Alex Salmond’s company fell into the red for the first time after it was formed nine years ago.
17.04.2024 - 18:55 / variety.com
Lise Pedersen Documentary “Fixing the War,” about news fixers in Ukraine, was one of 15 projects selected in this week’s edition of VdR-Pitching, Visions du Réel’s international co-production and financing platform. Variety accompanied the team as they pitched to potential partners. The film’s producers Gary Lennon of Plainsong Films and Olga Kravchenko of Moon Man were in Nyon to pitch the film, which is directed by Clare Stronge and Vadym Ikov.
“Fixing the War” was pitched as the first film to show the vital role of the news fixers, who are locals hired to help a journalist working in a foreign country navigate everything from logistics to translations or safety issues. The pair started with a 12-minute pitch to a room full of industry professionals, during which they outlined their project and illustrated it with a clip. Stronge, who is currently on a shoot, described her intention in a recorded video message, explaining why she wanted to team up with Ikov and Kravchenko, herself a former fixer when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“One of the busiest jobs in Ukraine right now is fixing. Because we live in this age of disinformation, it is interesting to empower audiences to understand. [To do this] we needed a Ukrainian director and producer, not foreigners.
It is a messy and dangerous business.” A co-creation between Stronge’s Plainsong Films and Kyiv-based Moon Man (“A House Made of Splinters”), the film will combine observational documentary-style footage of fixers on the ground with frontline footage and intimate interviews. “Fixing the War” is supported by Screen Ireland and the Irish film tax break and is in late development. The team hopes to plug the 25% funding gap, with a release date scheduled for the
.Alex Salmond’s company fell into the red for the first time after it was formed nine years ago.
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