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Ahead of its European bow in San Sebastian as part of the fest’s New Directors Competition, Turkish writer-director Belkis Bayrak reveals the first look trailer for her riveting debut feature, “Gülizar,” shared exclusively with Variety.

“It is, of course, an honor to be in competition at San Sebastian with my debut feature,” Bayrak relayed. “I can’t wait to see the film with a European audience, especially the famed San Sebastian audience!”

Bayrak is an alum of the Torino Film Lab, Reclaim The Frame’s Filmonomics Program and a member of Ewa who has previously released notable shorts “The Apartment” and “Cemile.”

“Gülizar,” which saw its world premiere in Toronto at TIFF’s Discovery strand, was produced by Bayrak alongside Murat Yaşar Bayrak at Turkey’s Saba Film in tandem with Mehmet Bahadir Er of Turkey’s Protim V.P and co-produced by Valmira Hyseni of Kosovo’s Planbee Films.

Projects will be presented during festival’s Industry Days section.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) has unveiled the projects that will be showcased during its Eastern Promises industry strand, which takes place on July 3-4.

27 film projects have been selected for Eastern Promises’ Works in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch and First Cut+ Works in Progress strands.

The most promising projects, selected by international juries, will receive awards worth a total of €115,000. The showcase of projects to industry professionals will take place during this year’s Kviff Industry Days.

Eleven fiction and documentary features have been selected for the Works in Progress strand.

Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s Eastern Promises industry platform has unveiled 27 film projects that will be showcased during its Works in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch and First Cut+ Works in Progress presentations. The most promising projects, selected by international juries, will receive awards with a total value of 115,000 Eur.

The showcasing of projects to industry professionals will take place in Karlovy Vary, during this year’s Kviff Industry Days on July 3 (Works in Progress and Works in Development – Feature Launch) and July 4 (First Cut+ Works in Progress).

For Works in Progress, 11 fiction and documentary feature films in the late stage of production or post-production from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa have been selected.

The following projects will compete for prizes of a total value of 100,000 Eur:

“Distances” (Poland)

Director: Matej Bobrik

Producer: Agnieszka Skalska...

Samuel Theis’ “Softie” won the top prize at the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival, which wrapped Sunday night with a ceremony in Greece’s second city.

The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week section, was awarded the Golden Alexander and a €10,000 cash prize by a jury comprised of writer-director Nanouk Leopold, sound designer Roland Vajs and actor Michelle Valley.

The Special Jury Award was given to “Clara Sola,” by Natalie Álvarez Mesén, while the Special Jury Award for best director went to Lorenzo Vigas for “The Box.”

The award for best actress went to Sofia Kokkali for her performance in “Moon, 66 Questions,” by director Jacqueline Lentzou. Aliocha Reinert won the prize for best actor for his role in Golden Alexander winner “Softie.” The award for best screenplay went to Laurynas Bareiša for his film “Pilgrims,” while a special mention was given to Alexandre Koberidze for “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?...