As coordinator of the 2009 Much more than a Script Competition, I would like to congratulate our screenwriter finalists! It was a great competition with many wonderfully talented submissions, and in the end our judges narrowed down the choices to the following finalists.

For the best short scripts:

• Breakfast by Rob Vitolo • Fergus and Viola by Anna Condo • Raise You One Dead Body by Marjory Kaptanoglu

For the best feature scripts:

•Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller • The Cannibal’s Supper by Amy Waddell • VERA by Caitlin McCarthy

(Meadow Brown ECU 2009)

The Perfect Pitch, that new initiative to premiere at The European Independent Film Festival (ƒCU) – and to be held March 13th and 15th in the Salle Belvedere at La Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Francois Mitterrand – seems to have come together quite nicely.

For those of you who haven’t heard about this pop, bam, whiz of a program, it is aimed at assisting filmmakers in fine-tuning their pitch presentations to film buyers, movie producers, and distributors.

The number of individuals involved in filmmaking is continually on the rise, and with this, the technology and varying mediums these filmmakers are using is improving and outdating itself on an almost daily basis. Considering the current state of the global economy, many distributors and buyers are no longer willing to take financial risks. With less room for error it is essential that filmmakers are able to communicate their knowledge and capabilities effectively when they’re on the spot.

Peter Bart, editor of Variety and recent contributor to Vanity Fair’s March 2009 issue via ‘Beware Falling Stars!’, recognizes these changing times and economies:

“In the 60s and 70s, young filmmakers would pitch their projects in a near frenzy. Every film seemed a passion project. Today’s filmmakers come equipped with data on how their movies might do overseas, on DVD, or on the Internet. Decisions on whether to green-light a project, they realize, are based on research, and they come prepared to deal with demographic realities.”

The Perfect Pitch is a program addressing these very realities, beginning with a series of workshops aimed at helping filmmakers effectively prepare and execute a professional pitch presentation. The workshops will be held the morning of Friday, March 13th. The instructors include:

• Jeff Gross, Director/Screenwriter • Charles Weinstein, Instructor, Film Acting Paris • Matt Jeschelnik, Owner, Boulder Creek International • Jeffrey Goldberg, Filmmaker/Director

On Friday afternoon judges will evaluate individual pitch performances, and twenty Perfect Pitch participants will be invited to pitch their films to a panel of film buyers, movie producers and distributors on Sunday, March 15th. Panelists include:

• Stephane Parthenay, Pyramide Productions • Alexis Hofmann, BAC Films • Sylva Polakova, Film Distribution Artcam • Vanja Kaludercic, The Coproduction Office • Frederic Podetti, Adesif Productions • Tanja Meissner, Memento Films International

The registration deadline for The Perfect Pitch HAS BEEN EXTENDED through MARCH 10th, 2009. Individuals interested in signing up for the workshops and practice pitch session are invited to visit http://www.ecufilmfestival.com/perfect_pitch.php?lang=en. For more information regarding The Perfect Pitch please contact Sarah Schutzki, Program Coordinator, at sarah@ecufilmfestival.com.

We are always asked every year where people can catch another look at a film that has played at the festival – up until now it’s always been ‘we can put you in touch with the filmmaker, and see how you go from there’.

But that is about to change at ƒCU 2009! We will be launching The European Independent Film Channel (EIFC) at the opening press conference on Friday 13th March.

These are the very first steps for EIFC and we would be happy for you to join us in building the brand, gaining recognition for your films and hopefully making some money. Please email filmchannel@euroindie.com for more information about this exciting opportunity.

Exciting news from our media partner-- Wallflower Press, an independent publishing house specializing in cinema and moving images. As one of our media partners this year, they are eager to offer ECU 2009 supporters their beautiful books at a discounted price. Type in this special discount code to take advantage of their generous offer!

EuroIndie TV is an exciting new weekly television series giving viewers an insight into the world of European cinema. Episodes include interviews with directors, snippets from the films and behind-the-scenes footage The program is a hybrid of entertainment tonight and the BBC’s Talking Movies.

Hip, cool, and informative, EuroIndie TV is starting its life on the Internet at www.theeuropeanindependentfilmchannel.com, which will be launched around the time of the festival, but the pilot episode is available to watch on www.dailymotion.com/eifc. The EuroIndie TV series will eventually migrate onto mainstream cable TV, but we’re taking small steps at the moment to establish its name.

We believe that this is an excellent vehicle for the promotion of the very best independent films from around the world. To get more material for this series, we will have an onsite TV production crew carrying out interviews throughout the festival.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you're keen to take part in EuroIndie TV by contacting siobhan@ecufilmfestival.com for more information and to schedule in your interview time.

ECU is proud to announce a new partnership with the Festival International du Film d’Environnement, which is holding its 27th edition this year. Along with the launch of our new category Ecology Now! We hope that the beginning of this beautiful new partnership will help increase awareness of environmental issues.

Dawn Westlake’s latest project, ‘68º & Clear’, premiered earlier this month at the opening night of the New Beijing Film Fest. It has been selected to screen at a vast array of international film festivals in 2008 including the 6th Filmmor Women's Film Festival in Turkey, the 10th International Short & Independent Film Festival in Bangladesh, the Rwanda Film Festival and the Portobello Film Festival in London. Go Dawn!

'Silent Radio', the 2007 ECU festival's Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography winner has just won Best Short Subject at the 2007 Ellensburg Film Festival in Washington. The film, which is written and directed by Alan Arrivée, has screened in numerous festivals around the world, including Breckenridge and the Long Island International Film Expo where it picked up their Triple Play Award for Best Technical Integration (Cinematography, Art Direction and Original Score) and Best Actor for Eric Winzenried.

'Silent Radio', the 2007 ECU festival's BEST FOREIGN FILM and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY winner has just won BEST SHORT SUBJECT at the 2007 Ellensburg Film Festival in Washington. The film, which is written and directed by Alan Arrivée, has screened in numerous festivals around the world, including Breckenridge and the Long Island International Film Expo where it picked up their TRIPLE PLAY AWARD for Best Technical Integration (Cinematography, Art Direction and Original Score) and BEST ACTOR for Eric Winzenried.

Paul Bickel’s film Hollow has screened in 28 film festivals and has won Best Picture at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival. It is also enjoying success on iTunes where it is in the top 15 most downloaded films behind a lot of big budget studio productions. Emma Caulfield has also won two best actress awards for her part in Hollow.