Pitch session participants, Photo courtesy of KVIFF
By Erin L. Cox, Publisher | @erinlcox
In March, Publishing Perspectives reported on the launch of “Book-to-Screen at KVIFF” a new joint project of The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Frankfurter Buchmesse, Svět knihy (Book World Prague) and Moravian Library in Brno, with the support of the PPF Foundation, to build the book-to-screen market for literary works in Central and Eastern Europe.The inaugural event took place earlier this month on July 7th, featuring pitch sessions, matchmaking, and a think tank co-hosted and moderated by Joanna Szymanska, CEO & Producer at Shipsboy.
According to Niki Théron, Senior Manager International Projects & Film, Frankfurter Buchmesse who served as a member of the jury, the inaugural event was a resounding success and generated great support from the film and publishing communities, with media coverage in The Hollywood Reporter for the 8 projects that were pitched.
Book-to-Screen KVIFF Think Tank, Photo courtesy of KVIFF
Unlike other book-to-screen programs which feature panels and presentations, the think tank idea, which was suggested by Szymanska, was created to foster a thoughtful discussion among participants around three central ideas – framework and stakeholders, creating value, and how to do things. With mixed groups of publishing professionals, agents, film professionals, and members of the organizing groups, the goal of this format was to brainstorm better ways to work together.
As Szymanska noted in a LinkedIn post, “With a group of industry volunteers we ventured into the future – year 2035 to be exact – and tried to see how publishing and audiovisual industries can work together better, for the benefit of all involved parties.”
Attendees noted that the think tank was a fascinating start to a year-long conversation that will continue at every partner event throughout the year – Frankfurt Buchmesse, Berlinale, Book World Prague, and back to KVIFF, discussing how to achieve these goals with different groups of people.
(FILM) RIGHTS ROUNDUP
Each month, the Publishing Perspectives Rights Roundup features books supplied by agents, rights directors, and some that are popular in the news. This month, we feature books who were presented for possible film adaptation at the first Book-to-Screen KVIFF program.
If you’d like to submit a book to Publishing Perspectives for translation or film rights feature, fill out this form.
Kupidoni Kremlis Kedeltan (Cupid at the Kremlin Wall)
By Aka Morchiladze
- Publisher: Sulakauri Publishing
- Original language: Georgian, Spanish
- Rights contact: Nuka Gambashidze
- Book info: Read more here
Book Description: It is the 1930s in Soviet Georgia. A retired secret policeman disappears without a trace and is presumed to have been abducted by the Soviet police. His wife, Musya – a headstrong woman, renowned revolutionary, and women’s rights advocate – decides to secretly travel to the Kremlin to discover his whereabouts. A flashback storyline reveals that she shared a special friendship with Stalin in their youth, explaining her motivation for seeking an audience with him. During her three-day train journey, Musya encounters several acquaintances, inadvertently blowing her cover. Surrounded by agents, she becomes entangled in chaotic and violent turmoil, refusing to give up.
Publisher Statement: Cupid at the Kremlin Wall combines a daring personal journey with the turmoil of one of history’s most oppressive eras. The confined setting of the train provides a rich cinematic potential for suspense and psychological tension. Musya herself is a complex female protagonist: an ardent revolutionary forced to confront the collapse of her own ideals, making her character arc tragic and universally relatable.
Wodyseja, czyli prawdziwa historia Kory z Wierzbowej Łąki (The River Odyssey of Kora from Willow Meadow)
By Adam Robiński
- Publisher: Widnokrąg
- Original language: Polish
- Rights contact: Adam Robiński
- Book info: Read more here
Book Description: When a powerful wave sweeps a young beaver named Kora away from her family, she sets off on a journey to find her way back and hopefully reunite with her loved ones. At first she faces many challenges, but gradually she gathers the courage to keep going, making friends and sparking adventures wherever she goes. Kora is never sure whether she’ll make it back home, and even if she does, will she feel the same as before the disaster? The book is a unique journey through the urban and suburban sprawl through the eyes, ears and nose of one of the city’s humble little residents. It reveals the important role that even the littlest creatures play in the great, wide world.
Publisher Statement: The story is an empowering tale for young people, teaching independence, self-confidence, and shared responsibility for their surroundings. It combines an emotionally engaging adventure with a timely ecological message. Through the story of Kora, a young beaver searching for her home and family, the film is able to speak directly to children about courage, resilience, friendship, and care for the natural world. Its animal protagonist, vivid river landscapes, and journey structure offer strong visual potential for family cinema. At the same time, the story has cross-generational appeal: it can entertain children, move parents and grandparents, and create a shared experience around themes that are both intimate and universal – home, belonging, and our relationship with nature.
Skutečná cesta ven (The True Way Out)
By Patrik Banga
- Publisher: Host
- Original language: Czech
- Rights contact: Simona Barešová
- Book info: Read more here
Book Description: The book tells the true story of journalist Patrik Banga, who describes his rise from a life of deprivation in a Roma community to his prominent status in the Czech media. The narrative begins in the 1990s in Žižkov, Prague, showing a place riddled with despondency, drugs, alcohol, prostitution and street-fighting, where growing up within the local Roma community was a guarantee of one thing only – a life of more of the same. In raw, remorseless fashion, Banga describes the teenage years of a Roma boy who from an early age knows only rejection, criminalization, racism and police brutality. His search for a real way out is strewn with obstacles and losses, but his belief that everyone is an individual remains unshakeable.
Publisher Statement: The book is well suited for a film adaptation because it combines a powerful true story with a compelling personal journey from poverty and social exclusion to professional success. Set in the vividly portrayed Roma community of 1990s Prague, it offers strong dramatic conflict, emotional depth, and authentic characters. Its universal themes of resilience, identity, prejudice, and overcoming obstacles make it both socially relevant and emotionally engaging for a wide audien
For the full list of titles presented at the book-to-screen program, click here.
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