Since 2010, Pack & Pitch has supported emerging directors and producers in preparing their projects for the marketplace. Participants learn how to analyse and prepare their projects for effective written and oral presentation. Talents are mentored in groups and one-on-one sessions by pitching trainers Gabriele Brunnenmeyer and Nicholas Davies, who instruct them in the creation of one-pagers and the analysis of their projects, and provide insight into the all-important subjects of how to pitch, and to whom. Over the course of several days of intensive sessions, Talents prepare written and oral presentations of their projects, which they pitch at the end of the programme to a jury and an audience made up of their peers and industry professionals. The Talent who makes the most successful pitch is invited to participate at next year’s edition of CineLink Industry Days as an observer.
Sara Alavanić, CROATIA
BOILING FROG
Drama
Kiki struggles to piece together memories of a summer spent in the desolation of the badlands with childhood friends he never saw again.
DIRECTOR
Sara Alavanić
SCREENWRITER
Sara Alavanić
PRODUCER
Lucija Perić
Can Deniz Atici,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIZIM
Fiction
A Turkish delivery driver in Toronto faces a cascade of challenges when her dog goes missing. As she searches the city, her journey reveals the quiet weight of loss, resilience, and the longing to belong in a world that wasn’t built for her.
DIRECTOR
Can Deniz Atici
SCREENWRITER
Can Deniz Atici
PRODUCER
Dila Dokuzoglu
Alemdar Faig Dadashov, Azerbaijan
THE HOPE WILL CARRY US
Documentary
In Qazbabalı, the adults search for water from the springs, while the children look for safe routes to the school in the neighbouring village. Meanwhile, Coshgun, a journalist who has come here to teach, tries to find a new path for himself.
DIRECTOR
Alemdar Faig Dadashov
SCREENWRITER
Alemdar Faig Dadashov
PRODUCER
Zeynab Iskandar
Kyriaki Kontaratou, GREECE
MERIDIAN
Drama
Marina, a Lignite miner, lives with her sister Elina in the desolate village of Meridian, where Lignite is worshipped as a deity. When a mysterious explosion seals the mine, her identity, her relationship with her sister and her faith are tested.
DIRECTOR
Markela Kontaratou
SCREENWRITER
Markela Kontaratou
PRODUCERS
Manos Tzivakis, Kyriaki Kontaratou
Lun Sevnik, SLOVENIA
THE HEALERS
Drama
Thirty-year-old Max (30), a charming hustler, who’s always one step away from making it all work, discovers that his ten10-year-old son Val has a miracle healing gift that might bring him a fortune.
DIRECTOR
Lun Sevnik
SCREENWRITERS
Lun Sevnik, Atila Urbančič
PRODUCER
Rok Biček
Petar Lakić,SERBIA
HEART IN YOUR THROAT
Crime
Marina is thirteen and alone. After her grandfather's suicide, she starts fantasising about getting kidnapped.
DIRECTOR
Petar Lakić
SCREENWRITERS
Petar Lakić, Đorđije Petrović
PRODUCERS
Danilo Mladenović, Savina Smederevac
Konstantinos Mavrias, GREECE
MY COSMONAUT
Experimental
Through a journey to the lighthouses her father once guarded, a filmmaker reconstructs a map of absence, longing, and memory to reconnect with the man who shaped her life from afar.
DIRECTOR
Eleni Zentefi
SCREENWRITER
Eleni Zentefi
PRODUCER
Konstantinos Mavrias
Nargiz Mammadli, AZERBAIJAN
UNTITLED, MEMORY
Creative documentary
Following the loss of her father, Nargiz embarks on a journey to preserve his memory. Through fragmented recollections, rituals, and an exploration of cultural traditions, she searches for meaning in mourning, family, and the nature of remembrance.
DIRECTOR
Nargiz Mammadli
SCREENWRITER
Nargiz Mammadli
PRODUCER
Alemdar Faig Dadashov