PE MasterClass: Connecting Europe – Reflecting all Voices

Connecting Europe – Reflecting all Voices

Friday 19 October 2018 at 14:00h,

rbb Haus des Rundfunks, Saal 2 (TV Documentary Room)

PRIX EUROPA 2018 will exclusively host the MasterClass ‘Connecting Europe – Reflecting all Voices’.

Major single piece and serial television documentaries from different countries will provide the focus of a conversation about experiences with international co-productions. Georg Tschurtschenthaler (Germany) will tell us how Gebrüder Beetz found international co-production partners and financing for their documentary ‘The Cleaners’ about the people who ‘clean’ the Internet; Eric Lieshout (Netherlands) will introduce his series ‘Made in Europe’; Stéphane Siohan (France) will talk about the complex media co-operations on his Ukrainian, Polish, French documentary ‘Home Games’; Daniela Drastasta (Croatia) and Frans Jennekens (Netherlands) will present a sneak preview of their just completed series ‘New Neighbours’ and Sören Klovborg (Denmark) will tell us about working with the Why Foundation on the documentary ‘Maid in Hell’. The conversation will be hosted by Ruurd Bierman, an acclaimed keynote speaker.

Grab the unique chance to compare notes with other experienced filmmakers, ask questions and share experiences.

Admission is free of charge, the number of seats is limited. Registration by email is required to press@prixeuropa.eu, the language spoken will be English.

Panel Debate - Radio as Cultural Hub

Radio as Cultural Hub 

Friday 19 October 2018 from 16:00 to 17:30 h,

rbb Haus des Rundfunks, Kleiner Sendesaal (Radio Documentary Room)

The Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung and the Goethe-Institute are happy to invite for a panel debate with the theme ‘Radio as Cultural Hub’ as part of PRIX EUROPA 2018. 

Public broadcasters have always played an important role in the cultural life of Europe. They are a platform were cultural programmes are produced and, as a result, become a cultural asset by themselves. However, due to a dramatic change in the media landscape as well as the political climate, the future of public broadcasters as cultural asset is uncertain. What significance have public broadcasters as cultural producers in the European societies? How could strategies for their maintenance look like? Those and other questions will be discussed from a variety of industry experts. 

Panelists

Helen Boaden: former BBC executive, Head of BBC News and BBC Radio from 2013-2016

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung: Curator and artistic director from the art room ‘Savyy Contemporary Berlin’

Róise Goan: Curator, producer and author for theatre, TV and radio. Dramatic advisor of the Art Center Vooruit in Belguim

Kaye Mortley: Producer for French, Australian and almost every other European broadcaster. Mortley's cinematic radio productions have received numerous awards 

Dr. Christine Schöpf: Co-director of the media and art competition Ars Electronica. Former honorary professor of the Art University Linz

Moderator

Moderator: Vivian Perkovic (Tonart/ Deutschlandfunk and Kulturzeit/ZDF)

Admission is free of charge, the number of seats is limited. Registration by email is required to press@prixeuropa.eu, the language spoken will be English.

PRIX EUROPA & FIPADOC

PRIX EUROPA & FIPADOC

We are delighted to announce that PRIX EUROPA and FIPADOC will cooperate in promoting the excellency of documentary in public television in Europe.

As a first step in this cooperation all programmes nominated for the TV Documentary and TV Current Affairs categories of PRIX EUROPA 2018 will automatically be presented to the preselection of FIPADOC, provided the programmes have not yet premiered in France yet and the submitters have not refused to compete in FIPADOC.

The international documentary festival FIPADOC is taking place 22 - 27 January 2019 in Biarritz, France.

Call for proposals - European Journalist of the Year 2018

PRIX EUROPA the Continental Media Competition is looking for a European journalist who has gone out of her or his way to bring new voices into public debate.

Excellent journalism can highlight voices that are suppressed, misunderstood or just not commonly heard. Thus inspiring people with different experiences to talk - instead of just judging each other.

Journalism, seeking to reflect more voices, leads to better mutual appreciation and maintains the grounds of a healthy democracy.

Proposals from all genres and formats of journalism are welcome. We are not necessarily looking for a person with continent-wide fame, but rather for a person who has gone outside her/his comfort zone and shown extraordinary creativity, courage and impact on her/his specific society or audience.

Please propose your candidates for the PRIX EUROPA Award as European Journalist of the Year 2018 by sending her/his professional cv and attaching a short explanation for your proposal.

mail to: office@prixeuropa.eu

Deadline: 21 September 2018.

Martin Gaarder will be the second Coordinator of the TV Documentary Jury Group

Martin Gaarder will be the second Coordinator of the TV Documentary Jury Group

'We are living in times where opinions are distributed in a tempo and volume that the world has never seen before. Heated debates rattle on all media platforms. It is getting harder and harder to distinguish between facts and opinions, between reality and political spin/PR. Democracy needs a public that never gives up searching for the truth and finding out what is actually going on. One of the best tools to ensure that, is the TV documentary, based on thorough research, great storytelling and skilled filmmaking.' 

Martin Gaarder is a journalist and TV documentary director at Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). He started out as a freelance newspaper journalist, and later worked on the foreign desk of Norwegian Press Agency (NTB). He has produced feature programmes for NRK since 1996, within a wide range of topics. Over the last decade he has been specializing in investigative and historical TV documentaries. In 2011 he received the Prix Italia award for best current affairs documentary, ‘Operation Sea Breeze’, about the fatal Israeli boarding of a ship with activists, heading for Gaza. 

Anna Birgersson-Dahlberg will coordinate the TV Documentary Jury Group

Anna Birgersson-Dahlberg will coordinate the TV Documentary Jury Group

‘To take part in the TV Documentary group of the PRIX EUROPA week is a great experience that makes you up to date on what´s going on in the documentary world at the moment. Watching the nominated documentaries for several days from morning to evening and discussing them together with the producers and jury members is an outstanding way to learn about current trends and new ideas when it comes to the important work of documentary making.

PRIX EUROPA gives the participants an excellent opportunity to learn more and to improve their skills.’

Anna Birgersson-Dahlberg has worked in Swedish public media, both radio and television for a long time, with all kinds of programming, including news, current affairs and investigative journalism as well as documentaries, entertainment and humour shows. For many years she was Head of UR International that includes acquisitions and international co-productions. Today she works as Head of Development and Training.

Marcus Gammel, Head of Radio Art (radio drama and documentary) at Deutschlandfunk Kultur, will coordinate the Radio Fiction Jury Group

Marcus Gammel, Head of Radio Art (radio drama and documentary) at Deutschlandfunk Kultur, will coordinate the Radio Fiction Jury Group

'Drama production in public radio is facing many challenges today: shrinking budgets, dwindling acceptance among decision makers, and a growing fragmentation of the audience. At the same time, creative radio is highly in demand: Many art institutions initiate their own channels, funding opportunities for independent productions are growing, and the podcast scene has brought a new drive into aesthetics and distribution. Now is the time to re-invent radio drama as a bridge between different structures in and outside public radio, as well as between different cultures in- and outside Europe.'

Marcus Gammel was born in Bremen / Germany, studied Musicology, German Literature and Philosophy at Humboldt University Berlin, Université Paris IV and New York University. He has worked as a music journalist, dramaturge, and radio maker in Germany and France. Since 2009, Marcus Gammel is curating the weekly sound art programme at Deutschlandradio / Deutschlandfunk Kultur. (...) In 2016, he was appointed Head of Radio Art (radio drama and documentary) at Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

PRIX EUROPA 2018 Congratulation to all the Nominees!

PRIX EUROPA 2018 Congratulation to all the Nominees!

The nominations for this year's competition are out!

Have a look what programmes will compete here in Berlin in October!

Riet De Prins will be the second Coordinator for this year's TV Fiction Jury Group

Riet De Prins will be the second Coordinator for this year's TV Fiction Jury Group

'Like all fiction formats, a good story is the base of a comedy show. But all the story principles count for comedy. Even more, comedy gives the story an opportunity by a very important extension. The story always starts with strange situations, malicious pleasures or painful emotions, but the humour is the glue that makes difficult topics go down and speakable. Comedy can be a secret weapon for democracy and social criticism. It’s a method to easily engage in social interaction by taking away uncomfortable feelings.

But I almost forget the most important thing: from a good feeling to a heavy belly laughter, comedy makes you laugh. And like McKee said: the audience is your jury! If they laugh, it works! If they don’t, it doesn’t!'

After finishing her studies at the film school in Brussels, she started her career as an assistant director, in the eighties at VRT, the public broadcaster in the Flemish part of Belgium. Who would ever believe that she is still working there? (...) For several years she was part of a team and worked with formats such as entertainment, live shows, music documentary. It was an opportunity to get to know all corners and borders of making television. But even in all these formats, she felt that the story was her thing (...)  And now for five seasons already, she produces an adult comedy show called ‘Fair Game’. 

Hugh Levinson will join us again as Coordinator for the Radio Current Affairs Jury Group

Hugh Levinson will join us again as Coordinator for the Radio Current Affairs Jury Group

'Like many working in journalism in the UK, I cannot recall a time when national opinion was so divided and so bitter. This is most obvious over Brexit but opinions seem to be hardening on a range of issues. We are pushing each other apart - or perhaps pushing ourselves apart. I am sure many colleagues from other European nations will have experienced similar phenomena. This makes the task of Radio Current Affairs ever more necessary: to tell stories in a way which will engage listeners from both sides of a debate and to enable all to appreciate just a little more of the complexity of the world around us.’

Hugh Levinson is head of the Radio Current Affairs department for the BBC, based in London and Salford. He began his career in local radio in Liverpool, spent three years at a newspaper in Tokyo before returning to the BBC, working in daily radio journalism then moving to current affairs. He fell in love with radio documentaries and have stayed in this department pretty much ever since – presenting, producing and editing long-form radio. He currently edits the Analysis series and the Reith Lectures, working with among others Stephen Hawking and Hilary Mantel. He also makes online text and video and produces some of the UK’s most popular podcasts.

PRIX EUROPA 2018 Countdown Nominations!

PRIX EUROPA 2018 Countdown Nominations! 

3, 2, 1... and the time has come: On 3 September 2018 we will publish the nominees for the PRIX EUROPA 2018 competition in Berlin & Potsdam. 591 programmes and projects were submitted to PRIX EUROPA 2018 and on Monday you will be able to see on our website which productions have been chosen to compete for one of the 13 prestigious Taurus trophies. The winners will be honoured during the Awards Ceremony in Potsdam on Friday, 19 October 2018. 

And you still have the chance to nominated somebody for this year's Best European Journalist of the Year: Proposals from all genres and formats of journalism are welcome. We are not necessarily looking for a person with continent-wide fame, but rather for a person who has gone outside her/his comfort zone and shown extraordinary creativity, courage and impact on her/his specific society or audience.

Please propose your candidates for the Best European Journalist of the Year 2018 by sending her/his professional cv, contact details and by attaching a short explanation for your proposal.
Mail to office@prixeuropa.eu
Deadline: 15 September 2018.

Erik Hogenboom will again coordinate the category TV Iris

Erik Hogenboom will again coordinate the category TV Iris

 ‘Europe is in a huge political crisis because of issues concerning immigration and diversity. The tendency everywhere is to shut down borders and to go against diversity. Extreme right wing parties are gaining strength everywhere. Nationalism and ethnocentrism are becoming stronger and stronger. It is exactly to counterbalance these forces that TV Iris was founded more than twenty years ago: to stimulate journalists and filmmakers to analyse issues around immigration and diversity in a highly professional way, to counteract stereotyping and racism and above all to show the positive sides of diversity. ’

Erik Hogenboom is editor in chief at the Diversity Department of Dutch public broadcaster NTR. He coordinates several documentary series and magazines focusing on diversity themes in the Dutch multicultural society. Since 2001 he is executive producer for the Intercultural and Diversity Group (EBU), coordinating co-productions (e.g. City Folk). 

Agnieszka Czyżewska Jacquemet will coordinate the Jury Group of the Radio Documentary category

Agnieszka Czyżewska Jacquemet will coordinate the Jury Group of the Radio Documentary category

 ‘A radio feature maker is more like a writer or a musician than a journalist. We play with words, silence, music, sound effects thereby creating a theatre of imagination to build bridges between peoples. A real story is not hidden in great global events, but in the life of a single human being. A drop reflects the ocean. ’

Agnieszka Czyżewska Jacquemet has been working at the Documentary Department of the Polish Radio Lublin for about 20 years as editor and commissioning editor. She was awarded several national and international prizes (Prix Bohemia, PRIX EUROPA Special Commendation). She was a coach at the ABA training programme and the PRIX EUROPA Master School in Vilnius.

Welcome back: Kåre Vedding Poulsen will coordinate again the Online Projects category

Welcome back: Kåre Vedding Poulsen will coordinate again the Online Projects category

 ‘Each year we see something completely new being presented in the PRIX EUROPA Online Projects Category and the borders seem boundless. It is hard for me to imagine a more inspirational place to be than in this room during three days in Berlin. You meet some the most courageous and brave people breaking new boundaries in what digital can to do public service.’

He is an Executive producer at Danish Broadcasting Corporation and has been working with cross platform/interactive projects for more than a decade. He is curator and moderator of the Nordvision Festival of Digital Narratives. He has an MA in Literature and Film, and also an Executive MBA from Copenhagen Business School. Currently studying script writing at the Southern Danish University

Hilde De Windt, Video Journalist at VRT, takes on the task to coordinate the TV Current Affairs Jury Group

Hilde De Windt, Video Journalist at VRT, takes on the task to coordinate the TV Current Affairs Jury Group

‘'To measure is to know.' This is a sort of new proverb in Dutch, a credo for facts and figures. Rightly so of course, but as an investigative current affairs journalist, one should use one’s intuition as much. Feeling the heartbeat of people and reading the sign of the times often leak to untold storie. Once you dig deeper in it, the evidence becomes apparent.’

Hilde De Windt has been a storyteller since she was a youngster. She played theatre, took Scandinavian literature & studies, made a career as a radio presenter and reporter. After 16 years of creating wonderful worlds with sound only, the photographer’s microbe won and she turned to the visual. She became a TV maker: writing and producing programme formats, making reportages. In the investigative field she worked on themes as migration, identity and health.

Robert Ketteridge, Head of Arts, Documentaries and Drama for BBC Radio & Music Production will coordinate the Digital Audio Jury Group

Robert Ketteridge, Head of Arts, Documentaries and Drama for BBC Radio & Music Production will coordinate the Digital Audio Jury Group

‘In its first two years the Digital Audio category has recognised a wide spectrum of digital work with audio at its heart, from fresh approaches to podcasting and social media campaigns to art-projects and new ways of interacting with audiences. Innovation and impact are at the heart of what the jury members will be looking for and I am looking forward to welcoming another new generation of digital audio talent to PRIX EUROPA for the third year of this award.’

I grew up in Manchester, studied English at university and joined the BBC as a trainee in local radio news. I worked for several years as a producer of arts programmes and documentaries and in 2003 became Editor of the Documentaries Unit, looking after a wide range of programmes including series with the British Museum such as A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany: Memories of a Nation. Today my responsibilities continue to include documentaries and arts and I also help to manage the radio drama teams in London and Birmingham. 

PRIX EUROPA 2018 - Personal Registration is open!

PRIX EUROPA 2018 - Personal Registration is open!

From now on you can register as Jury Member, Participant or Reporting Press for               

PRIX EUROPA 2018!

Accreditation for the festival is free of charge.

TV Fiction Jury Coordinator Thorsten Ritsch, Commissioning Editor, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen - ZDF

TV Fiction Jury Coordinator Thorsten Ritsch, Commissioning Editor, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen - ZDF

'Everybody talks about a new golden age of fiction producing. The growing streaming and on-demand market is challenging the old players. On one hand, it can be frightening. Audiences have more possibilities to choose than ever before. On the other hand, for us as fiction producers, it brings the chance to tell stories in ways we did not dare to tell them just a few years ago.'

After studying journalism, Thorsten Ritsch realised that he prefers pure fictional storytelling over writing journalistic texts. So he got himself several almost unpaid internships on different film sets and learned about filmmaking and storytelling hands-on. Later, he worked as a junior producer for several production companies and became commissioning editor for German Television ZDF in 2006. Since then he is responsible for developing and producing TV movies and series, e.g. the PRIX EUROPA 2013 winner of Best European TV Fiction Series: ‘Generation War’.

In 2018 Thorsten Ritsch will again coordinate the TV Fiction Jury Group.

Carsten Dufner, Head of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk - MDR KLASSIK digital will coordinate the Radio Music Jury Group

Carsten Dufner, Head of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk - MDR KLASSIK digital will coordinate the Radio Music Jury Group

‘The Category “Radio Music” is a special one. It’s not ‘only’ about making good programmes (which is hard enough!) but about innovative approaches to presenting music in radio. Last year a broad variety of extremely interesting new productions appeared, making one of the oldest elements of radio one of the most exciting. I am very much looking forward to listening to many compelling music programmes also in 2018!’

'I have worked as a journalist, producer and music manager and am currently Head of MDR Klassik digital at Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. After studying Musicology, History of Art, Theatre, TV and Film in Cologne, I trained as a journalist at Süddeutscher Rundfunk in Stuttgart. I worked as a freelance journalist for Deutschlandfunk in Cologne from 1986 to 1990, followed by seven years of being executive producer for the Stuttgart Radio Symphony. 1997/98 I became executive producer of the multimedia activities at SDR, and then Deputy Head of the multimedia department at Südwestrundfunk in Baden-Baden. From 1999 to 2008 I was Head of Music at Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt and then became Head of Music and Production of MDR’s music ensembles. Since 2016, I am responsible for MDR Klassik (digital radio programme, streaming, web service, social media). I have also been working with the EBU for 28 years.

Soila Valkama, Producer and Director at Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company

Soila Valkama, Producer and Director at Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company

'Fiction brings things and events into close perspective, radio fiction being its most intimate form. Associative soundscapes breed images, using the listener’s own mind as the source. I strongly believe in radio fiction.
Listening to radio fiction is becoming increasingly popular.
People are so exposed to visual impulses every day, that radio fiction as a form of storytelling gives them something else, something which is more personal and accessible.
The auteurs it challenges into constantly exploring new techniques, driving them to finding ways to create even more fascinating soundscapes.'

Soila Valkama is a director, a dramaturge and an actress. She taught radio directing, acting and dramaturgy at the University of Birzeit on the West Bank in 1998 and has worked as a director, dramaturge, producer and as a programme developer with Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company since 1999. 

She will coordinate the Radio Fiction Jury Group.

PRIX EUROPA is looking for the best of Radio and Digital Audio – Made in Europe.

PRIX EUROPA is looking for entries, which by the quality of their content and form equally convince audiences and professionals. The programmes should bear the cultural imprint of their place of origin, yet also reach people of other cultures, thus making them suitable to be broadcast outside of the country in which they were produced.

https://www.prixeuropa.eu/regulations/