ProPro – The Producers‘ Programme for Women is going into its second round: In March 2017 female producers will be able to enjoy the support of high-level women mentors as they develop their film projects, careers and business strategies. Female producers were invited to submit their application under the heading of feature film or documentary project or strategic planning.
The programme consist of two parts:
1. Residential Workshop
Five days (March 13-17, 2017) for all participants, including lectures, group work, coaching sessions, individual meetings as well as networking events.
Two additional days (March 20 and 21, 2017) are designed for those producers without film projects who applied for Strategic Planning and further development of their company profile.
2. Individual Coaching
by a high-level international producer during the workshop and afterwards. The mentoring for film projects or strategic planning, started during the workshop, consists of two more sessions within six months.
The programme, which ran for the first time in November 2015, was now opened to participants from Switzerland and South Tyrol and will be held in cooperation with FOCAL and IDM.
In its first round, in 2015, the programme included women mentors from all over Europe, among them Bettina Brokemper (Hannah Arendt), Lise Lense-Møller (Burma VJ), and Gabriela Bacher (What a Man). Further strategic input was provided by financing expert Linda Beath (Ideal Filmworks, EAVE), distribution expert Annick Mahnert (Screen Division) and business coach Monika Schubert.
Complementing the tailored workshop programme, the program will once again include keynote presentations, discussions and testimonies of further Austrian and international industry insiders. Last year, discussion partners included, among others, Kathrin Zechner (ORF-Fernsehdirektorin), Bettina Reitz (former director of Bavarian TV station BR, president of HFF Munich), Hanka Kastelicová (HBO Europe), Danny Krausz (Dor Film, Professor of Production at Film Academy Vienna), Karin Gutiérrez-Lobos (former Vice Rector of MedUni Wien), Katharina Mückstein (female director/producer of Talea), Salma Abdalla (Autlook Filmsales) and Arash T. Riahi (Everyday Rebellion).
The programme was designed by producer and adult educator Ursula Wolschlager (Die Vaterlosen, Programm Diverse Geschichten) and Esther Krausz (Austrian Film Institute/Creative Europe-Desk- former EAVE workshop manager) in cooperation with FC Gloria | Frauen | Vernetzung | Film (Wilbirg Brainin-Donnenberg) and ÖFI Genderanliegen (Iris Zappe-Heller); takes place at the Gewerbehaus of Vienna Economic Chamber thanks to the support of its Division for Film and Music Industry (Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Martin Kofler).