KVIFF Eastern Promises, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s industry section and film market, announced its winners Tuesday. Ștefan Bîtu-Tudoran’s “Battalion Records” won the Eurimages Co-production Development Award worth 20,000 Euros ($23,457), with the Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award for a Ukrainian project going to Yelizaveta Smith’s “In Vacuo.”
“Battalion Records” is Bîtu-Tudoran’s feature debut and follows a group of young artists who hijack Romania’s oldest music studio to stage a cultural revolution, taking the staff hostage to film a musical manifesto against Romania’s cultural decay. The jury called the film a “bold debut that confronts the decay of culture,” saying they were pleased to award the project “because sometimes, to make people listen, you must turn things upside down – and this absurdist heist comedy does so with rebellious energy.”
“In Vacuo” trails a young archaeologist who returns to her hometown to sell her missing father’s apartment, but past and present unexpectedly change her plans. In their statement, the jury said: “The film explores the universal impact of loss and how absence shapes both identities and communities, highlighting the importance of remembering before it’s too late.”
“In Vacuo” (Courtesy of Karlovy Vary Film Festival)
This year’s Eurimages co-production development award jury is composed of the head of industry at the Göteborg Film Festival, Josef Kullengård; head of international department at the Netherlands Film Fund, Ilse Ronteltap; and producer Zuzana Mistríková.
A total of 40 film and series projects were showcased in a year of change for Eastern Promises, which saw the introduction of a new Pop Up Series Incubator small-screen pitching session, as well as the inaugural KVIFF Central Stage — a brand-new showcase focused on established directors and Central European co-productions, organized and curated in cooperation with selected national film institutes from the region.
“Every country in Central Europe has something unique to showcase, but even experienced filmmakers often struggle to close financing,” said Hugo Rosák, the head of the KVIFF Film Industry Office. “The support structures here are still relatively fragile. Our hope is that by curating projects in close collaboration with national film institutes, we can offer producers and investors a selection they can trust, and ultimately help unlock co-financing with greater confidence.”
“At the same time, we want to spark more awareness and collaboration between producers in the region,” he added. “There’s a lot of potential for working together, and this format helps make those connections visible.”
David Gašo’s “History of Illness,” directed and written by David Gašo, won the MIDPOINT and KVIFF Development Award comprising the Feature Launch and Focus Queer sections. Of the Croatian absurdist comedy, the jury — comprising story consultant and curator Martin Horyna, producer Danijel Hočevar and director/screenwriter Egle Vertelyte — said they have chosen to “highlight a charming film project in which human unease plunges into an absurd labyrinth where anxiety peers out from the corners of humor.”
Please find the full list of winners below:
Eurimages Co-production Development Award
- “Battalion Records” (Romania), directed and written by Ștefan Bîtu-Tudoran and produced by Diana Caravia.
Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award
- “In Vacuo” (Ukraine), directed and written by Yelizaveta Smith and produced by Eugene Rachkovsky.
MIDPOINT & KVIFF Development Award
- “History of Illness” (Croatia), directed and written by David Gašo and produced by Marta Eva Mećava.
Connecting Cottbus Award
- “RadioAmateur” (Poland), directed and written by Tomasz Habowski and produced by Marta Szarzyńska
Rotterdam Lab Award
- Ondřej Lukeš, producer of the film “Restless” (Czech Republic)
Marché du Film Producers Network Award
- Michelle Brøndum Hauerbach, producer of “Soyboy” (United Kingdom) and Genovéva Petrovits, producer of “Democracy: Work in Progress” (Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany)
KVIFF Talents
Feature Pool (120,000 CZK for further development):
- “Nameless” (Czech Republic), directed and animated by Daria Kascheeva and produced by Lukáš Kokeš
- “Spirit Moose” (Czech Republic, Slovakia), directed by Tomáš Klein, written by Barbora Námerová and produced by Tomáš Michálek
- “Burnout” (Czech Republic), written and directed by Greta Stocklassa and produced by Marek Novák
Creative Pool (50,000 CZK for further development):
- “Mould” (Czech Republic), animated series directed and animated by Phillippe Kastner and produced by Tereza Havlová
- “Lost Boys” (Czech Republic) Anime series, written and directed by Dužan Duong and produced by Dužan Duong, Lukáš Kokeš and Tomáš Hrubý
- “Remake” (Czech Republic) musical retro dramedy series written and directed by Kateřina Letáková, produced by Daniel Bleha
