Conference • Porto
V4 CONNECT – Framing the Future, Visegrad Co-Production Corner
Since its first edition in 2018, Visegrad Film Hub has been working with more than two hundred film professionals from the V4 region, including filmmakers, producers, distributors and cast. Over the years, the hub presented valuable networking meeting points between the film industry from the Visegrad countries and the one in Portugal.
This year’s edition aims to take the project further through V4 Connect, the first co-production hub inviting producers and filmmakers from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to pitch their in-development films in order to sign co-production agreements with Portuguese producers. The objective of V4 Connect is to strengthen co-productions across Europe, with a focus on this unique cooperation between Portugal and the V4 region.
Through the continuous presence of the Visegrad Film Hub during BEAST - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, the project has signed an official agreement with the Porto Film Commision on supporting at least one in-development project presented during the highly expected V4 Connect. Given this, one of the selected partnerships will receive a financial incentive from the City Council of Porto to pursue the co-production with Portugal. It is expected that V4 Connect will be a kickstarter to having co-productions between Portugal and the V4 countries released in the upcoming years, holding the stamp of Visegrad Film Hub and Porto Film Commision.
Relying on a matchmaking structure, the project invites 8 in-development films from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to meet a pool of Portuguese production houses open to collaboration. The 5-days event will include one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions for each project, inviting opinion makers, funders and a jury representing the Porto Film Commision. One of the main outcomes of the project will be represented by the “V4 Connect - First Steps Award” (working-title) - a financial incentive awarded to one of the selected projects, supported by the Porto Film Commission. This way, the collaboration which is considered most representative and close to the objectives of the hub will receive a jump-start support to the set co-production plan. Moreover, throughout the series of events set to take place during V4 Connect, the participants will interact with multiple opportunities of co-production with Portugal for both small and big scale projects. From documentary to fiction or animation genre, the project will present incentives in terms of location scouting, cast, sound and cinematography - involving an extended list of local professionals and studios.
The project is establishing a partnership with four main contact points from the Visegrad countries in order to select the list of participants to V4 Connect. The initiative invites the Institute of Documentary Film (Czechia), Disco Sailing (Slovakia), Primanima Ltd. (Hungary) and Spektrum Film Festival (Poland) to access their networks and collaborate for the selection of eight in-development projects from the V4 countries. Based on the track record and profile of each partner, the co-production hub is expected to include a diverse range of projects exploring various genres and narratives holding both an artistic and social impact.
Embracing the objectives of the 5th edition of Visegrad Film Hub, the project will mark a reflection moment between its partners, focused on inclusion and equality by prioritizing projects focused on social issues, representation of minorities, promotion of human rights and gender equality. Given this, V4 Connect will present professionals taking actions in that sense and it will empower visions towards a more inclusive future in terms of film development and equity on the silver screen.
https://beastfilm.pt/east-match-go-a-co-production-a-networking-platfrom/