region Mediterranean: Last News

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicWarner Music Group has opened an office in Israel. The new recorded music affiliate is headed by Mariah Mochiach, a veteran of the Israeli music industry and longtime conduit to the local scene who’s held A&R positions, managed artists and served as a liaison and consultant for such labels as Beggars Group, Domino Recordings and Kobalt Music Group, among others.Warner Music Israel, based in Tel Aviv, will locally market and promote artists from the WMG roster — Anitta, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Coldplay, David Guetta, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Paulo Londra, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Saweetie are listed in the release announcing the news — as well as local signings.Recorded music revenue in Israel saw a rise of 10.2% in 2021, per the latest report by industry trade group IFPI, and international music companies have taken notice, with Live Nation and Universal Music Group opening Tel Aviv outposts in recent years.

Naman Ramachandran Agora, the industry section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, has selected 10 films from seven countries for its works in progress strand. Thestrand selects projects in post-production stage, which have a link to the Mediterranean region and Southeastern Europe, and presents them to sales agents, distributors, producers, streaming platforms and festival programmers with the objective to raise finishing funds, secure sales agents, festival premieres and book meetings with potential partners.

EXCLUSIVE: The Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s industry-focused AGORA section has selected 15 projects from 14 countries for this year’s Crossroads Co-production Forum. Scroll down for the full list of projects. 

Christopher Vourlias Stories of war and its devastating human toll, migration across borders, the struggle for human rights and the battle to save a rapidly warming planet are among the themes that take center stage on March 6 during the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum, the co-production and co-financing platform of the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. Fourteen projects representing filmmakers from 21 countries will be pitching before an audience of international industry guests including producers, broadcasters, funding bodies and festival programmers, as well as a jury comprised of Eleni Chandrinou, a consultant and producer from Cigale Films; Nevena Milašinović, a sales and acquisitions executive from Lightdox; and Sara Rüster, international distribution manager at the Swedish Film Institute.

Christopher Vourlias Since its inaugural edition at the 60th Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2019, the Meet the Future program has offered a look ahead to the next generation of emerging film talents set to make waves in Greece, the wider Mediterranean region and beyond.After training the spotlight on up-and-coming documentary filmmakers from Serbia, who presented five projects in post-production to industry guests at last year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the focus shifts this year to Georgia, a country that’s seen its cinema profile rise in recent years on the strength of directors including acclaimed docmaker Salomé Jashi, whose arresting feature “Taming the Garden” (pictured) played in the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition.Yianna Sarri, the head of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s industry arm, Agora, considers herself “one of the biggest fans of Georgian cinema for many years now.” “They make beautiful cinema,” she said, adding that she had “this [Georgian focus] in mind for a very long time.”In collaboration with the Georgian Film Center, Thessaloniki presents five up-and-coming Georgian documentary filmmakers who will present their next projects during a special Meet the Future showcase on March 15.Here are this year’s participants:

Christopher Vourlias Now in its 17th year, the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Crossroads Co-Production Forum has become a de rigueur stop on the fall circuit for producers, distributors, festival programmers and sales agents from across Europe – and increasingly the rest of the world – as they look to spot promising projects in development from Southeast Europe, the Black Sea, and the wider Mediterranean region.For Yianna Sarri, who heads Thessaloniki’s industry arm, Agora, the reason is obvious.

Christopher Vourlias The coronavirus pandemic might have shut down film and television production across the globe, with many industries still struggling to relaunch with the latest health and safety protocols, but Yianna Sarri, who heads the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, knew there would be an upside for the annual Crossroads Co-Production Forum.“During the lockdown everywhere, people had the opportunity to stay at home and write scripts,” she said.