WEDNESDAY | APRIL 23, 2025
12:00 – 14:00
Registration and Coffee
Participant registration and networking coffee
Location: Main Hall
14:00 – 14:15
Opening Remarks
Opening address – Miroslav Borshosh, Minister of Tourism (Republic of Bulgaria). Presentation of Media Play 2025 – Hristo Hadzhitanev (Media Play)
Location: Main Hall
14:15 – 15:00
What Are Content Markets All About?
Panel discussion with Hicran Lefort - Sales Director MIP Markets (France), Victoria Elmacioglu, Head Buyer Relations & Business Development, NATPE (USA/Hungary), Kamila Zlatuskova - Founder & CEO of Serial Killer (Czech Republic), Karolina Socha-Kalinowska - Head of the Heart of Europe TV Festival at TVP (Poland). Moderator: Kateryna Udut - Founding partner of Between Media Agency (Ukraine)
Location: Main Hall
15:00 – 15:45
Gundi – The story of the highest-grossing Bulgarian movie
Presented by: Ivan Hristov, Andrey Arnaudov, Medium Station (Bulgaria)
Location: Main Hall
15:45 – 16:15
Coffee Break
Networking and refreshments
Location: Main Hall
16:15 – 17:00
Series Co-production: What our region offers and what the international players expect from us?
Annа Rohde, Beta Film (Germany) Goran Stanković, This and That Productions (Serbia) Vladimir Tagić, This and That Productions (Serbia) Lillo Petrov, Overlock Entertainment (Bulgaria)
Location: Main Hall
17:00 – 18:00
Docu Pitching Session – Presented by Martichka Bozhilova, Producer, Agitprop (Bulgaria)
Forbidden Aunt – Bojana Novakovic (Serbia) Death Café – Mariana Sabeva & Victoria Mitreva (Bulgaria) The Forest Glade – Oksana Savoskina (Ukraine) SubBalcans - Sergiu Scobioală, Producer (Moldova)
Location: Main Hall
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18:00 – 21:00
Welcome Cocktail & Networking
Location: Main Hall
19:00 – 20:30
Screening of 'Operation Sabre' Episode 1
Screening and Q&A with creators: Goran Stankovich & Vladimir Tagic - Producers, This and That Productions (Serbia), (free entry with Media Play badge)
Location: Odeon Cinema
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 23, 2025 (LIBRARY HALL)
15:00 – 16:00
From A to Commission - Unscripted Steps in Short
A-Z crash course on how an unscripted production works Presented by Denis Karam, CEO, ProudCloud Productions (UK & Croatia)
Location: Library Hall
16:15 – 16:45
Distribution of Bulgarian Films - FAQ
Presentation of the National Film Centre - Peter Todorov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Film Centre
Location: Library Hall
16:45 – 17:45
Bulgarian Films in Cinemas
Discussion with Radi Georgiev (PR Studio 8PM), Deyan Statulov (film critic and publicist), and Nikolay Stoichkov (NO BLINK Group)
Location: Library Hall
18:00 – 18:30
Presentation of the Platform www.filmcenter.bg
Location: Library Hall
THURSDAY | APRIL 24, 2025
10:00 – 10:30
Are you ready to co-produce with a MAJOR streaming platform?
Presented by Tereza Bóna Keilová, HBO Original Docs CEE
Location: Main Hall
10:30 – 11:00
Win your country! – the success story of a Romanian format on the international market
Presented by Marian Ene and Bogdan Nicolescu, Partners, Zucchero Media (Romania)
Location: Main Hall
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
Location: Main Hall
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11:30 – 12:15
Digital creators – what do you need to become a media?
Ivan Zeljkovic, TV host/Managing Director, Evans Media Group (UAE) Vanja Džaferović, Content creator, Host and TV personality (Croatia/Bulgaria) Lyubomir Zhechev, YouTuber and Journalist (Bulgaria) Moderated by Elena Chopakova
Location: Main Hall
12:15 – 12:45
Soviet jeans – the Bulgarian textile for the Baltic success
Presented by Teodora Markova, Screenwriter and Showrunner (Bulgaria)
Location: Main Hall
12:45 – 14:00
Lunch Break
Location: Main Hall
14:00 – 14:30
Entertainment in times of War: Case studies from Ukraine's creative powerhouses
Presented by Kateryna Udut, Founding Partner of Between Media Agency. Speakers: Roman Lukin, Creative Producer at TET Channel, 1+1 MEDIA, Anna Kalyna, Studio Head at Starlight Production and Showrunner of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette (Ukraine) at Starlight Media.
Location: Main Hall
14:30 – 15:30
TV Fiction Pitching Session
Good Enough - Jean-Nicolas Gilles Hopfer & Marta Hopfer-Gilles (Poland/Norway) The Adventure of a Turbo-folk Princess - Andrey Volkashin (North Macedonia/Bulgaria) South Stream – Marko Popović (Serbia) Gold War – Martichka Bozhilova & Teodora Markova (Bulgaria) Las Veles – Pece Taleski (North Macedonia) Ian Bibian – Javor Gardev (Bulgaria)
Location: Main Hall
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee break
Location: Main Hall
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16:00 – 17:00
Industry trends
Presented by Hristo Hadzhitanev, followed by Bulgarian Industry Panel Teodora Markova, Showrunner and Scriptwriter Svetoslav Ivanov, Journalist and TV host Ivan Doykov, Film and Service Producer Radi Georgiev, Movies distributor and event organizer
Location: Main Hall
17:00 – 18:15
CEE screenings – The best fiction projects from the region for the last year
Presented by Stanislav Kimchev, CEETV/TVBIZZ (Bulgaria)
Location: Main Hall
18:15 – 18:30
Closing remarks
Location: Main Hall
20:00 – Late
Evening Party and Networking
THURSDAY | APRIL 24, 2025 (LIBRARY HALL)
10:00 – 11:00
Masterclass – Writing for TV Series
With Wiktor Piatkowski, Producer, Writer, Bahama Films (Poland)
Location: Library Hall
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
Location: Library Hall
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11:30 – 12:00
Masterclass – Case Studies in Writing a TV Series
With Wiktor Piatkowski, Producer, Writer, Bahama Films (Poland)
Location: Library Hall
12:00 – 12:45
Masterclass – Creating Fiction Based on Real Events
Presented by Goran Stankovic & Vladimir Tagic, Producers, This and That Productions (Serbia)
Location: Library Hall
12:45 – 14:00
Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30
Creative Europe MEDIA: Step-by-Step Guide to Funding
Presented by Creative Europe MEDIA Desks: Kamen Balkanski (Bulgaria) & Martina Petrovic (Croatia)
Location: Library Hall – PLAYGROUND
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee Break
Location: Library Hall
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16:00 – 17:30
Unscripted Formats – The Winning Formulas
Presented by Tim Crescenti, President of Small World IFT (USA)
Location: Library Hall
17:30 – 18:30
Creative Europe MEDIA: Individual Consultations by Kamen Balkanski (CED MEDIA Bulgaria) & Martina Petrovic (CED MEDIA Croatia)
One-on-one consultations
Location: Library Hall
20:00 – Late
Evening Party and Networking -->
location
FRIDAY | APRIL 25, 2025
09:00 – 11:00
Farewell Breakfast
Location: ADOR restaurant, Hotel InterContinental Sofia