Tirana Times
TIRANA, June 1 – The Albanian National Center of Cinematography (ANCC) is the latest organisation to become a member of European Film Promotion (EFP). This decision was recently taken by the members of the EFP network at their General Assembly. EFP now consists of 31 promotion organisations from 32 European countries. The network’s activities are financially supported by its member organisations, the MEDIA Programme of the European Union as well as by private sponsors and national film funds.
“We are pleased to announce the accession of our newest member”, EFP’s President ʶa Vez겠says. “We are sure the ANCC will enrich the discussions within our European network and also benefit from the knowledge accumulated by our international marketing platform over the past 13 years.”
Founded in 1997, the ANCC supports the development, production and distribution of films which have a potential to achieve international recognition, thereby enhancing the cultural identity of the local film productions and improving the economic viability of its cinematography. Since 1997, around 167 different projects – 37 feature-length films, 20 short feature films, 63 documentaries, 39 animated films, and eight film festivals – have been backed by ANCC. The main mandate remains the development of new cinema of artistic value.
“The wealth of Albanian cinematography is, unfortunately, widely unknown so far to most of the world”, states Artan Minarolli, chairman of ANCC and EFP representative. “We believe that our EFP membership and the concentrated experience of the network will help us promote our talented directors, producers, actors and actresses on an international level, and also will widen the possibilities for European co-production and distribution of our films. At the same time, we also believe that we can make our own contribution to this European organisation.”
At this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, the ANCC had arranged a presence in a joint pavilion at the March顤u Film for the first time, collaborating with other film institutions from South Eastern Europe. Similar activities are being developed for the next Berlinale.
Recent important films coming from Albania include East, West, East: – The Final Sprint by Gjergj Xhuvani, Time of the Comet by Fatmir Ko詬 and Alive by Artan Minarolli.
