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MIFF 37 Degrees South Breakthru and Accelerator producers unveiled

Press release from MIFF

Celebrating its fifth edition this year during the opening weekend of the 60th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), MIFF 37ºSouth Market has registered 100 producers for 37ºSouth: Bridging the Gap, selected seven films for the 37ºSouth: Breakthru Screenings and secured new partnerships with Screen Australia’s Springboard program and the South Australian Film Corporation’s FilmLab initiative.

MIFF 37ºSouth: Breakthru Screenings showcase selected new Australian/NZ films seeking world sales agents and/or local distribution to invited buyers attending MIFF 37ºSouth Market. The producer of each film is registered for MIFF 37ºSouth: Bridging the Gap – the market’s program of one-to-one meetings with financiers/buyers, plus roundtables and networking events which has a record 100 producers registered this year. The MIFF 37ºSouth: Breakthru Screenings 2011 producers are: Genevieve Bailey for I Am Eleven, Robert Carter for Thirst, Liz DiFiore (Russian Snark), Khoa Do for the MIFF Premiere Fund co-financed Falling for Sahara, Winston Furlong for Taj, Richard Lowenstein for Ben Lee: Catch My Disease and AutoLuminescent: Rowland S.Howard and Michael Rymer for Face to Face. Previous MIFF 37ºSouth: Breakthru Screenings titles to have secured distribution and/or sales agent representation include The Wedding Party, Lake Mungo, Blind Company and Surviving Georgia.

Meantime, MIFF 37ºSouth: Accelerator Express, which forms a bridge between MIFF 37ºSouth Market’s emphasis on market-ready projects and the MIFF Accelerator emerging director workshop’s emphasis on emerging talent, has been expanded and revamped. Under new MIFF 37ºSouth Market partnerships with Screen Australia’s Springboard program and the South Australian Film Corporation’s FilmLab program, some 12 producers have been selected to attend the market under the MIFF 37ºSouth: Accelerator Express program, including Springboard producers Drew Bailey, Pip Campey, Ross Hutchens, Tenille Kennedy, Liz Kearney, Leanne Tonkes and Steve Kearney and FilmLab producers Sue Brown, Kate Croser, David Ngo, Vicki Sugars and Rebecca Summerton.

More than 80 other producers have been selected for MIFF 37ºSouth: Bridging the Gap to pitch script-stage project slates, including Yael Bergman (I Love You Too), Rosemary Blight (The Tree), Robert Connolly (Balibo), Trish Lake (Gettin’ Square), Helen Leake (Swerve), Angela Littlejohn (Apron Strings), Marian Macgowan (South Solitary), Aidan O’Bryan (Wasted on the Young), Nicole O’Donohue (Griff the Invisible), Cathy Overett (Unfinished Sky), Michael Robertson (The Reef), Vincent Sheehan (The Hunter) and Jonathan Shteinman (Children of Silk Road). The number of scheduled one-to-one meetings between produces and financiers at MIFF 37ºSouth: Bridging the Gap is increasing 23% to 1,194 from last year’s 915 (up 39% on 2009’s 723, 50% on 2008’s 592 and quadruple 2007’s total), while overall meetings across the various strands of MIFF 37ºSouth Market (which include 37ºSouth’s Books at MIFF and 37ºSouth: PostScript&Direct) have increased 23% to 1,542, from last year’s 1,182 (up 33% on 2009’s 1,041 and up 47% on 2008’s 814 and nearly five times 2007’s tally).

MIFF 37ºSouth Market, which runs 21-24 July 2011 during the opening weekend of MIFF’s. 60th, is the exclusive Australia/NZ institutional partner of London’s Production Finance Market (PFM) and Canada’s Strategic Partners. See www.miff37degreesSouth.com for market details and other MIFF 37ºSouth Market co-presented events on every day of MIFF, including the State of Play film financing panels, the Adrian Wootton Illustrated Talks series, Wendall Thomas Talks Scripts workshops, Mastering Comedy: Francis Veber masterclasses & lectures, and Steve Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive. For more information on MIFF, including MIFF 2011 ticket purchases, go to www.miff.com.au