We are proud to announce that the TIES THAT BIND Asia – Europe Co-Production Workshop celebrates its 10th edition this year! TIES THAT BIND has become the reference for developing European-Asian co-productions. In the past 10 years, Ties That Bind graduates have regularly achieved success at leading world and European festivals and in international distribution.
To name some of the most recent examples:
- THE SEEN AND UNSEEN by Kamila Andini premiered in TIFF’s Platform section 2017 and won Grand Prize of the Generation 14plus International Jury at Berlinale 2018; world sales: Cercamon
- BITTER FLOWERS by Olivier Meys had its international premiere in Fast Forward section of the Busan International Film Festival 2017; international sales: Loco Films & Asia-Pacific sales: Beijing Culture
- A YELLOW BIRD by K. Rajagopal premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week 2016; world sales: Alpha Violet
- DOG DAYS by Jordan Schiele had its premiere in Panorama section of the Berlinale 2016; world sales: Bravos Pictures
- INTERCHANGE by Dain Iskandar Said was screened on Piazza Grande of Festival del Film Locarno 2016; international sales: Reel Suspects & North America sales XYZ Films
- BIG FATHER, SMALL FATHER AND OTHER STORIES by Di Phan Dang premiered in Berlinale Competition 2015; world sales: Urban Distribution International
- CHI – MR. ZHANG BELIEVES by Jiongjiong Qiu had it world premiere in Signs of Live section of the Festival del Film Locarno 2015; world sales: All Ways Pictures
- FLAPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE by Hoang Diep Nguyen won Best Film at Venice Critics’ Week in 2014; world sales: Premium Films.
The first Ties That Bind workshop will take place in Udine (Italy) from April 24 – 28, 2018 within the framework of the Udine Far East Film Festival (April 20 – 28, 2018). The second Ties That Bind workshop will be organized in Singapore in November 2018 (TBA) during the Southeast Asian Film Financing Forum (SAFF), an exciting platform that brings together the best feature-length film concepts, together with the top filmmakers and producers from Southeast Asia and Europe, to meet with international coproducing partners, festival programmers, distributors, commissioners, and financiers.
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), and supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA sub-programme of the European Union, Silver Media Group and Aurora Global Media Capital.
The following 10 producers with feature films in development have been selected to participate in TTB together with 5 additional European professionals wanting to extend their knowledge and network towards Asia:
Bulgaria
- Vesela Kazakova, Activist 38
Vesela Kazakova set up a production company Activist38 with Mina Mileva in 2008. The duo created a strong wave of political activism in Bulgaria with two internationally acclaimed feature documentaries Uncle Tony, Three Fools and the Secret Service and The Beast is still Alive.
Finland
- Mark Lwoff, Bufo
Project: Memory of Water by Saara Saarela
Memory of Water takes place in Lapland, withered by ecological disasters and wars, Noria, a young woman finds courage to expose a deadly secret heavily guarded by the ruling Eastern military government.
France
- Jordane Oudin, Hippocampe Productions
Project: Riddle by Zhou Hao
Riddle is a story of Wang Cheng, a writer trying to get his next novel published. When he learns that his honest work must be “improved” according to censorship standards, what decision will he take?
Greece
- Konstantinos Vassilaros, StudioBauhaus
Project: Holy Emy by Araceli Lemos
Holy Emy is the coming of age story of a flawed holy being within the Filipino community of Piraeus in Greece.
Indonesia
- Yulia Evina Bhara, KawanKawan Media
Project: Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak
Autobiography tells a story of a young actor who tries to find solace from guilt after participating in a murder ordered by his military employer. He is about to realize that the only one who would help is his victim’s family.
Italy
- Iole Maria Giannatasio, MiBACT
Iole Maria Giannattasio is the coordinator of the research unit of the DG Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism MiBACT.
Japan
- Eiko Mizuno-Gray, Loaded Films
Project: Where Wolves Fear to Prey by Jason Gray
Where Wolves Fear to Prey is a story of the younger brother of a British girl brutally murdered by an infamous cannibal killer who travels to Japan to take revenge when he grows up.
Myanmar
- Ma Aeint, Electronic Pictures
Project: The Other Side of the River by Maung Maung San
In The Other Side of the River a girl is embarking on an emotional journey when she searches for her missing uncle on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, where the world’s longest running civil war takes place.
Philippines
- Monster Jimenez, Arkeo Films
Project: Return of the Owl by Martika Ramirez Escobar
In Return of the Owl fiction and reality is blurred when Leonor Reyes, a once popular action film writer during the 80’s, falls into an irreversible coma that transports her into the world of her last, unfinished action film script.
Switzerland
- Sarah Schiesser, Locarno Festival
Sarah Schiesser is the coordinator of the Open Doors section of the Locarno Festival since 2016. Since 2018, Sarah is also the Manager of Locarno Pro, a newly created label reuniting all activities and services dedicated to film industry professionals in Locarno and beyond.
Taiwan
- Zi-Ning Chiou, Fennec Pictures
Project: 23.5°N by Zi-Ning Chiou
23.5°N is a story about an unusual friendship between Dzawal, a Tao aboriginal young man, and Julio, a Filipino migrant worker on the run, which leads them into a journey of returning to their own roots.
The Netherlands
- Inke Van Loocke, International Film Festival Rotterdam
Inke Van Loocke started working for the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2011 at CineMart, the co-production market of IFFR. From 2015 onwards, she manages CineMart, Rotterdam Lab and various other IFFR PRO related initiatives.
Ukraine
- Anna Skrypka, Waverly Pictures
Project: Mango Avenue by Don Gerardo Frasco
Mango Avenue is a story of a single mom in her final college year who wants everything for her daughter, but her years of moonlighting as a call girl makes this desire for a decent life harder than it may seem.
United Kingdom
- Weerada Sucharitkul, FilmDoo
Weerada Sucharitkul is the Thai-British cofounder of FilmDoo, a global media company helping people to discover and watch great films from around the world.
- Anna von Dziembowska, Victoria Films
Project: Far Frontiers by Maxim Dashkin
Far Frontiers take place in Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan. Maria, a wife of a deputy commander begins a relationship with another officer, but their affair quickly spirals out of control.