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Exclusive: The Potsdam-based Erich Pommer Institute (Epi) has announced the 15 female producers from 12 countries selected for the fourth edition of its female leadership program Series’ Women.

The initiative, aimed at increasing the visibility and industry exposure of female producers and female-driven projects, offers opportunities to build professional networks as well as leaderships skills.

Consisting of five modules, it will takes place from November 2024 to April 2025 online and in cities across Europe. Activities include participation at key European series markets, TV Drama Vision presented by Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden and Series Mania Forum in Lille, France.

They will also receive 1:1 pitching coaching and curated mentoring from experienced industry professionals and participate in online diversity training to guide them when hiring managers or decision makers for their companies.

The program addresses the topic of gender equality and diversity at both an individual and organizational level in the belief this will make...

Erol Mintaş has revealed the cast for his upcoming feature “Earth Song.”

Dilan Gwyn, Ali Seçkiner Alıcı (“Burning Days”), Feyyaz Duman (“Yalan”) and Zenan Tünc will star in the film written by Mintaş and Mikko Viljanen, which also debuts first-look photos.

Previously, Mintaş directed Duman in his debut “Song of My Mother,” awarded at Sarajevo.

Produced by Mete Sasioglu and Mintaş for Sons of Lumière, “Earth Song” is co-produced by Anna Blom for Jamedia Production (Finland) and Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer for Elemag Pictures (Germany). With Finnish broadcaster Yle on board, Cinemanse will distribute the film in Finland, while Folkets Bio will handle Sweden.

In the drama – now in post-production and presented at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films Works in Progress session – Rojin, a Kurdish-Finnish woman (Dilan Gwyn), lives in Helsinki with her husband Ferhat (Feyyaz Duman) and their 12-year-old adopted daughter Azad. She finds her life and family crumbling apart as...

Finnish series creators are ready to laugh – also at themselves.

“While cultures vary, a fish-out-of-water experience is universal,” says writer Beata Harju, behind “Lay Low and Don’t Be Fabulous” about a woman who just can’t let go of her ex. Or of her Finnish roots.

“Finland is the perfect setting for a culture-clash comedy, because our networking events are so silent, you can hear the crunch of a cucumber.”

The show, set to bow in the Focus on Finland showcase at Mipcom, won’t be the only one led by complex female protagonists. In “True North,” three women fight for power after Egyptian refugee, Layla, joins a catering company with a secret.

“Through placing the story in [Spain’s] Marbella, where international jet-setters and social media celebrities live next to refugees and locals struggling to get by, we create a unique story around some of the inequalities of today’s society,...

81 more titles have been added to the festival programme.

Bella Ciao, a documentary about the anthem that symbolized the Italian partisans’ fight against facism in the Second World War, is one of 81 new titles added to the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) programme.

Directed by Giulia Giapponesi, Bella Ciao will have its international premiere at IDFA, having first played at Italy’s Bari International Film Festival in March.

Scroll down for the Luminous, Frontlight feature additions

Adapted from Italian folk tune ‘Mondine’, the song ‘Bella Ciao’ has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent weeks, partly as a show of...