27. August 2021 | redaktion The jury for the fourth edition of European Work in Progress Cologne (EWIP) 2021 has been selected. For the first time in the history of the young, successful industry event, not four, but five top representatives from the international film industry will deliberate on which projects will emerge as winners. Long-time Arte editor and director Alexander Bohr (Mainz) and Clémence Lavigne, co-head of sales and acquisitions for The Party Film Sales (Paris), will be joined by director and film distributor Daniel Melamed, New Cinema Ltd (Tel Aviv). Aranka Matits, founder of the Featurette agency (Amsterdam) and Fabian Massah, film producer and managing director of Endorphine Production (Berlin) complete the 2021 EWIP jury. This year, up to 30 feature films and documentaries intended for international theatrical release will again be considered. The jury will once again award prizes for the best pitches, including post-production services and publicity work at an international festival worth a total of around 52,500 EUR. Award sponsors again this year are K13 Studios, LAVAlabs Moving Images, ARRI Media, MMC Studios and ZOOM Medienfabrik. European Work in Progress Cologne is significantly supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, one of Europe’s leading funding houses. The industry event takes place in cooperation with Film Festival Cologne and AG Verleih, the association of German independent film distributors. Torsten Frehse, CEO of EWIP and board member of AG Verleih: “With this year’s EWIP jury we cover the essential areas of our film industry. The representatives are highly professional and experienced in their respective fields. I look forward to the intensive cooperation and I am excited about their selection of the award-winning productions.” Alexander BohrClémence LavigneDaniel MelamedAranka MatitsFabian Massah Alexander Bohr studied communication science, art history, philosophy and American studies. He is a longtime editor, director and author of numerous documentaries for ARTE, ZDF and 3sat, primarily including portraits of film directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Atom Egoyan, Michael Haneke, Im Kwon-taek, the Kaurismäki brothers and F. W. Murnau. Since 1994, Bohr has co-produced several international award-winning feature films for ARTE, including Schussangst by Dito Tsintsadze, Bal by Semih Kaplanoglu, Tabu by Miguel Gomes, In the Fog by Sergei Loznitsa, Force Majeure and The Square by Ruben Östlund, White God by Kornél Mundruczo, Mustang by Denis Gamze Ergüven, A Fantastic Woman by Sebastián Lelio and many others. Clémence Lavigne studied political science and media management and completed a one-year internship at the San Francisco Film Society. She then studied film distribution at the French film school La Femis before starting a job as a sales agent for Celluloid Dreams. In 2017, she won the Cinando Best Sellers Contest Award at the Cannes Film Market. In January 2018, she joined Doc & Film International as the Head of Acquisitions and Sales for Motion Pictures. In October 2019, Doc & Film International was acquired by the distribution company Jour2Fête. Clémence Lavigne took over as co-head of sales and acquisitions for the newly formed distribution company The Party Film Sales. Daniel Melamed started working for the company New Cinema as a managing director in 2003. Since graduating from Tel Aviv University’s Film and Television Department, he has served as head of distribution there. His latest acquisitions include The Worst Person in the World, A Chiara, The Kitchen Brigade. Aranka Matits is the founder of Featurette, an agency focused on feature film acquisitions, co-productions and strategic planning. Currently, Aranka Matits works with Condor Distribution (France), September Film (Benelux) and Avalon (Spain). Her clients include a number of theatrical distributors as well as international sales agents, VOD platforms, on-demand aggregators and multinational television broadcasters. Her acquisitions range from Oscar winners like Parasite and Another Round to Golden Globe winners like Minari to European Film Award winners like Toni Erdmann and Golden Bear winners like There Is No Evil and On Body and Soul. Previously, Matits headed the acquisitions department at French distributor Pretty Pictures and worked in London at ThinkFilm International, where she sold a range of established and new talent. She began her career in British film finance, where she was involved in production. Fabian Massah is a film producer heading the Berlin & Munich-based production outfit Endorphine Production which he co-founded in 2004, after graduating from the German Film & TV Academy Berlin (dffb). He works at international scale, with dedication to high quality storytelling and to collaboration with filmmakers with distinct and captivating voices. Works include numerous commercials and feature films for TV & cinema, such as Four Minutes (Vier Minuten), Men On The Bridge, Atlantic, All Of A Sudden, Oblivion Verses and All The Pretty Little Horses, which all premiered at A-festivals, received awards and were released internationally. Symphony Of Now, an innovative, electronic music driven retake on the silent film classic Berlin – Symphony Of A Great City, has been touring worldwide as well, with the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. European Work in Progress Cologne 2021 will take place from 19 to 21 October 2021 during the 31. Film Festival Cologne. Productions with the participation of at least one European country will be presented with excerpts of already shot material in order to present them to the attending and experienced professional audience from the fields of world sales, distribution, film festivals and TV broadcasters. Pitches are scheduled for a maximum of 15 minutes including film clips and a Q&A. In addition to the many informal networking opportunities, one-to-one meetings will be organised to make the participation as effective as possible. European distribution and sales partners, producers as well as financiers are also cordially invited to attend the event. In addition to the project presentations, European Work in Progress Cologne also offers various panel discussions in cooperation with Creative Europe Desks Germany, as well as evening events. The full program will be announced in mid-September. Further information can be found here on our website: www.european-work-in-progress.eu. The industry event will be held in compliance with the applicable distance and hygiene rules. For all your enquiries please do not hesitate and contact the team or the press agency. CONTACT: EUROPEAN WORK IN PROGRESS COLOGNE E-Mail: contact@european-work-in-progress.eu PRESS: ZOOM Medienfabrik GmbH Felix Neunzerling and Juliane Klose Suarezstraße 62 | 14057 Berlin E-Mail: office@zoommedienfabrik.de Phone: +49 30 3150 6868
