SOFA Unveils Participants, Experts for Sixth Edition (EXCLUSIVE)

By Leo Barraclough

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – SOFA – School of Film Agents has revealed the lineup of its sixth edition, running Aug. 26-31 in Warsaw, Poland. The training event provides workshops for executives and entrepreneurs working in the film business, giving them the opportunity to develop their film infrastructure projects.

, led by director Nikolaj Nikitin, has invited a team of industry experts to “provide the participants with the necessary input for a practical development of their project ideas,” and “to stimulate an exchange about transnational communication, handling human resources in each of their home nation’s creative industries, and especially focusing on new media, gender issues and post-production,” according to a statement.

This year’s participants are:
Eva Brazdžionytė from Women in Film and Television, Lithuania, which aims to foster networking between women working in the Lithuanian film and TV businesses, and promote both their professional activities, and gender equality.

Agnieszka Kruk of Find Your Story, an online platform where screenwriters and filmmakers who are looking for screenplays or new talents can meet and collaborate.

Victoria Leshchenko of FAQ, a film festival that screens films and holds lectures on science and modern technologies.

Marat Parkhomovsky of IFA Digital Experiences, a web platform “dedicated to unlocking the treasures of the Israeli Film Archive” for the public.

Róbert Vámos of Satellite Trailers, whose mission is to help Central and Eastern European films boost their audiences by delivering high-quality trailers, teasers and promos.

Natia Nikoleishvili of Post Production Platform, which offers a guide to post-production facilities and staff in Georgia.

SOFA’s industry experts will include Funa Maduka, creative and acquisitions executive at Netflix Original Films in Amsterdam, Netherlands, producer Ewa Puszczyńska from Łódź, Poland, whose credits include Oscar-winner “Ida” and Cannes winner “Cold War,” Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Oliver Baumgarten of Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken, Germany, Robert Groß, CEO of ACT in Cologne, Germany, Jowita Michalska, CEO of Digital University in Warsaw, Poland, and Cristian Nicolescu, CEO of Avanpost Digital Cube in Bucharest, Romania.

SOFA is a joint project of Filmplus gUG in Cologne and the Institute for Democratic Changes in Tbilisi, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and Creative Europe – MEDIA Program of the European Union. The 2018 workshop in Poland is also supported by the Polish Film Institute, the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, and Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission.

Pictured: Funa Maduka (left), Marat Parkhomovsky (right)