Editor

A. Ramaska with the programmers to attend VIFF

The fifth edition of Meeting Point Vilnius -- an industry sidebar held during the 19^th Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris -- takes place between March 31 and April 3, 2014.

A forum for international film industry professionals and lovers of Eastern European cinema, this year's edition of Meeting Point Vilnius focuses on marketing and promotion. It is aimed at an audience of festival programmers, film producers and others interested in gaining an authoritive insight into current developments in film industry of the Baltic states.

                The Vilnius International Film Festival is one of the fastest growing cinema events in the region,  screening more than 200 films each year in a range of programmes and festival fringe events. New Europe - New Names, now in its sixth year, is a competition programme, judged by a top international jury showcasing talented debut filmmakers from central and Eastern Europe. Baltic Gaze, a new competition programme introduced this year, concentrates on films from the Baltic sea region

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                Running concurrently with Meeting Point Vilnius industry event, the Baltic Film Market, will bring the latest Baltic region and Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian films and works in progress to festival programmers, buyers and agents. Programers from Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Sarajevo, Moscow,  Minsk, Transylvania, Minsk, Thessaloniki, Berline (Berlinale Forum), Gothenburg, Helsinki and other festivals will be among participants. Producers will have the opportunity to visit a range of top Lithuanian locations. Distributors and sales agents from the region  -- on the look out for new, interesting projects -- are also expected to attend.

                The Meeting Point Vilnius event is held in partnership with the Maia Workshops from Italy with programme director, Maia Workshops, Graziella Bildesheim, in attendance and SOFA, the School of Film Agents, an advanced training programme for European producers, represented by Nikolaj Nikitin, its founder and director of SOFA and the Berlinale delegate for Eastern Europe. Álvaro Vega, CEO & Founder of DobleSentido, a Spain-based cinema marketing, communication, events and training agency; Mia Bays from MAIA FILMS, a producer with more than 20 years' experience working in film sales, marketing and distribution in the UK; Peter Buckingham, Director at Kube Consultancy, a thinker and strategist analyst 30 years' experience in film and media, with a particular focus on connecting audiences with creative work. Panels and lectures will be moderated by Nick Holdsworth, a British journalist and industry expert with more than 20 years' experience of involvement in the central and Eastern European film industry.