The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
With bombs falling all around their home in Ukraine, Anna and her four children manage to keep the chaos of war at bay by making a film about their experiences.
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IDFA Bertha Fund supports European distribution of The Earth Is Blue as an Orange with 30k grant
Concluding its latest selection round, the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) is delighted to offer €30,000 in distribution support to The Earth Is Blue as an Orange, the award-winning film from Ukrainian director Iryna Tsilyk. Secured through the IBF Europe – Distribution track, the grant will support the film’s upcoming release in Ukraine, Lithuania, and the Western Balkans.
Tsilyk’s film, which documents one family’s filmmaking efforts amid the ongoing Ukrainian war, first came through the IDFA doors in 2018 when it participated in IDFAcademy Summer School for script development. The project went on to receive production support and international co-production support from the IBF in 2019, and by the end of 2020, the film had screened at 46 festivals around the world, beginning with a Sundance world premiere where it took home the award for best directing.
Now, as Tsilyk and her team look ahead to the next phase, the new round of IBF support will help finance the film’s distribution in 10 countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe, with an eye to maximizing impact in light of COVID-19 restrictions.
The film’s Ukrainian distribution, following a theatrical run cut short by the pandemic, is set to continue with producer Albatros Communicos and distributor Arthouse Traffic via specialized film club screenings and releases on VOD and Ukrainian public television.
In Lithuania, co-producer Moonmakers and distributor Kino Pasaka are gearing up for theatrical release, VOD, television, and wide-spread screenings in independent film schools, making use of a flexible timeline to be adapted to COVID-19 restrictions.
Finally, Beldocs is overseeing the Western Balkans territory with a distribution strategy that combines theatrical release, television, outdoor screenings, and digital platforms across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania.
The IDFA Bertha Fund selection committee included Andrea Hock (Director of Sales at Autlook Filmsales GmbH), Liselot Verbrugge (Sales Agent at Deckert Distribution), and Isabel Arrate Fernandez (Deputy Director of IDFA, Managing Director of the IDFA Bertha Fund).
Call for submissions
The IBF Europe – Distribution category is continuously accepting applications on a rolling deadline. Read about the regulations and how to submit for this category here or get in touch with the IBF at idfaberthafund@idfa.nl.
The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, the Netherlands Film Fund, and Special Friends+.
