Tirana will be the film capital in the Balkans. The most important producers and directors in the field of film from all over Europe will come to the capital from December 13-17, to participate in the “Balkan Film Market”.

Jonid Jorgji, head of the Creative Industry Agency in the municipality of Tirana, in an interview with the ATA, announced that the creative industry and film as a whole have a direct impact on tourism.

“The giant event in the cinema industry will bring to Tirana hundreds of producers and filmmakers, representatives of the most popular television platforms in Europe. They will come to Tirana for four or five days. There will be discussion panels, workshops, but also competitions for the best “Pitching” idea, which will bring together various Balkan, Albanian and European co-productions”, said Jorgji.

The head of the Creative Industry Agency in the Municipality of Tirana also brought examples of how the cinema industry has directly affected tourism.

“The film industry and the entire audiovisual industry gives an important feedback to tourism. It is a good ambassador for future tourists who will come to our country. Croatia is a concrete example that thanks to “Game of Throne” turned into one of the most important tourist attractions in the region and Europe. We are also following this strategy in Tirana, creating this film office, bringing as many film productions as possible”, he said.

“Thanks to the received incentives, many film productions have come, while the law for the audiovisual sector is being worked on, which helps and encourages foreigners and locals who want to shoot their films or audiovisual products in our country. A year ago, the last episode of a Dutch Reality Show was shot in our country, and Tirana had a tourist boom from the Netherlands after the broadcast of that episode,” Jorgji emphasized.

“Balkan Film Market” will take place in the premises of the Pyramid, where aspirants to start work on their first film, pre-selected based on the applications made during the last two months, will work individually with foreign mentors for the development of the scenario  which they are represented with. In parallel, filmmakers from the region will present their projects to producers and distributors invited to BFM, having the opportunity to secure the support they need in the pre- or post-production phase.

In the circle of more than 300 guests, who turn their eyes to the Balkan projects, the directors of the region will have the opportunity during five days to promote themselves, to expand the circle of acquaintances with names that have a long and successful history in the world film industry, where some of them nominated for OSCAR awards.

In addition to the opportunity for experts in the field, through the market Tirana will be transformed into a strategic meeting point for film producers, who will get to know the capital city more closely, seeing it also from the perspective of a possible filming location.

Balkan Film Market is realized in partnership with the municipality of Tirana, the French Embassy, the Austrian Embassy, the Italian Institute of Culture, Filmmakers Europe, the AGIMI Art Center, under the organization of the Creative Industry Agency.

/k.s/