Dennis Ruh

programme, which aims to connect the Caribbean and European Unition through culture and creativity. In addition the African umbrella stand unites companies from or working with the African continent. South Africa will be represented with its own umbrella stand. There will also be many activities to support the Ukrainian film scene. The EFM is bringing a Ukrainian delegation to Berlin, supporting their paperwork, and the market will host the Ukrainian umbrella stand. A financing panel at the EFM will shed light on the status quo regarding financing options and new opportunities for Ukrainian audio-visual content. With the Ukrainian Institute we organize a “Producers Presentations” to support their search for international partners. And the Odesa International Film Festival will hold their Project Pitches at the EFM as an associated event.

While you can’t pick favorites... are there any ambitious titles that you feel will create a buzz within the market?

There are far too many titles to pick from to focus on just a fews. The titles in the festival’s main sections are usually titles to look out for at the market. The Berlinale being the largest audience festival in the world offers the unique opportunity to provide distributors and buyers with a feedback from a “real audience”. This audience’s reaction to and perception of the festival’s titles tells a lot about which titles will be hot or not. As the Berlinale Series Market is now in its 9th year and has become a well established and well received format, the featured series in the screenings, under the curated label “Berlinale Series Market Selects” as well as the showcases of upcoming series from all over the world are always interesting to keep in mind.

What sets the EFM apart from other international industry markets?

countries that stand out as market favorites, whether that be via hot-button titles or the number of buyers/sellers?

As mentioned, the number of participants is comparable to the prepandemic time, even if the world has changed in the meantime. I’m, very pleased to seeing the players from South Korea and Japan returning to the market, including the sales agents and the buyers. Countries standing out this year are for example our featured “Countries in Focus” which are the Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The market will be welcoming a delegation of filmmakers from the vibrant film scene of the Baltic states offering them a special platform to introduce themselves and their activities as well as upcoming projects. For the first time, there will also be a Caribbean umbrella stand at the market, realized in cooperation with the UNESCO Transcultura

The European Film Market is alongside the Marché du Film in Cannes and the American Film Market in Los Angeles one of the largest film markets worldwide. At the beginning of the year the EFM acts like a barometer for the upcoming film year identifiying and setting trends and featuring up-todate developments in the audiovisual industry. Furthermore, the EFM with its extensive conference programme, the EFM Industry Sessions, is also a platform for innovation and transformation discussing the latest trends, challenges and changes within the industry. With initiatives like EFM Startup the market explores cutting edge technology and dives into the intersections with other industry to find out what can enrich and complement the film and media industry.

Zoe Hofmann

H Here’s a list of some worthwhile market events you won’t want to miss.

EFM Industry Sessions

Baltic Producers Spotlight, Friday Feb. 17th 2:45pm, Event Hall at Documentation Centre. Meet the upcoming producers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 12 selected talents will be presented within the framework of a Happy Hour at the Producers & Projects Hub.

Pitches & Presentations

Sunday, Feb. 19th - Documentation Centre11 international startup entrepreneurs are invited to present their innovative ideas and practical tools for solving industry challenges

Case Study

International Co-Production of Tomorrow is a Long Time by Jow Zhi Wei - Sunday, Feb. 19th. Berlin House of Representatives / opposite Gropius Bau (EFM). In this conversation, the producers will share how they adapted the budget and the co-production structure along the way to make the film happen as a fourcountry, Asian and European co-production

Books at Berlinale

11 Books on Route to Adaptation

February 20th, at the pitch event, which has been spotlighting new publications and bestsellers every year since 2006, film producers can get in contact with the film rights holders – renowned, internationally active publishers and booksellers

Meeting with Baltic experts

Feb. 20th 12pm - 1:30pm, Gropius Bau Cinema, an in-depth discussion on diversity-, equity-, and inclusion-related topics followed by a networking session.

Co-pro series 2023

February 21st & 22nd - CinemaxX on Potsdamer Platz - around ten top-quality series projects from Europe, Argentina and Canada are looking for suitable co-producers, distribution and broadcast partners, and financiers among the international industry.