International auteur-driven
film festival
Saaremaa Island, Estonia
Dates: 24–26 August, 2023
The festival is dedicated to discovering new talent in film. We welcome young authors who are sincere and passionate about expressing their view on life around them from an artistic standpoint. The festival’s programme will feature fiction and hybrid films that convey this position in an honest, relevant and distinctive way.
ABOUT FESTIVAL
Cinemod Debuts - a unique platform offering first and second feature directors to demonstrate fully-fledged authorship, present projects where they act both as directors and writers of the selected works.
The festival’s ambition is to revive the energy of the French New Wave and Von Trier's Dogma, find new trends in world cinema and provide an opportunity for authors to meet each other and showcase their work on the big screen. Apart from regular spectators, the films will also be seen by representatives of the global film industry - producers and distributors of independent film.
ABOUT Location
Dates: 24–26 August, 2023
Saaremaa Island,
Estonia
Saaremaa is one of the most beautiful places in Estonia and Northern Europe, where history and modernity, cosiness and openness, individuality and togetherness blend seamlessly. Since ancient times, the island has been a meeting place for various nations and cultures, from the farthest reaches of the Baltic and Northern seas. Legend has it that Saaremaa is the mysterious and legendary land of Ultima Thule ('the end of the world'), the longed-for destination of ancient travellers. It is no coincidence that the THULE KODA cultural space (House of Thule), which houses a 170-seat state-of-the-art cinema, will host the festival.
Competition
Short film debuts (up to 10 films)
Feature-length debuts (up to 8 films)
2.
1.
First and second films, in which directors are also the scriptwriters, can be admitted into both programmes.
No premiere status is required but the films must have been completed between 2022 and 2023.
The festival is comprised of two competition programmes:
Nominations
Jury’s Special Prize
Original vision
Best Estonian short
Grand Prix
Best short
Organizers’s Special Prize
PROGRAM
Opening night and film
Screening of debut films by famous directors in an out-of-competition programme
Screening of competition films:
⁃ feature-length debuts
⁃ short film debuts
Educational programme: master-classes by members of the Jury and invited guests
Awards ceremony
Organizers
Cinemod Debuts Festival is a crucial part of the Cinemod project comprising an international film school and a production company. The idea of the project is to bring together emerging filmmakers from Northern Europe and other countries around the world, enable access to the professional knowledge and experience, help raise funding and build connections with a view to organize co-productions. The project is initiated by Estonian, Israeli and Georgian filmmakers.
Festival director: Katerina Monastyrskaya
Leo Films, Narva mnt 20/1, Tallinn Harjumaa 10120