Unlocking Co-Production Potential: Insights into UK Funding for Southeast European Producers
This panel provides in-depth insight into the UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF), enhancing understanding and accessibility for Southeast European producers. Launched in 2021, the UKGSF boosts international development, production, distribution, and promotional opportunities for the United Kingdom’s independent screen sector, supporting minority co-productions of feature films in all genres and majority and minority co-productions for TV projects in the animation and documentary genres. Acclaimed producer Konstantinos Kontovrakis, who has produced projects supported by the UKGSF, and Emily Leo, producer of HOW TO HAVE SEX (2023), share their experiences, demonstrating that co-producing with the United Kingdom is both achievable and beneficial. Denitsa Yordanova, Head of the UK Global Screen Fund, offers valuable insight into accessing UK funding and navigating co-productions. The panel aims to show that co-producing with the United Kingdom is a viable opportunity, with partnership with Greece serving as a successful example.
SPEAKERS
KONSTANTINOS KONTOVRAKIS
Producer / GR
EMILY LEO
Producer, Wild Swim Films / UK
DENITSA YORDANOVA
Head of UK Global Screen Fund, and International Funds at the British Film Institute / UK
MODERATED BY
SIMON PERRY
Senior Consultant, ACE Producers / UK
TIME
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
11:00 – 12:00 (CET)
LOCATION
Swissotel Sarajevo / CineLink Talks Conference Room
Konstantinos Kontovrakis
After years of experience as a film critic, festival programmer and publicist, Greek-born Konstantinos Kontovrakis moved to production in 2010 and has been producing consistently ever since.
Kontovrakis has been producer and co-producer on more than 25 internationally acclaimed films, including BAFTA and Un Certan Regard winner How to Have Sex (UK/Greece) by Molly Manning Walker, Angela Schanelek’s Berlinale winner Music (Germany/France/Greece), Palm d’Or winner and Oscar nominated Triangle of Sadness (Sweden/Denmark/Germany/France/Greece) by Ruben Östlund, and Semaine de la Critique winner Feathers (Egypt/France/Netherlands/Greece) by Omar el Zohairy.
Kontovrakis was ‘Producer on the Move’ for Greece in Cannes 2014. He is a member of the European and the Hellenic Film Academies, and is the national representative for Greece at EAVE Producers’ Network. In 2018, Kontovrakis received the prestigious ‘European Co-production Award’ at the European Film Awards.
In 2024, Kontovrakis is producing Uberto Pasolini’s The Return (Italy/Greece/UK/France), starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
Denitsa Yordanova
Denitsa Yordanova is the Head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds at the British Film Institute, overseeing the UK Global Screen Fund and BFI’s international funding activities, including support for delegations and UK presence at international events. UK Global Screen Fund was created in 2021 as a £7 million p.a. initiative of the UK government and the British Film Institute, and provides funding across three dedicated funding pathways, supporting International Distribution, International Co-production and International Business Development activities. To date the UK Global Screen Fund has invested over £15m in UK screen sector companies and projects and recently seen its first realised co-productions, such as MERKEL, DRIFT, THE SETTLERS and THE MIRACLE CLUB, featured in film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca and London Film Festival, amongst others.
Prior to working at the British Film Institute, Denitsa had over a decade of experience in the media and entertainment industry, in leading strategy and corporate development roles, including at independent TV production companies All3Media and Endemol Shine, as well as at Guardian Media Group, parent company of the Guardian newspaper, where she helped spearhead its venture investment strategy and managed an investment fund of over £1 billion.
Denitsa holds degrees from Colgate University and Stanford Graduate School of Business in the US, and a degree in Film and Media Studies from Birkbeck University in London.
Simon Perry
After 10 years as an independent film producer (Michael Radford’s ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR and WHITE MISCHIEF, etc), Simon Perry headed the UK’s national film agency British Screen 1991-2000 (Neil Jordan’s THE CRYING GAME, Sally Potter's ORLANDO, Mike Leigh's NAKED, Ken Loach’s LAND AND FREEDOM, Peter Howitt’s SLIDING DOORS, Gurinder Chadha’s BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, etc).
He headed the Irish Film Board 2006-2010 (John Carney’s ONCE, Lenny Abrahamson’s GARAGE, Lance Daly’s KISSES, John Michael McDonagh’s THE GUARD, etc); and then international production funding at Film i Väst in Sweden 2015-2016 (Tomasz Wasilewski’s UNITED STATES OF LOVE, Juho Kuosmanen’s THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MÄKI, etc).
Until 2018 he was president of ACE Producers, European provider of advanced producer training, and remains as director of an ACE initiative called Best Practice Exchange, a forum for leaders of film funding agencies worldwide.