror. In Southern Spain, a bed haunted by a mythical tree demon, resides in a sex motel owned by Filipino migrants where it feeds on men and copulates with women. The Bed is kept as a pet by the motel Janitor to satisfy his sexual fetishes until he falls in love with the new local Spanish cleaning lady who is drawn to the bed’s darkness. Motel Acacia will be produced and directed by Bradley Liew (Epicmedia Productions, Malaysia/Philippines).
Another story inspired by true events is Lost Dahlias. In 1972, the infamous Black Dahlia murderer who escaped from America has been hiding in the Philippines for more than two decades. When martial law is declared by a tyrannical regime, people start to go missing and turn up dead. The Black Dahlia murderer soon learns that fulfilling his deadly passion is much easier in an unstable society. Lost Dahlias will be produced by Pamela L. Reyes (PelikulaRed, Philippines) and directed by Mikhail Red.
Suddenly tells a story of an aspiring Dutch actress Lisa Houben who suddenly gets her dream chance in a Japanese movie about Dejima. A few days before the start of the movie, she is suddenly diagnosed with cancer. She needs treatment immediately, but she decides to hide it from everybody and tries to pursue her dream. Suddenly will be produced and directed by Paul Ruven (Talent United Film & Tv, The Netherlands) and will star Stefanie Joosten as Lisa.
Clown is Down is set up in a dark fictional city, where Emre, a teenage street performer, gets mysteriously murdered on the day of elections. With the hopes of shedding light on the genesis of this crime, a man and a woman from opposite social classes, but who equally loved Emre, spend a night of discussions to trace back to the final days of the victim. As they explore the circumstances leading to this tragedy, they come to terms with their own guilt, which unifies them on an unexpected level. Clown is Down will be produced by Isilay Yanbas (Karlakum Film, Turkey) and directed by Esra Saydam.
Among the selected participants without project are:
Bożena Bogdziewicz (Kosmos Production, Poland) is a film director/producer. She has worked as a producer for various international production companies, directed several short movies and two theatre plays. In 2015, Bożena joined forces with Ewa Turczańska (Kosmos) to write/direct/produce her first feature. They are developing different cinema projects together. Since 2016 Bozena works as an expert for Media Programme at EACEA.
Angelica Cantisani (Filming Europe, Italy/Belgium) started working for Film Commission Torino Piemonte as an International Events and Projects Coordinator in 2008. From 2011 she works as Office Manager for Filming Europe, the Association of the European Film Commissions. The association counts 90 members from 30 European countries.
Uzma Hasan (Little House Productions, United Kingdom) is a lead producer at Little House Productions. Her first feature The Infidel was released internationally, remade as a musical and in Hindi as Dharam Sankat Mein. She is in post-production with Firstborn starring Antonia Thomas released by Metrodome Distribution. She works as a consultant for several international film funds.
Vanja Kaludjercic (Holland Film Meeting, The Netherlands) is a festival programmer who worked for various film festivals, such as Motovun FF, Zagrebdox Pro, Animafest, Sarajevo FF, CPH:DOX and Cinéma du réel. In 2008, she joined Coproduction Office in acquisitions and managed projects markets in Paris and Les Arcs. She was recently appointed as Head of Holland Film Meeting.
Marilyne Maia (Scope Pictures, France/Belgium) has worked for eight years in the French film distribution sector as a Sales Manager. She joined the SCOPE team in 2012 to select projects and to manage the line production of the company. She is specialized in business development with a focus on financial assistance and expertise on tax shelter.
TIES THAT BIND is organised by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Audiovisual Fund, EAVE, Udine Far East Film Festival and Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA).
TIES THAT BIND is supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA sub-programme of the European Union, and Silver Media Group.
