• SCHEDULE 2023

    With deadline December 23, 2023 [guidelines] we started working on the next edition of the catalogue  German Documentaries 2024, to be published ...

    With deadline December 23, 2023 [guidelines] we started working on the next edition of the catalogue  German Documentaries 2024, to be published February 2024 during the BERLINALE / EFM as PDF here, just like last year, when we started our activities 2023 @ GROPIUS BAU EFM #18 including a virtual stage, available until March 31, 2023 with publishing the latest edition of the catalogue german documentaries 2023 promoting 249 new titles of German documentary productions and co-productions as PDF ready for download here.
    Find more information of enlisted films as well as on some new documentaries, which have premiered at international festivals during 2023 and will be enlisted in the next annual PDFedition german documentaries, as single pages here. International festival screenings, awards as well as theatrical realeases in Germany are promoted on FB.


     



     


     



     


     



    European Film Market @ 74 BERLINALE, Februar 15—25, 2024
    European Film Market taking place February 15-21 as an integral part of the 74 BERLINALE (February 15-25, 2024). Admission starts in the first week of November. By registering online before December 6 you will get your accreditation for the European Film Market 2024 and benefit from the reduced Early Bear rate.
    Market Screening Submission will open in early November. Market Screenings will start one day prior to the EFM, from February 14, 2024 exclusively at CinemaxX. For further inquiries regarding Market Screenings, please contact the screenings department at efm-screenings@berlinale.de [PR_Oct_11_2023]
    Visit our profile AG DOK / German Documentaries online or let's meet GROPIUS BAU #18 groundfloor under the umbrella of German Films, maybe with Kordula Marisa Hildebrandt again.
    European Film Market, booth 18 [German Films / AG DOK / German Documentaries]
    contact: BOOTH 18, GROPIUS BAU, Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin, Germany


    NEWS on former editions of the BERLINALE & EFM
    68 BERLINALE 2018 | 69 BERLINALE 2019 | 70 BERLINALE 2020 | 71 BERLINALE 2021 | 72 BERLINALE 2022 | 73 BERLINALE |


     


     



    CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, March 13—24, 2024
    Submissions for the 21st edition CPH:DOX start May 15, 2023. The deadlines for submitting a film to CPH:DOX 2024 were September 1 for films finished by that date, and December 1 for films finished after the first deadline. Rules and regulation.
    CPH:FORUM the international financing and co-production event is now open for submissions, accepting projects until November 15, 2023.
    Representative german documentaries: Björn Jensen 
    More information — German only
    __ Report2021 by Björn Jensen German only __
    __ Report2022 by Björn Jensen German only __
    __ Report2023 by Björn Jensen German only __
    _____CPH:DOX2024___CPH:DOX2023______CPH:DOX2022___CPH:DOX2021___CPH:D2OX2020___CPH:DOX2019___


     


     



    iREP International Documentary Film Festival, March 16–19, 2023, Lagos, Nigeria
    IREP is conceptualized to create a platform of awareness and expression for filmmakers who are creating socially relevant films to impact our world. The festival has been attended by a delegation of German documentary filmmakers for many years.
    Representative german documentaries: Bärbel Mauch bamauch@yahoo.de


     


     



    MIPTV | MIPDOCApril 8–10, 2024, Palais des Festivals de Cannes, France
    The two largest and most important markets for the distribution of films take place in Cannes every year in spring. MIPDOC, the 25th International Documentary & Factual Co-Production Market and Screenings offers 3 days of exclusive networking, conference, showcases, and screenings for the international documentary and factual community during MIPTV. The market features one of the world’s most important documentary and factual content offerings, as well as an inspiring conference programme, high-level networking events and a dedicated hub for international producers, buyers, commissioners and distributors.
    Björn Jensen, Representative german documentaries
    More information – for submission German only
    Report of MIPTV2021Report of MIPTV2022 • von Björn Jensen.


     


     


     



    Visions du Réel, International Film Festival Nyon, April 12—21, 2024
    Registrations open on September 5, 2023.
    Visions du Réel is one of the only Swiss film festivals to present a majority of its films as world or international premieres. The Festival also has a film market with Industry activities, one of the most important in Europe and it may invite films that have not been selected for the official programme to be entered in the Visions du Réel Media Library to be viewed by buyers and professionals. 
    VdR–Industry dedicated to cinema professionals, VdR–Industry and its activities represent a springboard for future films to find support in every stage of their production.


     


     



    Hot Docs Toronto,  April 25 – May 5, 2024, Toronto, Canada
    Browse Submission Deadlines & Fees here.
    Representative german documentaries: Björn Jensen  
    REPORT of HotDocs23 by Björn Jensen __German only__
    REPORT of HotDocs22 by Björn Jensen __German only__
    REPORT of HotDocs21 by Björn Jensen __German only__

    NEWS of ___HotDocs23___HotDocs22___HotDocs21_____HotDocs20_____HotDocs19___


     


     



    64 KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL May 26 – June 2, 2024 [kino]
    and across Poland, May 31 – 16 June, 2024 [online]
    With the beginning of October, the call for films for the 64th Krakow Film Festival has started. The organisers and selectors are eagerly awaiting short films and documentaries from all over the world. From among several thousand entries, approximately 200 of the most interesting titles are going to make it to be shown in Kraków’s cinemas to festival audience in late May and early June – and online throughout Poland. NEWS #64kff with LineUp of German productions and co-productions as soon as confirmed.


     


     


     



    CoPro 25 | Israeli Documentary Screen Market June 5—8, 2023 in Tel Aviv
    Representative german documentaries: Björn Jensen
    Further information ___German only ___
    Report CoPro 2023
    Report CoPro24_2022 and NEWS CoPro & docaviv 2022.
    german documentaries NEWS 2018— CoPro20. >


     


     



    31 Sheffield Documentary Filmfestival, June 12—17, 2024.
    The MeetMarket will take place on Thursday, June 13 and Friday June 14, 2024, allowing Marketplace participants the opportunity to experience the opening night of the festival.
    Film Programme entries are now open.
    Early deadline: 1 December 2023, 12:00 Noon GMT
    Standard deadline: 9 February 2024, 12:00 Noon GMT
    Late deadline: 1 March 2024, 12:00 Noon GMT
    Passes are now on sale for the 31st Edition of Sheffield DocFest. The Industry Pass gives you access to the full festival programme of films, exhibitions, talks, panels, industry sessions and live pitches, networking events and parties; plus access to DocPlayer, our industry video on demand platform.
    Keep updated by visiting the website of the festival.
    Representative german documentaries: Björn Jensen   
    Report german documentaries on Sheffield DocFest 2023  • SheffieldDocFest 2022 • _Sheffield Doc|Fest 2019_ •
    NEWS on Sheffield DocFest 2023Sheffield DocFest 2022Sheffield DocFest 2021Sheffield DocFest 2020Sheffield Doc|Fest 2019Sheffield DocFest 2018


     


     



    27 ECRANS NOIRS, October 14—21, 2023 [i]
    The festival has been attended by a delegation of German documentary filmmakers for many years.
    Representative german documentaries: Bärbel Mauch bamauch@yahoo.de


     


     



    35 Sunny Side of the Doc, June 24—27, 2024 live in La Rochelle.

    Join the international documentary community on February 6-7 online and submit your project before Nov. 24, 2023 to the GLOBAL PITCH February 6–7, 2024.  The winner will receive €3,000 and two accreditations for #SSD24 in La Rochelle from June 24 – 27, 2024.
    Sunny Side of the Doc ist the international Marketplace for documentary and narrative Experiences.Through year-round activities and a landmark international event, SSD provides a unique space for industry professionals to co-create, co-finance and share a diversity of compelling stories with the world. The marketplace’s 35th edition will take place June 24–27 2024 live in La Rochelle. Submit your project to Sunny Side of the Doc’s pitching sessions and join one of the most impactful markets for documentary and digital storytelling.
    Opening date for submissions & accreditations and closing date for submissions will be announced soon.
    More Information _German only


    #34ssd #SSD23 • #33ssd #SSD22 • #30ssd #SSD19 •


    The final reports by the german documentaries representative Björn Jensen
    2022 - German only _ here .
    2021 - German only - here .
    • 2019 here and ____2019 Germany COUNTRY in FOCUS___


     


     



    40 MIPCOMOctober 21—24, 2024 Cannes, Frankreich
    MIPCOM CANNES – the 40th International Co-Production & Content Market – is the world’s greatest gathering of television and media professionals and the most anticipated week on the global industry calendar. Each October, decision makers from over 100 countries converge on the world’s red-carpet capital of Cannes, France to compete for new series, source international production partnerships and set the development agenda and beyond.
    More information __2023 German only__ 

    Report MIPCOM 2020 by Björn Jensen • Report MIPCOM 2021 by Björn Jensen • Report MIPCOM 2022 by Björn JensenReport MIPCOM 2023
    Representative german documentaries: Björn Jensen,


     


     



    23 MEDIMED, The European Docs Market, Sitges, October 12—15, 2023 [Submission for projects starts May and ends June, Accreditation deadline September]
    MEDIMED focuses mainly on Euro-Mediterranean creative projects, with documentary producers and directors developing their own creative projects. The participation of both (director and producer) at the Workshop and Pitching Forum is highly recommended. All professionals involved in the documentary industry are very welcome to register, whether as an independent producer with a project, a commissioning editor, financier, distributor, sales agent, digital platform, or fund. It is also possible for producers to register for attendance as an observer. The knowledge of English is a condition.
    German representative Björn Jensen jensen@gingerfoot.de
    Report of MEDIMED 2022 ___German only____


     


     



     9 MIA, International Audiovisual Market in Rome, October 9-13, 2023,
    MIA, International Audiovisual Market, is a market event based in Italy at its ninth edition in 2023 from October 9th to 13th. A hotbed of discussion, debate, and confrontation among the most important international executives, MIA is a destination for the global film and audiovisual ecosystem, conceived as a curated market, a physical and digital space for feature-length films (fiction, animation and documentary), as well for series (drama, documentary, factual and animation). Today, MIA is the most important industry event in Italy and is one of the must-attend international events focused on co-production, financing strategies and models, sales and distribution of works, and content showcase, and is an effective platform for talents and projects circulation. Find more information and specific guidelines for the Documentary Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum here.
    __Report MIA 2023 by Björn Jensen__


     


     

    36 IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam / Forum Amsterdam, November 8—19, 2023, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 
    ___36 IDFA NEWS___
    Contact: Julia Teichmann Head of Documentary Marketing & Subtitling Support, German Films GmbH.
    Find NEWS of past editions here:
    ___35 IDFA 2022___34 IDFA 2021___33 IDFA 2020___32 IDFA 2019___


     


     



    World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, WCSFP
    November 28—December 1, 2023, Seattle, U.S.A.
    Registration for Congress'23 will open August 3, 2023.
    The earlier you register the more you save! Rates will increase as we approach capacity. Congress offers a full slate of dynamic and engaging sessions exploring the latest programming trends, industry intelligence and technology impacting the factual community. [FB]


    Entries for the 2023 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards are open for international submissions of factual science documentaries intended for a general audience. Deadline: August 1, 2023
    The BUZZIES celebrate excellence in science and factual storytelling, and recognize short-form, long-form and multiplatform science, history and natural history projects, as well as awarding projects for innovation and impact. Deadline for submission is September 12, 2023. 


    Due to low demand and disappointed participants from Germany in 2022, but also because we are not offered a reduction of the participation fee for a delegation from Germany by the organizer, German Documentaries will not take part in the event. More information –German only–.
    Representative german documentaries Björn Jensen.
    Report of 2019 — German only.
    Report of 2021 — German only.
    Report of 2022 — German only


     


     



    Is not included any more in our list of activities:   The focus of the festival has been shifted to China, the International Producers Day has been abolished, and the number of international participants has been continuously. That's the reason why, German Films & AG DOK / German Documentaries have no longer offered to organize a delegation to GZDOC. More information  —German only—.


     


     


     


     



     


    https://www.facebook.com/germandocs .
    ... upcoming NEWS, editor notes


    Redaktion / Editor german documentaries Ingrid Molnar

     


     

  • Premiering at SUNDANCE FF 2024

              World Cinema Documentary Competition: ETERNAL YOU by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion.  Startups ...

     


     



     

       


    World Cinema Documentary Competition: ETERNAL YOU by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion.
      Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product.
    "I wanted to see if he was okay," explains Christi, one of the users of Project December. With this innovative software, users can communicate with a virtual version of the deceased through a chatbot that simulates the dead person’s conversation patterns. Hers was an attempt to check on her first love. Others may simply miss someone, seek permission to move on, or want to rid themselves of guilt.
    Little is known about the effects that this kind of generative AI might have on our brains, hearts, and wallets. The filmmakers, Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck (THE CLEANERS, 2018 Sundance Film Festival), do not claim to have the answers, but instead bring up various emotional and moral complexities we should be aware of. Eternal You poses important questions about algorithmic immortality, and the need to take a closer look at our future 'digital remains.' —AT [source sundance catalogue 2024]


     



     

     


    2024 Sundance Film Festival announces 91 projects selected for the Feature Films, Episodic, and New Frontier Lineup for 40th edition, including Nora Fingscheidt's third feature fiction THE OUTRUN.
    After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands — where she grew up — hoping to heal. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot.
    Nora Fingscheidt’s (GD2017 OHNE DIESE WELT | WITHOUT THIS WORLD) poignant adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s fearless memoir details the author’s liberation from drug and alcohol addiction, a triumph forged on the enchanted, wind-battered coasts of her childhood home. THE OUTRUN traces Rona’s false starts and setbacks on the road to recovery through harrowing flashbacks to her downward spiral in London and her reckoning with reality in a strict rehab program. But Fingscheidt is more concerned with Rona’s final destination — deliverance from personal demons through transcendent communion with nature. Grounded in local lore and rich with Liptrot’s journalistic digressions on the land and its life-forms, THE OUTRUN artfully ties Rona’s healing to her growing environmental stewardship. Four-time Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan gives a heartbreaking, humane performance that moves from woozy self-annihilation to serene calm.—MC [source sundance catalogue 2024]


     


     


    All Eyes on Independents.

  • Shortlisted EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2023

      FOUR DAUGHTERS | LES FILLES D'OLFA | OLFAS TÖCHTER by Kaouther Ben Hania. This French, Tunisian, German and, Saudi-Arabian co-production as ...

     


    FOUR DAUGHTERS | LES FILLES D'OLFA | OLFAS TÖCHTER by Kaouther Ben Hania. This French, Tunisian, German and, Saudi-Arabian co-production as well is the 96 Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film — Tunisian entry!


    The EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS WINNER will be revealed in the festive award ceremony that takes place on 9 December in Berlin. Browse the other European Documentary nominees 2023 here.


     


     


     



     

     


     


    The 36 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS will be celebrated in Berlin – Germany’s capital and where the European Film Academy is based. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 9, 2023 in ARENA BERLIN. Four German documentary productions and co-productions are selected.



     


     Browse the Documentary Selection efa 2023 here.


     


     


    as single page
    36 efa 2023
    35 efa 2022

  • Submitted to the competition for the 96th Oscars® are

            • THE WAITING by Volker Schlecht  • LAMARCK by Marian Mayland• RED EARS by Paul Drey• THE UNICORN IN SNOWPANTS SUDDENLY RAN OFF | ...

     


     



     

     


    THE WAITING by Volker Schlecht 

    LAMARCK by Marian Mayland

    RED EARS by Paul Drey

    THE UNICORN IN SNOWPANTS SUDDENLY RAN OFF | DAS EINHORN MIT DER SCHNEEHOSE RANNTE PLÖTZLICH LOS by Philipp Schaeffer

    • TURTLENECK PHANTASIES by Gernot Wieland, an Austrian/German co-production

    in the category Documentary Short Films.

    A total number of 18 German prodactions and coproductions of short films have been submitted to the competition for the 96th OSCARS® in the categories Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film and Documentary Short Film, after winning a qualifying award or theatrical exhibition in the USA between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023.

    Browse all titles in the category Documentary Short Films at the website of German Films.


     


     



    FOUR DAUGHTERS

     


    ...further

    • LES FILLES D'OLFA | FOUR DAUGHTERS by Kaouther Ben Hania, a French, Tunisian, German and, Saudi-Arabian co-production is the 96 Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film — Tunisian entry.


     



    IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT


     


    IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT by Stephen Gerard Kelly, Garry Keane, an Irish, German, Eebanese, GB co-production, is the 96 Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film — Irish entry.


     


     


    as single page:
    96 OSCARS® •


     


    Recomended links:
    96 documentary feature qualifying festival list
    How to Qualify for the Academy Awards
    RULES & ELIGIBILITY
    ••• documentary feature lenght
    ••• documentary short
    ••• international feature film award


     

  • 36 IDFA November 8–19, 2023 at Amsterdam

       AT THAT VERY MOMENT —   EN EL MISMISIMO MOMENTO by Rita Pauls & Federico Luis Tachella won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary ...

     



     AT THAT VERY MOMENT



     


    EN EL MISMISIMO MOMENTO by Rita Pauls & Federico Luis Tachella won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary, produced by Manuel Abramovich & Juan Pablo Labonia, RUIDO. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize. "For its simplicity, spontaneity, and transparency in dealing with people, things, and small details, and for the depth of the questions raised in it that are profound despite their apparent simplicity, and for its smooth and intense cinematic work, especially photography and lyrical editing, the jury awards the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary to AT THAT VERY MOMENT by directors Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella," reported the jury. The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary were Nadim Jarjoura, Brigid O’Shea. 


     


     



     BOYZ

     


    A special mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary went to the German documentary BOYZ by Sylvain Cruiziat. "For a film that immerses us in the universe of young boys becoming men. With a non-intrusive look, but a great access to his protagonists, the director takes us on a discovery journey into their daily lives. The film unveils their uncertainties regarding relationships, their tenderness, and the bonds of friendship. The Special Jury Mention goes to BOYZ directed by Sylvain Cruiziat." reported the jury. The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary were Maria Vittoria Pellecchia, Ileana Stanculescu, Pawel Ziemilski. 


     


     



     BORDERLINE VISIBLE

     


    The Special Jury Award for Creative Technology (worth €2,500) went to BORDERLINE VISIBLE  (Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, USA) by Ant Hampton. The jury members for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling were Zuraida Buter, Miri Chekhanovich, Jay Kim.


     


     


    Browse all awards and jury statements of 36 IDFA here.


     


     


     



     



     


    with opening film  A PICTURE TO REMEMBER by Olga Chernykh, an Ukrainian, French, German coproduction and showcasing HELKE SANDER: CLEANING HOUSE by Claudia Richarz among others.  



     


    IDFA 2023 takes place from November 8 to 19 in more than 30 theaters and festival locations throughout Amsterdam. In those venues, IDFA will present 270 films and 32 new media projects from 137 countries. This 36th edition will welcome over 3000 professional delegates and guests who will be able to immerse themselves in a diverse program that includes films, interactive projects, an exhibition, performances, events and workshops.


     


     


    LineUp of German productions and co-productions



     


     


     


     


    Competitions and other sections among others are:



    • International Competition The best of the art. Singular films that are artistically confident, well-rounded, and universally relevant. An international jury of five jurors will award the best film as well as other films that champion the craft and innovation of filmmaking.

    • Envision Competition With stylistic integrity and courage, these films traverse our current reality, offering visions of a documentary art form that can, might, and will be. An international jury of five jurors will award the best film as well as other films that champion the craft and innovation of filmmaking.

    • IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction A testament to the power of exceptional non-fiction storytelling across media and technologies, the selected works for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction reveal the full spectrum of immersive art. An international jury of three jurors will award the best project in addition to handing out a special jury award.

    • IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling The selected projects in the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling illustrate all the different ways to create stories in new ways to innovate and re-imagine the potential of interactive storytelling, often moving between the digital and the physical. An international jury of three jurors will award the best project in addition to handing out a special jury award.

    • IDFA Competition for Short Documentary The IDFA Competition for Short Documentary has titles that showcase a healthy boom for the short film form. A mosaic of styles and themes defines this selection, exploring everything a short documentary can be. An international jury of three jurors will award the best film.

    • IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary The IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary offers world-class films that challenge the definition of youth documentary. Selected titles are presented for two distinct age groups: 9- to 13-year-olds, and 14-year-olds all the way to adulthood.

    • Luminous The premiere-only section’s lineup includes a wide range of styles and formalist approaches, from observational to personal to experimental. Through vivid recollections and a wealth of archival footage, Helke Sander: Cleaning House by Claudia Richarz invites audiences to revisit the filmmaker and feminist's work and activism. 

    • Frontlight The premiere-only section take an artistic approach to exploring the urgent issues of our time. In Wolf Country by Ralf Bücheler documents the return of wolves to Germany, and the polarizing and political debates that ensue in the name of safety—but who are we setting out to protect?

    • IDFA on Stage The IDFA on Stage selection presents a boundary-breaking program of live cinema events—bridging film, new media, and the performing arts. Highlights include Simple as ABC #7: The Voice of Fingers by Thomas Bellinck, the multimedia performance and documentary theater play examines fingerprint technology as an instrument of control and symbol for inequality. Starting from the tiny ridges of our fingertips, the performance inquires into how the administrative tool enables the free crossing of EU borders to some, and the exclusion of others.

    • IDFA DocLab Spotlight Documentary art across disciplines, presenting emerging media works and research projects by masters and new talents.

    • Paradocs Pushing the limits of the documentary form. A showcase of the year’s best experimental documentary art.

    • Best of Fests Prize-winners, public favorites, and high-profile titles from the international festival circuit.

    • Signed The latest films by the most interesting contemporary filmmakers whose filmographies we highly appreciate, and for whose work we wait with excitement.

    • Top 10 Ten films selected by IDFA’s Guest of Honor, from influential masterpieces to hidden documentary gems.

    • Retrospective A tribute to the festival’s yearly Guest of Honor with a celebration of their oeuvre.

    • Focus A selection of new and canonical films curated around a thematic point of focus.

    • Coreesponding Cinemas presents a series of films and conversations on the invisible connections between filmmakers – offering a glimpse into cinema’s endless relay of creative connections.


     


     


     



     


     


    MARKETS take place from Sunday November 12 until Wednesday November 15 onsite in Amsterdam, returning to a new and improved Felix Meritis floor plan. IDFA hosts a dynamic marketplace that caters to filmmakers, producers, and industry professionals throughout the full life cycle of documentary film and new media making at IDFA Forum (November 12-15, 2023) and Docs for Sale (November 10-15, 2023).


    Docs for Sale during IDFA: The full 2023 catalogue will be published on IDFA's website November 1 and can be accessed by Acquisition passholders by logging into your MyIDFA account. Once you are logged in, you can keep track of the titles you have watched in the ‘Professionals’ space.


    • Producers Connection + Rough Cut presentations – Sunday November 12 Afternoon
    • Forum and DocLab Forum Presentations – Monday-Tuesday November 13+14 Morning
    • All One-on-One Meetings for selected projects will take place Monday-Tuesday November 13+14 Afternoon + Wednesday November 15 morning.
    • Forum Lunches take place Monday-Tuesday November 13+14.
    Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact the industry team at idfaforum@idfa.nl or docsforsale@idfa.nl


     


     


    64 projects are selected for 31st edition of IDFA Forum including



    • LIGHTS (WT) by Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz, 90min, Germany, Ukraine
      Beginning with the liberation of Bucha and following five characters as they navigate their life through conflicts, trauma, and hopes, the film tells a story of transformations of the nation shaped by war. Sequel to awardwinning  WHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA ©2022.


     


     


     


    Docs for Sale IDFA takes place November 10-15, 2023, and facilitates the sales and distribution of high-end documentary films, providing bespoke services including matchmaking, consultancies, sales and distribution workshops, and strategic know-how for IDFA-selected and Docs for Sale-selected films. Meet here
    • Filmmakers looking to maximize their launch with sales and distribution opportunities
    • Sales agents looking to showcase their roster and scout new films
    • Buyers, distributors, and festival programmers looking for the best creative documentaries for their festival program or TV, cinema, or platform slot.


     


    Catalogue 2023—2024 A leading showcase of the most recent documentary films, series, and shorts seeking distribution and exhibition opportunities, including about two dozen German productions and c-productions. This year's Docs for Sale catalogue features some 330 films from more than 80 countries, with a clear trend towards films dealing with social and historical topics through personal lens, as well as stories about sidelined communities fighting the challenges of the globalized world.  


    German productions and co-productions in the Docs  for Sale 2023–2024 Catalogue



     


     


     


    as single page
    IDFA 2023
    IDFA 2022
    IDFA 2021
    IDFA 2020
    IDFA 2019
    IDFA 2018
    IDFA 2017

  • 45 FF Max Ophuels Preis, January 22–28, 2024

      #45FFMOP       The full programme will be published December 22, 2023. After Xmas you'll find the full LineUp of German documentary productions ...

     



    #45FFMOP

     

     


     


    The full programme will be published December 22, 2023. After Xmas you'll find the full LineUp of German documentary productions and co-productions here. STAY TUNED!


     LineUp german documentaries as confirmed:



     


     


     



     

     


    WETTBEWERB DOKUMENTARFILM – COMPETITION DOCUMENTARY with eleven films from German speaking countries – DACH – such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, competing for four prizes:



    • MAX OPHÜLS PRIZE: BEST DOCUMENTARY, endowed with 7,500 Euros, provided by Saarland Medien GmbH

    • MAX OPHÜLS PRIZE: BEST FILM MUSIC, endowed with 5,000 Euros, offered by Saarland Medien GmbH and endowed by the Strecker Foundation.

    • MAX OPHÜLS PRIZE: AUDIENCE AWARD DOCUMENTARY is endowed with 5,000 Euros by Dillinger and Saarstahl. The prize is awarded to an entry from the Documentary competition by a vote of the festival audience.

    • The award of the non-endowed MAX OPHÜLS PRIZE: PRIZE OF FILM CRITICS is decided by a three-member jury composed of the film critics' associations from Germany (BVMJ and VdFk), Austria (Austrian Film Critics' Guild) and Switzerland (SVFJ).


     


    as single page:


    45 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2024
    44 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2023
    43 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2022
    42 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2021
    41 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2020
    40 FF Max Ophüls Preis 2019 •

  • 14 DOC NYC November 8–26, 2023

            The 2023 festival showcases more than 200 films and dozens of events, including 30 World Premieres, 26 US Premieres, more than 105 ...

     



     

     


     


    The 2023 festival showcases more than 200 films and dozens of events, including 30 World Premieres, 26 US Premieres, more than 105 feature-length documentaries, shorts programs and student film showcases. Plus in-person appearances by filmmakers at most screenings. 14 DOC NYC is running in-person from November 8 – 16 at West Village’s IFC Center, Chelsea’s SVA Theater, and Village East by Angelika, and with extended online screenings available across the US through November 26, 2023.


    This year's festival includes new work by veteran filmmakers Wim Wenders, Sam Pollard, Penny Lane, Dawn Porter, Karim Amer, Tamara Kotevska, Fernando Trueba, Ramin Bahrani, Chris Wilcha, D.W. Young, Kim Longinotto, Everado Gonzalez, Rebecca Cammisa, Geeta Gandbhir, Amy Nicholson, Jeff Zimbalist, and more.  


     



     

     


     


     LineUp German productions and co-productions



     


     


     


     


     




     


     


     


    DOC NYC PRO FALL 2023, November 9–16.



    • Live Pitch (Thu, November 9)
      Industry Roundtables Live Pitch presents an opportunity for 8 filmmaking teams with works-in-progress to present live pitches to industry figures from the fields of distribution, financing, publicity, marketing, social impact, and more. The program aims to curate the most promising documentaries of the future for industry feedback, and select projects from a competitive pool of online submissions. Watch live pitches and discover how to make your best case to funders and other gatekeepers.

    • Producing and Directing (Fri, November 10)
      Join us for an enlightening day of panels featuring renowned producers and directors as they share their experiences, insights, and best practices in crafting compelling documentary films including a panel about mental health in the documentary industry. Co-presented by Hulu

    • Cinematography (Sat, November 11)
      Accomplished cinematographers will illuminate their techniques for capturing breathtaking visuals, crafting scenes, enhancing storytelling through imagery, and navigating the unique challenges of filming real-life narratives. Co-presented by National Geographic

    • Editing (Sun, November 12)
      Case studies from prominent editors will elucidate the craft and help build your editor’s toolkit. Insider tips on how to craft scenes for maximum storytelling impact will also be highlighted. Co-presented by Participant

    • Journalism and Documentary (Mon, November 13)
      Hear from experts on two panels as we explore the intersection of journalism and documentary filmmaking. Then join us for a special NBC Original Voices live pitch event hosted by NBCU Academy, NBC News Studios and IF/Then Shorts as six teams pitch their archival and journalistically-driven short documentary works-in-progress. Co-presented by NBC News Studios

    • Music and Sound (Tue, November 14)
      Let’s go in depth into the world of music and sound for feature docs. Hear about collaboration and behind the scenes tips from music teams on some of this year’s leading documentaries.

    • The Business of Documentary (Wed, November 15)
      Explore how to navigate the intricate business landscape of documentary filmmaking including inspirational examples of creative funding sources.

    • Creative Distribution (Thu, Nov. 16)
      Gain valuable insights on educational distribution, retaining film rights, and exploring innovative distribution ideas to reach wider audiences and make a lasting impact with your storytelling

    • Additional details, including daily panel schedules and confirmed speakers, to be announced.


     


    as single page
    14 DOC NYC 2023


     


     


     


    DOC NYC is America’s largest documentary film festival and voted by MovieMaker magazine as one of the 'top five coolest documentary film festivals in the world'. Based at the West Village’s IFC Center and Chelsea’s SVA Theater, the ten-day festival showcases new achievements in documentary film along with panels and conversations. The Festival will be a hybrid event, with in-person screenings and events scheduled in New York City from Nov 8 – 16, and online screenings continuing until Nov 26.
    Included are 30 World Premieres and 26 U.S. premieres, with 20 films in the U.S. Competition, for new American-produced nonfiction films, and the International Competition, for work from around the globe, making their U.S. (or greater) premieres. The Kaleidoscope Competition for new essayistic and formally adventurous documentaries continues into its third year, while the festival's long-standing Metropolis Competition, showcasing New York stories and personalities, also returns. In addition, the festival includes thematically organized sections that spotlight new films on music, sports, activism, and more. 


    ...and the winner of 14 DOC NYC's 2023 Audience Award is GARLAND JEFFREYS: THE KING OF IN BETWEEN, directed by Claire Jeffreys and produced by Blair Foster, Rémi Grellety, Sam Pollard, Evan Oppenheimer, Juliana Terian, Danny Zelisko, and Steven Van Zandt! Garland Jeffreys, the mixed-race Brooklyn native whose music defied industry norms, receives long-overdue recognition in this enlightening documentary. His unique fusion of folk, soul, and rock earned him accolades abroad, yet left him underrated at home. Jeffreys' story, narrated from his NYC home and featuring interviews with fans like Harvey Keitel, Laurie Anderson, and Vernon Reid sheds light on the life and artistry of an unclassifiable talent.

  • 26 RIDM November 15–26, 2023 at Montreal

      Germany in the spotlight! The Biergarten of L'inis For 15 years, L'inis – Institut national de l'image et du son – has maintained a friendship ...

     


    Germany in the spotlight! The Biergarten of L'inis
    For 15 years, L'inis – Institut national de l'image et du son – has maintained a friendship with the HFF Munich Film School. In a festive biergarten atmosphere, discover some powerful works that have been made here and there, in the presence of the crews. It’s an opportunity to discuss documentaries, meet inspired artisans, and party Bavarian-style! November, 24, 2023 5:00P.M. Cinémathèque québécoise – Salle Norman-McLaren. This activity is free.


     



    Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montreal


     


     


    LineUp German productions and co-productions .



     


    Press releases click here.


     


     


     


    as single page:
    26 RIDM 2023
    25 RIDM 2022


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  • 40 Kassel Dokfest, November 14—19, 2023

      ...and GOLDENER SCHLÜSSEL KURZFILM (golden key short) goes to GETTY ABORTIONS by Franzis Kabisch, 22min SPECIAL MENTION GOLDENER SCHLÜSSEL ...

     



    • ...and GOLDENER SCHLÜSSEL KURZFILM (golden key short) goes to GETTY ABORTIONS by Franzis Kabisch, 22min

    • SPECIAL MENTION GOLDENER SCHLÜSSEL KURZFILM goes to BOND by Anna Witt, Jugendforum Gröpelingen, 29min

    • SPECIAL MENTION GOLDENER HERKULES goes to WHAT REMAINS | VON DEM, WAS BLEIBT by Johanna Groß, Daniel Hellwig, 86min


     



     


     


     



     

     


     



     

     


     


    The program overview with 56 feature films and 185 short films is available for download. The festival catalog will be available at the cinemas Filmladen, Gloria Kino and BALi Kinos as well as online.


    The film program, which includes 185 short and 56 feature lenght documentary films and artistic-experimental productions, is the main part of the festival. During the six festival days about 235 films are presented. The festival’s profile also includes the trans-media section Monitoring, an exhibition of current video and media installations, the workshop symposium interfiction, the DokfestConnection, the film educational side program junges dokfest, the DokfestGeneration, as well as the DokfestForum.


     


    LineUp of German productions and co-productions among others



     


    as single page:
    40 Kassel Dokfest 2023

  • 64 Festival dei Popoli, Nov 4–12, 2023 at Florence

            with a tribute to Tatiana Huezo and,  DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A VOLCANO by Cyril Aris, IN LIMBO by Gusztáv Hámos, Katja Pratschke ...

     


     



     

     


    with a tribute to Tatiana Huezo and,  DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A VOLCANO by Cyril Aris, IN LIMBO by Gusztáv Hámos, Katja Pratschke, CALLS FROM MOSCOW by Luis Alejandro Yero in the international competition among others.


     


    LineUp German productions and co-productions



     


     


     



     


     


    Tribute to Tatiana Huezo:


    Director Tatiana Huezo, one of the most important emerging voices in international cinema of the last decade, with PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN Mexicans submission for 94 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film and, awarded with the Documentary Award & Best Directing Encounter for DAS ECHO | EL ECO | THE ECHO at 73 BERLINALE, will be one of the special guests at the 64th edition of the Festival dei Popoli, the international documentary film festival, scheduled in Florence from November 4 to 12, 2023.
    For 15 years, Tatiana Huezo has been passionately chronicling the deep soul of a beautiful and painful country, full of wounds and contradictions. The filmmaker-born in San Salvador and then moved to Mexico City-will be honoured with a retrospective of her work, the first in Italy, and will meet the public at a masterclass.


    Explained Festival dei Popoli artistic director Alessandro Stellino, "This is a director whom we have been following since her debut and who, with very few films to her credit, has already achieved a leading status at the international level, as demonstrated by the important recognition bestowed on her at the last Berlinale. Her cinema is unique, politically conscious and with a strong cinematic, narrative and lyrical structure, she addresses some of the most dramatic issues of contemporary Mexican society by translating them into a vision that never leaves one indifferent. Through the gaze of women, sometimes little girls, she recounts with deep sensitivity a mythical and ancestral world and the most dangerous ridges beyond which we sometimes lean and lose our innocence. All her films are forms of resistance and struggle, stances in favour of the freedom of individuals and communities, and at the same time poetic prayers for all that has been taken from them and denied them."


     


     


     



     

     

     


    The rebellious and political body of an indocile and disobedient woman is the protagonist of the poster for the 64th Festival dei Popoli, the international documentary film festival, in Florence from 4 to 12 November. The image on the poster is taken from WR - I misteri dell'organismo, Dusan Makavejev's 1971 film that will be screened on 4 November at La Compagnia cinema and will open the Diamonds are Forever section, a selection of documentaries from the festival's historical archive.


      


     


     


     64 FDP Festival dei Popoli, Florence


     Places of the Festival.


    FDP64 2023FB

  • 21 doclisboa, October 19–29, 2023

               was taking place in Lisbon, in its usual venues: Culturgest, Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema and Cinema ...

     


     



      


     


     


    was taking place in Lisbon, in its usual venues: Culturgest, Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema and Cinema Ideal. Browse the complete winners of 21 doclisboa 2023 here.


     


    LineUp German productions and co-productions:



     


     


     


    SECTIONS


     


    INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION


    New films from all over the world, with diverse poetics, forms and lengths, drawing a map of contemporary cinema through singular works that question both themselves and what they portray. Films produced after September 2022, largely screening as international or world premieres.


     


    PORTUGUESE COMPETITION


    Portuguese produced and/or directed films, with no limitations in terms of format or length. This section presents an overview of the diversity of visions, practices and languages within contemporary Portuguese cinema, through a rigorous, open and attentive selection of films. Films produced after September 2022, largely screening as world premieres.


     


    NEW VISIONS


    New Visions explores the possibilities of cinema as a site for experimentation in both film practice and film programming. It places bold and innovative new propositions and tendencies in filmmaking into dialogue with radical moments from cinema’s past. Here categories, formats, and durations are challenged, through a cinema that believes reality is less captured by the camera than constructed anew.


     


    FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON


    Premieres of the latest films by key directors from the documentary scene, out of competition. A selection of works that allow us to see the worlds of yesterday, today and tomorrow, through powerful visions and stories.


     


    HEARTBEAT


    Films exploring all forms of art and expression are represented in this section, in a celebration of creation. Music, sport, literature, the performing and visual arts… The arts beat in doclisboa, not only on the screen.


       


    GREEN YEARS


    World and international premieres of European films of any length, from students and new directors taking their first steps in film. The section creates a platform for dialogue and reflection, seeking to contribute to the development of new filmmakers. Green Years has its own competition and jury, and features an annual programme from an invited school.


     


    DOC ALLIANCE


    This section is present at all festivals that are members of the Doc Alliance project. It presents a programme of films nominated for selection by Doc Alliance, including the winner of the Doc Alliance Award, given by a jury of international critics.


     


     


    AWARDS


     


    INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION



    • City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film – 10.000€

    • YouTube International Competition Jury Award – 3.500€


     


    PORTUGUESE COMPETITION



    • HBO Max Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film – 6.000€

    • Portuguese Authors Society Portuguese Competition Jury Award – 2.000€

    • School Award – ETIC Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film – 1.500€


     


    CROSS-SECTIONAL COMPETITION



    • New Talent Award – TVCine Channels Award for Best First Feature-Length Film (over 60’) from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the retrospectives and Cinema of Urgency – 3.500€

    • Award for Best Short Film(up to 40’) from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the retrospectives and Cinema of Urgency

    • Healthy Workplaces Film Award – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Award for Best Feature-Length Film Dealing with Work from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the retrospectives and Cinema of Urgency – 5.000€

    • Practice, Tradition and Heritage Award – INATEL Foundation Award for Best Film Dealing with Cultural and Traditional Practices as well as Intangible Cultural Heritage from a selection comprising all sections with the exception of the retrospectives and Cinema of Urgency – 1.500€

    • Fernando Lopes Award – Midas Filmes and Doclisboa Award for Best Portuguese First Film – 2.000€

    • Audience Award – Público Newspaper Award for Best Portuguese Film comprising all sections with the exception of Green Years -1.000€


     


    GREEN YEARS COMPETITION



    • Award for Best Green Years Film

    • Pedro Fortes Award for Best Green Years Portuguese Film


     


     


     


     


    as singel page:
    21 doclisboa 2023
    20 doclisboa 2022


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  • 27 Ji.hlava IDFF, October 24–29, 2023

             offers 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, of which 115 will be in world premiere, 22 in international premiere ...

     



     

     


      


    offers 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, of which 115 will be in world premiere, 22 in international premiere, and 17 in European premiere.


     "Ji.hlava is a place that brings forth striking images from around the world, connecting the community of filmmakers and viewers. Intense discussions follow the films, much like during the festival's discussion platform, Inspiration Forum", says Marek Hovorka, the festival director. "The festival is accessible and open to all viewers, an opportunity to meet interesting personalities both on screen and in the audience," he adds.


    Browse awarded films of 27 Ji.hlava IDFF here.


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions:



     


     


    Ji.hlava New Visions Forum: Europe 2023


    The event is dedicated to the new generation of European producers, new formats, innovative trends, and visions for the future. The programme is open to diverse audiovisual formats, including the German production



    • MINDSCAPES by Lina Zacher, 30min, P: Delphine Bishop, Pylon Studio UG,
      What does a feeling look like, what does it sound like? Mindscapes is about the multifaceted emotional worlds of people with mental illness. Feelings such as panic, emptiness, despair, mania, euphoria, tension, and sorrow are explored, as four protagonists with diverse diagnoses share their experiences. On the basis of the images and sounds associated with the feelings of those affected, a sound designer and a motion designer create a sonic and visual level immersing the viewer deeply in the inner worlds of the protagonists and bringing them vividly closer to what is difficult to explain.


     


     


    as single page:


     • 27 Ji.hlava 2023
     • 26 Ji.hlava 2022


    October 30, 2023 PRESS RELEASE:


    The Awards of the 27th Ji.hlava IDFF were presented at Jihlava's DKO on Saturday night! The Contribution to World Cinema award was presented to legendary Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. The Opus Bonum Award for the most notable international documentary film was granted to Ship by Croatian director Elvis Leni?, while Photophobia by Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekar?ík took home the Best Czech Documentary award. The award for the Best Central and East European documentary went to to Polish film Distances by Matej Bobrik, the Best film from the Visegrad region is The Third End of the Stick by Slovak director Jaro Vojtek. The award for the Best Debut went to You Will Never See It All by Czech director Št?pán Pech and Maia Gattás Vargas from Argentina received the Award for original approach for her East Wind. The Czech director Nikola Klinger received the students' prize for La Reine. The jury of the Testimonies section appreciated Mighty Afrin: In The Time Of Floods by Greek director Angelos Rallis. The Best Experimental Documentary film is Silhouette by Japanese director Yoshiki Nishimura and The Commodity Catalogue by Zbyn?k Baladrán was named the Best Czech Experiment. The Short Joy Award went to Kata's Motherhood by Santwana Bayaskar from India, and Is There Any Place For Me, Please? by Jarmila Štuková was voted the audiences' favourite. See all awards and jury statements here.

  • 47 Duisburger Filmwoche, November 6—12, 2023

        The awarded German documentaries at the 47 Duisburger Filmwoche are: 3sat Documentary Award goes to longterm trilogy EINZELTÄTER by Julian ...

     



     


    The awarded German documentaries at the 47 Duisburger Filmwoche are:



    • 3sat Documentary Award goes to longterm trilogy EINZELTÄTER by Julian Vogel produced by CORSO Film. "...In this trilogy, director Julian Vogel gives space to the victims and their relatives, accompanying the latter in their lives that have fallen apart at the seams, but above all in the struggle to come to terms with what should actually be done by others. Panning shots of everyday life in Germany confront their experiences of violence and injustice with a normality that must be preserved at all costs.
      Vogel seeks a form that resists conventional television - including cinema formats - to a certain extent and must therefore also be read as a plea for a different, politically conscious documentary work. He works in an open-ended way, taking his time. He alternates documentary and essayistic scenes, and thus emotionality and objectivity. The montage allows closeness and at the same time analytical distance.
      Despite the ambivalence that accompanies any cinematic representation of mourning, Vogel continuously broadens the perspectives. All three parts - in terms of focus, methodology and dramaturgy - stand on their own, but in their 239-minute synopsis, connections, painful gaps and striking, systemic failures are revealed. A struggle for attitude, reappraisal and visibility, which should now also be translated into prime time television programs..." [quote from the jury statement and the members are Britt Beyer, Laura Coppens, Sebastian Höglinger]

    • Newcomer Award Carte Blanche – goes to OPERATION NAMIBIA by Martin Paret
      "...Operation Namibia, which aims to ship 6,000 banned books to the South African-occupied country, fails because it has to fail. Martin Paret conceals nothing and spares no one. With minimal means, he creates a relentlessly powerful undertow without ever sacrificing the humanity of his characters. In correspondence across continents and oceans, a circle of young people opens up to us, smiling at us in photographs. Huddled together in the forced intimacy of the sailing boat, they turn us into insiders. The narration, imagery and soundscape intertwine just as carefully, bringing the photographs to life. The obstacles that push the mission's goal further and further away are sometimes technical and sometimes interpersonal, sometimes health-related and sometimes financial. The multi-perspectivity of the epistolary narrative leaves no room for singular causes. Everyone and no one is to blame at the same time. The straight line that the group envisioned for their journey at the beginning never existed..." [quote from the jury statement and the members are Özge Inan, Lukas Marxt, Dominic Schmid]

    • Special Mention of City of Diusburg goes to KHABUR | XABÛR by by Nafis Fathollahzadeh "...gives back not only a region, but also its past and its nature, its gods and its displaced people the language that was stolen from them. A formally challenging monument to resistance against colonial continuities in occupied Kurdistan that are too rarely questioned..." [quote from the jury statement and the members are Özge Inan, Lukas Marxt, Dominic Schmid]

    • Special Mention ARTE Documentary Award goes to LA EMPRESA by André Siegers. "... The Mexican village of El Alberto, located on the border with the USA, has developed another product for the world market in addition to the production of hand-crocheted exfoliating gloves - the Caminata Nocturna. Every week – and several times before Easter – the village community performs the gruesome stages of border crossings as an amateur drama – and has become famous for it. When a German film crew buys exclusive access to this attraction, the stories begin to overlap. With laconic humility and competence in terms of content, both contractual partners take care of their respective products. A finely constructed confusion..." [quote from the jury statement and the members of the jury are Enoka Ayemba, Christiane Büchner, Stefanie Gaus]



    Browse all winners and Jury statements – in German only – here.


     


     



     


     



    The 47th edition of the DUISBURGER FILMWOCHE will take place November 6–12, programming 23 documentaries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Browse the proramme —German only— here.


     


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions:



     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


    stay tuned by following the festival on FB #df47 or website of the festival.

  • 65 Nordic Film Days Lübeck, Nov 1–5, 2023

          More than 180 films will be shown in almost 250 public screenings at Lübeck venues during the 65 Nordic Film Days. And more than 50 ...

     



     

     


    More than 180 films will be shown in almost 250 public screenings at Lübeck venues during the 65 Nordic Film Days. And more than 50 percent of that line-up will be available from 7 pm on November 1 through the end of the festival for streaming by audiences all over Germany.


    A total of twelve jury prizes, with a total endowment of 65,000 Euros will be awarded, including the audience prize, and the Honorary Award, which this year goes to Swedish director and screenwriter Roy Andersson. The Honorary Award will be presented at the opening night ceremony on November 1, while the rest of the awards will be presented on November 5 during the gala Prize Night at Theater Lübeck.


    "Our anniversary year gathers together all the forms and genres of Nordic filmmaking", says Thomas Hailer, artistic director, "an impressive year filled with work that will resonate and occupy our thoughts long after the final credits have rolled".


     


    LineUp (Northern) German productions and co-productions documentary form a.o.:



     


     


    as single page
    65 Nordic Film Days Lübeck 2023

  • annually MIPCOM at Cannes in October

          Let's meet again at 40 MIPCOM,  October 21—24, 2024 at Cannes, Frankreich Contact for joining German Delegation Björn Jensen to get ...

     


     



     


    Let's meet again at 40 MIPCOMOctober 21—24, 2024 at Cannes, Frankreich


    Contact for joining German Delegation Björn Jensen to get enlisted under the German Umbrella. More information __German only__ here.


     



    Björn Jensen, Eva-Maria Pellikan, Simone Baumann 


    The picture was taken at the 37 MIPCOM 2021 with
    Björn Jensen, representativ German Documentaries,  AG DOK
    Eva-Maria Pellikan, Head of Communications & Marketing, Liasion TV & Series German Films
    Simone Baumann, Managing Director German Flms


     


     


     


     


     


     


    Find the Report 2021 MIPCOM 2021 by Björn Jensen —German only— here.
    Find the Report 2022 MIPCOM 2022 by Björn Jensen —German only— here.


    as single page

  • 66 DOK Leipzig October 8–15, 2023

    …and the four time winner is Jonathan Schörnig with EINHUNDERTVIER! Altogether, 24 awards were presented at DOK Leipzig. At the 66th edition ...

    …and the four time winner is Jonathan Schörnig with EINHUNDERTVIER!


    Altogether, 24 awards were presented at DOK Leipzig. At the 66th edition of the festival, 225 films and extended reality works from some 60 countries were screened at the venues around Leipzig. The festival's opening film, WHITE ANGEL – THE END OF MARINKA by Leipzig journalist Arndt Ginzel, can be seen in cinemas across Germany from October 19, 2023.


     



    …and the four time winner is Jonathan Schörnig with EINHUNDERTVIER

    here with protagosnist Clara Richter

     


     


    In the German Competition Documentary Film, the Golden Dove Feature-Length Film went to EINHUNDERTVIER by Jonathan Schörnig, a real-time documentation of a rescue at sea on the Mediterranean. "The film team and the crew of the rescue ship show us clearly what it means when we look the other way every day. But they also show that help is possible and needed," the jury emphasised. This 10,000-Euro award is sponsored by Doris Apell-Kölmel and Michael Kölmel. AND the Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize, which includes 2,000.– Euros, licensing and subtitling in eight languages, was also awarded to EINHUNDERTVIER by Jonathan Schörnig. EINHUNDERTVIER further received the 1,500.– Euro  ver.di Prize for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness, bringing the total to four awards, making this the film earning the most honours at DOK Leipzig 2023, because the Film Prize Leipziger Ring, which honours a documentary film about human rights, democracy or civic engagement, sponsored by the Stiftung Friedliche Revolution and includes 2,500.– Euros in prize money goes ex aequo to Jonathan Schörnig for EINHUNDERTVIER and Nantenaina Lova for WHERE ZEBUS SPEAK FRENCH as well. Nantenaina Lova observes in the village SITABAOMBA not far from the capital Antananarivo at Madagascar, how foreign interests find their way into the country through corrupt politics and how the people deal with the foreign interests: Laughing in the face of injustice is the motto. With Tema Ndrota, Gégé Rasamoely, Company Miangaly and Claudia Tagbo as narrator.


    The Golden Dove Short Film, in conjunction with 1,500.– Euros, was awarded to Franzis Kabisch for getty abortions, a desktop video essay that explores how media illustrate the topic of abortion. "Our award-winning film finds a convincing contemporary form to address an ancient and at the same time highly topical issue," said the jury comprised of Birgit Kohler, Claus Löser and Serpil Turhan.


    The DEFA Sponsoring Prize, which includes 4,000.– Euros and is granted by the DEFA Foundation, went to Julia Charakter for THE CHILDREN OF KORNTAL


    The Gedanken-Aufschluss Award went to Nele Dehnenkamp for her first feature-length documentary film, FOR THE TIME BEING. This award was voted on by a jury comprised of prisoners at the Juvenile Detention Centre Regis-Breitingen.


    All awards and jury members at 66 DOK Leipzig browse here.


     


     


     



    Belarusian director Daria Yurkevich and her project GENESIS (Belarus, Germany) receiving the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. 

     


    DOK Industry Awards Winners 2023 announced, including German productions and co-productions, such as:



    • At DOK Preview Germany, JOHATSU – INTO THIN AIR (WT) by Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori, P: Ossa Film, Germany, Japan has been awarded with the D-Facto Motion Works-in-Progress Prize, which comes with the post-production grant of 10,000 euros, sponsored by D-Facto Motion GmbH.

    • At the DOK Co-Pro Market, a total of three awards have been presented. Belarusian director Daria Yurkevich and her project GENESIS (Belarus, Germany) has received the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros, sponsored by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism. Production company is Jyoti Film GmbH.

    • Winner of the ARD TopDocs__Competition is DER AUTOKRATEN CODE produced by Bremedia Produktion.


     


    The 66th edition of DOK Leipzig came to a close on Sunday, 15 October. The Golden and Silver Doves as well as the partnership awards were presented in two award ceremonies on Saturday. In total, the festival counted 45,500 attendees at its cinema screenings, panel discussions, industry events and the DOK Neuland XR exhibition. From 8 to 15 October, audiences had the opportunity to see 225 films and XR works from around 60 countries in venues around Leipzig. In addition, one film a day was available online for 24 hours throughout Germany in the DOK Stream.


    Festival director Christoph Terhechte looked back upon an eventful and intense festival week: "The cinemas were packed, and there were many excellent discussions about film in which the audience was very involved. Although the week was overshadowed by the recent massacres, expulsions and bombings in Israel and Palestine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine, many of our attendees used the festival as an opportunity to exchange views on those issues and current events."


    The DOK Industry events also met with great interest. At the second edition of the DOK Archive Market, more international archives and footage libraries introduced their collections than in the previous year. All in all, DOK Industry welcomed more than 1,700 accredited professionals.


     The 67th edition of DOK Leipzig will take place from 28 October to 3 November 2024.


     


     



     

     


     


    The 66th edition of the DOK Leipzig film festival is presenting some 225 films and extended reality works from around 60 countries. WHITE ANGEL – THE END OF MARINKA | WHITE ANGEL – DAS ENDE VON MARINKA by Leipzig journalist Arndt Ginzel is premiering as opening film. As every year, the festival centre is located in the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig.


     



    © 2023 Journalistenbüro Ginzel Kraushaar Datt GbR


    The impressive close-up footage of the operations is from a GoPro camera worn by police officers who repeatedly drive around the town in a white van which the civilians call the White Angel, documenting the evacuation and rescue operations in the small town of Marinka in the Donetsk region from the spring to the autumn of 2022. Spring 2023, Arndt Ginzel and his team returned to Ukraine and spoke with the rescuers and survivors about their traumatic experiences – and about the demise of their home town, which no longer exists.


     


     


     LineUp German productions and co-productions [work in progress]



     


    During the festival week, DOK Leipzig is showing one festival film fresh out of the cinema online as VoD in the DOK Stream. Each film is available for 24 hours throughout Germany. Only available at dok-leipzig.de, from 9 to 15 October.  


     


     


    DOK Leipzig Retrospective focuses on resistance to communist regimes in the Eastern Bloc including German productions such as:



    • [Kurt Biedenkopf besucht ein sowjetisches Panzerregiment] by Klaus Wilhelm, 8min, ©1991, Germany [Matinee Saxon State Archive]

    • BEGEGNUNGEN by Alfred Dorn, 15min, ©1970 [Matinee Saxon State Archive]

    • DREI JAHRZEHNTE SPÄTER by Volker Kastius, 15min, @1977, GDR [Matinee Saxon State Archive]

    • HUNGARY IN FLAMES | UNGARN IN FLAMMEN by Ferdinand Khittl, Stefan Erdélyi, 83min, © 1957, C: Bundesarchiv [Film and Protest]

    • One Wednesday in June – 20 Years Ago: People’s Uprising, Workers’ Revolt or Secret Services Putsch? | Ein Mittwoch im Juni – Vor 20 Jahren: Volksaufstand, Arbeiterrevolte oder Agentenputsch? by Lutz Lehmann, 60min ©1970, C: OneGate Media GmbH,[Retrospective]

    • RÜCKGABE DER KUNSTSCHÄTZE AN DAS GRÜNE GEWÖLBE by anonym, ©1958, 5min [Matinee Saxon State Archive]

    • SOVIET TROOPS IN PRAGUE AND BUDAPEST | SOWJETISCHE TRUPPEN IN PRAG UND BUDAPEST (Panorama, 29.7.1968), 18min © 1968, C: OneGate Media GmbH [Retrospective]

    • UPRISINGS IN THE SOVIET SPHERE OF INFLUENCE by Ralph Giordano, Hans-Ulrich Barth, 24min, ©1961, [Retrospektive]

    • WEHE DEN BESIEGTEN by Andrea Ritterbusch, 87min, ©1990, GDR [DEFA Matinee|


     


     


     


    19 DOK Co-Pro Market


    Individual meetings between producers and the selected projects take place on 9–10 October 20223 in Leipzig with complementary online meetings on 16 October. Join as a producer without project - submission possible until September 7.
    The 19th edition of the DOK Co-Pro Market welcomes 35 documentary projects from 30 countries that will have the opportunity to find international financing and co-production partners. This year has seen an increase in the number of submissions, totalling 316 projects, including two ukrainian productions as well as seven German co-productions, such as:


     



    • BE MY GUEST WORKER by Sanhah Lee | South Korea, Germany | autumn song production

    • GENESIS by Daria Yurkevich | Belarus, Germany | JYOTI Film

    • GHOST BOAT by Tanim Yousuf | Bangladesh, Germany | Bulldog Agenda GmbH, Mastul Productions         

    • HOW MANY NIGHTS HOW MANY DAYS by Alaa Dajani | Egypt, Germany | Seera films   

    • OVERTONES (WT) by Aygul Bakanova | Kyrgyzstan, Germany | Choku Film, if... Productions GmbH

    • PRISON HONEY by Jonas Eisenschmidt, Constanze Wolpers  | Germany | radpaar films             

    • ZOOTOPIA by Tristan Ferland Milewski | Germany | CORSO Film  


     Find all 35 selected documentary projects listed here.



     


    A major focus of the DOK Co-Pro Market is to help create a network of unique professionals dedicated to the co-production of creative documentary works. We invite producers who are actively looking for new audio-visual works to co-produce and to expand their networks internationally to apply as a Producer without a Project for participation in the Co-Pro Market. [DOK Leipzig PR August 31, 2023]


    This year’s Industry Programme opens on October 9, 2023 with a panel on the current state of independent Belarusian documentary cinema and the challenges filmmakers face, with the participation of the recently launched Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA).


    Among other highlights of the Industry Programme is Short n’ Sweet Oktober 11,2023, the 7th edition of the short film pitching event. DOK Archive Market will take place on 12 October, featuring an exciting programme on archival research and production, including one-on-one consultations with archival researchers and producers.


     


    DOK Archive Market October 12, 2023, Festival Centre (MdbK) Basement
    DOK Industry continues to focus on archives and archive research presenting the second edition of DOK Archive Market. Accredited festival visitors are invited to meet with international archives at the DOK Archive Market, find out about their footage and stills collections and forge connections with the archive representatives. The accompanying panel programme presents exciting discussions offering insights into the nuts and bolts of archival research, production and rights clearances. In one-on-one speed consultations archive researchers and archive producers give concrete advice on researching and licensing footage for documentary projects.


     


    DOK Preview Germany is an exclusive showcase featuring up to 8 German feature-length documentaries in the final stages of production. The teams present their projects to international buyers, editors, world sales, festival curators and distributors.
    Meet inspiring creatives and dive into diverse topics and unique filmmaking styles presented by experienced moderators Julia Teichmann and Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer. The film teams will give you a sneak peek into their new works to enrich your slates, slots and festivals.
    With the project presentation and subsequent opportunity for networking and exchange, we want to support the selected projects on their journey to international distribution and create new working ties.
    2023 project selection for DOK Preview Germany wil be announced on September 27,2023. The event wil be moderated by Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer and Julia Teichmann.



    • Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer is an EAVE producers workshop-alumna, has represented Germany as a European Producer on the Move in 2020 and is a member of EWA, DAE, Produzentenverband, AG DOK, the German and European Film Academy.

    • Julia Teichmann is Head of Documentary at German Films and supervises the Marketing & Subtitling Support. She has worked as a curator and is still working as a moderator. She was also a film critic and regularly served on juries at national and international film festivals.


     The selected projects in the final stages of production are:



    • ANGRY SPIRITS by Iris Pakulla P: Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Germany, Mongolia

    • THE END OF THE ROAD by Marc Eyrich, P: Licht & Stories, Germany, Morocco, Qatar

    • GET PHYSIKAL by Ilker Abay, Miro Wallner, Germany

    • JOHATSU – INTO THIN AIR (WT) by Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori, P: Ossa Film, Germany, Japan

    • OF COYOTES AND THOSE WHO STAYED (WT) by Clara Trischler, P: HORSE & FRUITS Filmproduktion, Germany, Austria

    • PING PONG by Jonas Egert, P: madfilms Cruiziat & Egert, Germany

    • REPRODUCTION by Katharina Pethke, P: fünferfilm, Germany

    • WOMEN SPEAKING (WT) by Kristine Nrecaj, Birthe Templin, P: Filmkantine, Germany


     


     


     


     


    DOK Industry Talk presents ARTE initiative Generation Ukraine:


    In this year's edition, DOK Leipzig is presenting a DOK Industry Talk on Generation Ukraine, a new initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries that explore Ukrainian reality in the throes of the ongoing war. The Talk, held on 10 October at 16:30 – 18:00 CEST, will present the ARTE initiative and showcase six of the projects with the participation of the film teams. The Talk will be moderated by documentary film producer and consultant Heidi Fleisher.
    Find out more in our NEWS #StandWithUkraine.


     


    Discover the international delegations that are ready to meet and mingle at DOK Leipzig 2023! 


    Explore all events of the complete Industry Programme in our Industry Timetable or see the A-Z overview here. Get accreditations at the regular rate until September 30, 2023. Last-minute accreditation requests are possible until the end of the festival with an extra fee. 


     


     


     


     


     



    Thomas Beyer, Susanne Binninger, Samir, Prof. Dr. Sylvia Rothe, and David Bernet

     


    KI zwischen Fakt & Fiktion


    Join the panel on possible benefits and threats of AI in documentary filmmaking brought to you by AG DOK – German Documentary Association Tuesday, October 10, 10 a.m. at PROPSTEI ST. TRINITATIS Nonnenmühlgasse 2, 04107 Leipzig. Stream the event –German only– here.


    On the one hand, AI tools now offer great relief possibilities for creatives in manually redundant work steps such as transcription, data and material management, through to editing preparation and research - even in the course of documentary productions. And by making drudgery easier, AI applications ideally expand the space for creative work.
    But where is the promise of authenticity in documentaries in the face of deceptively real-looking animations and deep fakes that can no longer be distinguished from real footage by the human eye? Does the expected flood of AI products strengthen the position of documentary filmmakers because they offer originality and authenticity, or is the dissolution of the boundaries between fact and fiction unstoppable?
    These questions will be addressed by a panel of filmmakers and experts, introduced by a case study of Swiss filmmaker Samir, who will present footage from his latest documentary created with AI.


    Panel moderated by Susanne Binninger and David Bernet, CEOs of AG DOK with
    Prof. Dr. Sylvia Rothe, AI professor at the HFF Munich, mathematician, software developer, filmmaker.
    Thomas Beyer, Editor History and Documentaries with MDR.
    • Samir, Swiss based Iraqi director and filmproducer, well known for IRAQI ODYSSEY – A GLOBAL FAMILY SAGA. Find out more about his work in progress 'The Miraculous Transformation of the Working Class into Foreigners', about the making of the film and how they produced the digital animation scenes through motion capture technology and gaming technology. Listen to the podcast by FILMEXPLORER.CH here __German only___ and Samir on new technologies in film.


     



     SAMIR

     Die wundersame Verwandlung der Arbeiterklasse in Ausländer


     


     


     


    as single page:
    •  66 DOK Leipzig 2023
    •  65 DOK Leipzig 2022
    •  64 DOK Leipzig 2021
    •  63 DOK Leipzig 2020
    •  62 DOK Leipzig 2019
    •  61 DOK Leipzig 2018 • 


     


    DOK Leipzig @ VIMEO
    DOK Leipzig @ FB
    DOK Leipzig @ INSTA


    Meet the team:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CxSZpmWM7SC/


    •  66 DOK Leipzig –German only– Deutschlandfunk Kultur

  • #StandWithUkraine

      36 IDFA November 8–19, 2023, Pressconference with Orwa Nyrabia       IDFA 2023 opens with the world premiere of A PICTURE TO REMEMBER by ...

     



    36 IDFA November 8–19, 2023, Pressconference with Orwa Nyrabia

     

     


     


    IDFA 2023 opens with the world premiere of A PICTURE TO REMEMBER by Olga Chernykh. The film presents a deeply personal and essay-style account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women: Chernykh herself, her mother, and her grandmother. In a bid for connection and intimacy, the filmmaker uses old family films, recordings of conversations, and news reports to bridge the distance between her and her grandmother. The result is a kaleidoscopic and personal film that travels through time fluidly. A PICTURE TO REMEMBER has been selected for the Envision Competition and received IDFA Bertha Fund support in 2023. 


    "This is a film by an independent filmmaker that is both personal and political. By building her film around three generations of women in her family, Chernykh carriers us to the daily experience of Ukrainians today. The director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film's approach opens up to a much larger world view. That's what place films like A Picture to Remember at the heart of IDFA," said IDFA's Artistic Director, Orwa Nyrabia.


     


     


     


     


     


     



     

     


     DOK Industry Talk at 66 DOK Leipzig presents ARTE initiative


    GENERATION UKRAINE


    In this year's edition, DOK Leipzig is presenting a DOK Industry Talk on Generation Ukraine, a new initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries that explore Ukrainian reality in the throes of the ongoing war.


    The Talk, held on 10 October at 16:30 – 18:00 CEST, will present the ARTE initiative and showcase six of the projects with the participation of the film teams. The Talk will be moderated by documentary film producer and consultant Heidi Fleisher.


    The ARTE Group and its European partners launched the project Generation Ukraine in a concerted effort to bolster the realisation and distribution of the Ukrainian film projects that have been conceived since the beginning of the Russian invasion and are in dire straits documenting the lasting impacts of the war on their country, its collective memory, land, and its people. The kick-off workshop of the Generation Ukraine project took place in Strasbourg in January 2023. From Wednesday, October 11th, a three-day workshop on "Generation Ukraine" will commence at the MDR headquarters in Leipzig.


    Following the example of Generation Africa, which gave a platform for young African filmmakers across the continent to tell their stories and reach diverse audiences, ARTE is supporting 12 Ukrainian documentary projects in various stages of development, selected from some 30 high-quality submissions. The selected Ukrainian film projects are financed by the ARTE group (ARTE France, ARTE GEIE and ARTE Germany), through co-productions or pre-sales, and in collaboration with the broadcaster's European partners. Projects completed by autumn 2024 will be included in the ARTE Media Library. All films will be broadcast on ARTE at a later date.


    The Generation Ukraine project is one of many ARTE's recent initiatives championing daring and uncompromising voices from Ukraine. One of them is the web series "Ukraine: The War from Within" where Ukrainian journalists offer "an authentic view of the East from the East."


     


    The following projects are participating in ARTE's Generation Ukraine:



    • "Displaced", director Olha Zhurba, production Darya Bassel (Moon Man / UKR), Anne Köhncke (Final cut for real / DK), ARTE France

    • "Basement 341", director Roman Blazhan, production Roman Blazhan (Minimal Movies / UKR), Christilla Huillard-Kahn (Elda / FR), ARTE France

    • "Intercepted", director Oksana Karpovych, production Giacomo Nudi (Films Cosmos / Canada), Darya Bassel (Moon Man / UKR), Pauline Tran Van Lieu (Hutong Prod. / FR), ARTE France

    • "Cuba & Alaska", director Yegor Troyanovsky, production Olha Beskhmelnytsina (2Brave / UKR), Christian Popp (Tag Films / FR), ARTE France

    • "Queens of Joy", director Olga Gibelinda, production Ivanna Khitsinska (Quatros Group & Malanka Studios / UKR), Louis Beaudemont (Les Steppes Productions / FR), ARTE GEIE

    • "The Days I would Like to Forget", directors Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Simon Mozgovyi, production Eugene Rachkovsky, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Karina Kostyna (Tabor Films / UKR), Ralph Wieser (Mischief Films / GER), SWR / ARTE

    • "Another Man's Diary", directors Oleksandr Tkachenko, Dmytro Dokunov, production Illia Gladshtein (Phalanstery films / UKR), BR / ARTE

    • "The Blessed Ones", director Andrii Lysetskyi, production Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Gennady Kofman, (MaGiKa-film / UKR), Uldis Cekulis (VFS Films / LAT), Erik Winker (CORSO Film / GER), MDR / ARTE

    • "Nukemailing", directors Pavel Cherepin, Anton Bazelinsky, production Heroes Creative Studio, Kyiv, DOCDAYS Productions GmbH, Berlin, RBB / ARTE

    • "A Bit of a Stranger", director Svetlana Lischynska (Albatros / UKR), production Anna Kapustina; Alex Tondowski (Tondowski Film / GER), ZDF / ARTE

    • "Women Occupied", directors Tetiana Hanza, Zoia Volk, production Zoia Volk, Valentina Boye (Zova films / GER), Regina Maryanovska-Devidzon (Real Pictures, UKR), SWR / ARTE

    • "Silent Food", director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, production Karina Kostyna, Eugene Rachkovsky (Tabor / UKR), Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer (Elemag Pictures / GER), MDR / ARTE


     


     


     



     

     


     


     


    30 HOT DOCS Toronto with nine documentaries MADE IN UKRAINE:



     


     


     


     



     


     


    73 Berlinale Special Gala with Documentary on Ukraine


     



    Sean Penn, Volodymyr Zelensky in SUPERPOWER

     

     



    • SUPERPOWER by Sean Penn, Aaron Kaufman, USA 2022
      This past year the weight of the real world has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Among the films premiering this year at the festival there is one in particular that witnesses the shock we all felt. More than a documentary, SUPERPOWER is the chronicle of a film project that reality forced to change in to something less controllable but more meaningful. In a festival that will take place one year after the Russian invasion in Ukraine, it is important to show the film that Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman made under such difficult conditions. Like their colleagues who risked their lives in order to testify the cruelty of the war, they prove once more that art can inspire action worldwide.

    • EASTERN FRONT | SHIDNIY FRONT by Vitaly Mansky & Yevhen Titarenko, Latvia / Czech Republic / Ukraine / USA [Encounter]

    • IT'S A DATE by Nadia Parfan, Ukraine [Short]

    • IRON BUTTERFLIES by Roman Liubyi, Ukraine / Germany [Panorama]

    • DO YOU LOVE ME? | TY MENE LUBYSH? by Tonia Noyabrova, Ukraine / Sweden [Panorama]

    • IN UKRAINE | W UKRAINIE by by Piotr Pawlus, Tomasz Wolski, Poland, Germany [Forum]

    • WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY | MY NE ZGASNEMO by Alisa Kovalenko, Ukraine / France / Poland [Generation]

    • WAKING UP IN SILENCE | IM STILLEN ERWACHEN by Mila Zhluktenko, Germany / Ukraine, [Generation]

    • and

    • THE BLINDSIGHT by Ruslan Batytskyi, [Berlinale Co-Production Market]


    The EFM is supporting the industry with a package of special measures.
    find out more in the press release 73 BERLINAE of January 20, 2023.


     



    IRON BUTTERLIES by Roman Liubyi

    is premiering Januar 23 2023 at the Sundance Film Festival
    and 73 BERLINALE Panorama Dokumente 2023


    In summer 2014, sunflower fields and coal mines in eastern Ukraine turned into a 12 square kilometer crime scene. A multi-layered investigation into the downing of flight MH17, in which a butterfly-shaped shrapnel was found in the pilot’s body, implicated the state responsible for a war crime that remains unpunished.


    Since 2013, the film director Roman Liubyi has been working with the #BABYLON’13: Cinema of Civil Society group of independent film producers who came together during the Revolution of Dignity. Since 2015 Roman has been working on the full-length documentary project WAR NOTE, based on videos from soldiers’ cell-phones. In cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine, Roman Liubyi has created two films based on materials from the major war-crimes cases. 


     


     



     

     

     


     



     


    THE HAMLET SYNDROME premiered in Amsterdam, NYC and Kyivi!


    An exciting weekend for THE HAMLET SYNDROME: incredible screenings and Q&A’s on IDFA, the next day flight to New York, and the same evening, our American premiere on DOC NYC. Sunday, our Ukrainian premiere in Kyiv. Bomb alerts and power outages before and after the screening, and no light on the streets, but the cinema shone the strength and determination of our protagonists. The screening finally took place, and even Rodion and Roman could attend! It’s heart-wrenching that the war has already lasted nine months, and trauma continues to sew its seeds into the everyday lives of ordinary Ukrainians.
    Source: FB/TheHamletSyndrome


    ...and upcoming screenings at 39 Kassel Documentary FF  & Human Rights FF, Zurich .



     

     

     


    The twenty-sixth edition of Ji.hlava, October 25-30, 2022 will open with 8TH DAY OF THE WAR by Ukrainian director Oksana Moiseniuk. The film was made on the eighth day of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and is not about the war as such, but about its impact on the Ukrainian diaspora in the Czech Republic.


     



     



     


     



    65 DOK Leipzig October 17–23, 2022


     


    Svitlana Lishchynska received the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director at the opening ceremony of 65 DOK Leipzig.


    Saxon State Minister for Culture and Tourism Barbara Klepsch presented the Saxon Award for the Best Documentary Project by a Female Director, worth 5,000 euros, to Ukrainian filmmaker Svitlana Lishchynska for her project A BIT OF A STRANGER. It tells the story of Svitlana’s mother, daughter and granddaughter — three generations of a family from Mariupol who have lost their national identity due to the long-term imperial policy of Moscow and are currently facing the Russian war of aggression.


     



     © 2022 DOK Leipzig, Viktoria Conzelmann


     



    In the Competition for the 65 DOK Leipzig Audience Award, the Golden Dove including 3,000 Euros went to THREE WOMEN by Maxim Melnyk. In encounters with three independent women, Melnyk documents rural life in the Ukrainian village of Stuzhytsya near the EU border. "This film brings us images of joie de vivre and lightness. Images that we don’t often see coming from that country at the moment. It creates connections and unites people through the screen," according to the statement by the audience jury.
    The DEFA Sponsoring Prize, which includes 4,000 Euros granted by the DEFA Foundation, went to Maxim Melnyk for THREE WOMEN as well.


     


     


     


     



     


    Spotlight on: Docudays UA 2022 at 65 DOK LEIPZIG


    The DocuDays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival could not be held in Kyiv this past March 2022 due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Therefore, in a show of solidarity with the Docudays UA team, DOK Leipzig is providing a venue for the 19th edition of that festival. This programme presents the four films selected for the DOCU/UKRAINE national competition along with the opening film BONEY PILES [image above and PDF with the loglines of all five films here] These works paint a nuanced portrait of the country, telling of property disputes in Kyiv and flea markets in Odesa, of first responders amid the pandemic in rural Transcarpathia, and also of the consequences of the war that has been going on in eastern Ukraine since 2014.



     


     



     


     




     Kundschafter Filmproduktion | BALAPOLIS sp.zo.o.

     


     


     IDFA's FALL SPECIAL Wedensday evening September 28, 2022.


    With THE HAMLET SYNDROME by Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski, winner of Roman Brodmann Prize as well as Grand Prix Semaine de la critique – 75 Locarno IFF,  on Wednesday evening September 28, 2022 IDFA's Fall Special is taking place in Pathé Tuschinski in Amsterdam. IT's the Dutch premiere of the documentary. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Elwira Niewiera.


     


     


     


     


     


     


     



    #lola22 DEUTSCHER FILMPREIS — German Film Award

    with Marina Stepanska and Alisa Kovalenko live from Ukraine


    Sandra Maischberger announced the award ceremony of BEST DOCUMENTARY #lola22 streaming two video from the Ukraine.



    1. Wladimir Klitschko very much regrets that the circumstances are so bad, that he cannot be in Berlin to discuss the importance of documentaries with the filmmakers on site.

    2. Marina Stepanska thanked for the donations from Germany, which were made on the basis of an initiative by AG DOK members, to which the German Film Academy, Producers' Association, German Academy for Television, Crew United and from Austria the interest group documentary dok. at, the Producers' Alliance The producers and the Academy of Austrian Film joined to support Ukrainian documentary filmmakers with protective vests and equipment in their work.
      Alisa Kovalenko, who many of us know from her documentary ALISA IN WARLAND premiering at IDFA 2015.


     



    ALISA IN WARLAND IDFA 2015 catalogue: Alisa is a 26-year-old student at the film academy in Kiev. Her life is pretty normal until the day that President Viktor Yanukovych refuses to sign the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Suddenly, everything changes: protests erupt in the capital, with the inhabitants demanding the president’s resignation. Alisa witnesses the demonstrations and embarks on a trip through Ukraine in an attempt to understand the war. Her journey takes her to the east of the country, where she comes across demonstrations again, this time of a pro-Russian character. Along the way, she faces shootings, explosions and the searing consequences of the war for the people of her country. Very much against her will, Alisa is then personally caught up in the war when she is arrested by separatists for spying. The risks she is taking also jeopardize her romantic relationship with a French journalist. This candid self-portrait shows us a sensitive, concerned woman in search of answers. The direct, often handheld camerawork gives us an impression of Ukraine in the wake of the protests and of the tensions that arose among the various population groups. 


     



     


     


    WHAT'S AT STAKE IN UKRAINE a Filmmaker's Conversation


     





     


     This podcast episode is a special edition dedicated to the current invasion of Ukraine. Tamara Tatishvili (Head of Training - MEDICI the Film Funding Journey) is moderating this episode and speaks with Julia Sinkevych (Producer, Ukraine), Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer (Producer, Germany), and Keti Machavariani (Producer/ Director, Georgia). They talk about the fact that the war in Ukraine did not start on 24 February, but eight years ago with the annexation of Crimea. We hear four women and their fear on the one hand and their will to stand up for peace on the other. Film and cinema have enormous power; those have to be used and supported in the right way. Because the misuse for propaganda purposes is a real a danger. In this time more than ever the film industry needs to stand together. Filmmakers have the tools to reach a big audience. The industry should endorse Ukrainian film projects from the past to achieve awareness and gather financial resources to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine.


    Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale.


    The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms, e.g. Spotify or Apple Podcasts


     



    UKRAINE FOCUS @ Sheffield DocFest, June 23—28 June, 2022


    Sheffield DocFest in solidarity with Ukraine Password: Palianytsia launch a collaborative documentary programme with Docudays UA, which will launch the British Council and Ukrainian Institute's 'UK/Ukraine Season of Culture'. The focus will launch with the World Premiere of One Day in Ukraine, by media activist and filmmaking collective Babylon'13. This co-created film centres on a single day during the war in Ukraine, March 14 2022.


    The Ukraine focus includes work across the Film programme, Alternate Realities exhibition, Industry programme and Talks & Sessions with:



    • 4 feature documentaries in the Official Selection
      FRAGILE MEMORY by Igor Ivanko, Ukraine, Slovakia
       ONE DAY IN UKRAINE by Volodymyr Tykhyy, Ukraine, Poland
       OUTSIDE by Olha Zhurba, Ukraine, Netherlands, Denmark
       OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS by Kinodopomoga, Ukraine

    • 4 feature documentaries from Docudays UA Official Competition
      Docudays UA is the leading international human rights documentary film festival in Ukraine. Prevented from taking place in Kyiv in March this year, due to the war, Docuday’s presents the four Ukrainian films in its Official Competition selection at Sheffield DocFest:
       INFINITY ACCORDING TO FLORIAN by Oleksiy Radynski
       MOUNTAINS AN HEAVEN IN BETWEEN by Dmytro Hreshko
       PLAI. A MOUNTAIN PATH by Eva Dzhyshyashvili
       PRYVOZ byEva Neymann

    • Docudays curated screening with talk that contextualises Russia’s current military aggression against Ukraine, looking at how Ukrainian documentary filmmakers have experienced and comprehended the years since the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan), follows the screening of two films:
       PEACE & TRANQUILITY by Myro Klochko 
       BONEY PILES by Taras Tomenko

    • VR, art and TikTok works in our Alternate Realities exhibition
      Alternate Realities exhibits and showcases innovative non-fiction and immersive documentary in all forms with a flagship exhibition at Sheffield’s Site Gallery and other works across the city.

    • 5 projects in development selected for our MeetMarket
       INTERCEPTED by Oksana Karpovych, Producers: Giacomo Nudi, Rocío Barba Fuentes, Ukraine/Canada
       IVAN & MARTA A DAY BEFORE THE WAR by Sergey Bukovsky, Producer: Oksana Ivaniouk, Ukraine
       SHUT THE FUCK UP! by Taisiia Kutuzova, Producers: Stephane Siohan, Olga Beskhmelnytsina, Ukraine/France
       UP IN THE AIR by Oksana Syhareva, Producers: Oksana Syhareva, Nataliia Pogudina, Karla Stojakova, Ukraine/CzechRepublic

    • 3 projects in Works-in-Progress in partnership with Ukrainian Institute
       EXPEDITION 49 by Alisa Kovalenko, Producers: Stephane Siohan, Valery Kalmykov, Tomek Morawski, Ukraine/France/Poland
       FRAGMENTS OF ICE by Maria Stoianova, Producers: Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Ukraine
       IRON BUTTERFLIES by Roman Liubiy, Ukraine/Germany/France


    This comprehensive programme is an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. It provides a powerful encounter with contemporary Ukrainian life – including the horrific reality of this war. It creates a space in which Ukrainian filmmakers and artists can continue to have their work seen, develop new projects, and keep Ukrainian culture alive.


     


     



    MARIUPOLIS 2 by Mantas Kvedaravicius


    Sadly, the Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius, who directed MARIUPOLIS ©2016, was captured and murdered by the Russian army in Mariupol in early April 2022. His fiancée, Hanna Bilobrova, who was with him at the time, was able to bring back the footage filmed there and edited it with Mantas' editor Dounia Sichov. The film is entitled MARIUPOLIS 2 and premiered May 19 at 75 FESTIVAL DE CANNES 2022
    .


     Mariupolis 2: footage saved from the ravages of the war in Ukraine written by Tarik Khaldi


     


     


     



     


     


    VIKTOR DOK.international, the main award of 37 DOK.fest Munich goes to the French production TRENCHES by Loup Bureau, who accompanied Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russia-backed separatists in the Donbass. He shows how the soldiers try to lead a reasonably normal everyday life between explosions and enemy attacks. The Berlin based company FILMS BOUTIQUE is in charge of World Sales of the awarded documentary.



    TRENCHES by French director Loup Bureau



     


    VIKTOR DOK.international jury:
    "For weeks, months, years they have been living in their trenches. Loup Bureau accompanied them there. This commitment alone is prize worthy. But TRENCHES is also a beautiful film: without any grandstanding, with a lot of respect for its protagonists and in a black and white that emphasizes the timelessness of war, Bureau documents life in the trenches, the daily shoveling and fastening, but also cooking, cutting hair, talking. The calmness that Bureau's pictures radiate is, of course, a deceptive one, which we – even as viewers – cannot forget for a second. At any time another attack can occur. And it takes place. The urgency of the film has increased immeasurably since its completion in 2021."


     


     


     


     


     



    PUSHING BOUNDARIES by Lesia Kordonets, 102min



     


    The Ukrainian director Lesia Kordonets receives the megaherz Student Award for PUSHING BOUNDARIES at the 37 DOK.fest Munich. The documentary follows five Ukrainian athletes preparing for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when suddenly Putin's Russia annexes the Crimea, where the Ukrainian team's new training center is located. But the athletes don't want to give up their dream, continue their work out in other places under the most adverse conditions and, despite everything, try to qualify for the next Paralympic Games.


    Jury: "Lesia's athletes are everyday heroes who suddenly come up against sporting, political and existential limits and yet tirelessly give everything to achieve their goals. In the film, every story is told unobtrusively and at eye level. PUSHING BOUNDARIES, that means pushing boundaries, expanding boundaries. The sensitive editing pushes boundaries as well and shows us that there are no disabled people – only people whith handicap. We learn what it means when we play down wars as 'conflicts'. The documentary is also about addressing uncomfortable truths, which was important to us in our decision, but PUSHING BOUNDARIES is not only an important film in this respect."


    The film was also awarded with Prix Zonta 2021 at Nyon, Visions du Réel, Nyon, Best Directing Documentary –Zürcher Filmpreis 2021, as well as Brave Rebels Award 2022 at Budapest International Documentary Film Festival.


     


     


     



    The Roman Brodmann Prize was awarded for the first time April 28, at the Roman Brodmann Colloquium in Berlin, honoring an outstanding political-investigative documentary film, is endowed with €10,000,  and goes to the Polish/German co–production The Hamlet Syndrome depicting the young Ukrainian generation scarred by war and political breakthroughs.


    THE HAMLET SYNDROME | DAS HAMLET-SYNDROM by Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski, 85min P: BALAPOLIS sp.zo.o., Kundschafter Filmprod, Neue Celluloid Fabrik


     


     



     


     


    In view of Russia’s brutal war of aggression on Ukraine, the 37th DOK.fest München is showing five films that deal with its background: four current films from Ukraine as well as the opening film NAWALNY about Russia’s most important opposition figure Alexei Nawalny, which is running in the international competition.
    Festival directors Daniel Sponsel and Adele Kohout: “The opening film comprehensively outlines that our expectation that stable democratic structures would be established in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet system did not come true. The idea of partnership oriented towards the economy and the market is also proving to be obsolete. The flourishing landscapes in the East are more or less reserved for the oligarchs, and the country under Putin remains trapped in the Soviet Union’s claims to world power. The brutal present follows its long shadow of the past, which we did not want to see for so long. The first casualties of any war are truth and humanity. The films from and about Ukraine in our programme impressively testify to how the weakest members of a society are affected.”


     


     


     



    Online Talk : Ukraine : Filming in resistance.
    THU 14.04 | 16:00-17:30pm | Online only visionsdureel.ch
    Since 24 February, the war in Ukraine has also been conducted through the images that report on it or distort its reality. Visions du Réel wishes to offer a platform to young Ukrainian filmmakers and producers who are currently standing alongside their compatriots under the Russian bombs, to reflect and debate with them on the possibility of resisting the ongoing onslaught with images that document it. 


     



     


     


    ICFR launches "Emergency Fund for Filmmakers" in Wake of Ukraine War.


    The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk has set up a special "Emergency Fund for Filmmakers" for film practitioners directly in danger due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Coalition and the Fund have been canvassing for funding and donations as soon as war broke out. In the past days, significant financial contributions have been pledged by Germany's key national and regional film funding bodies (100K EUR), by La Scam*, the Netherlands Film Fund, and by many individual donors.


    The German funds include Filmförderungsanstalt FFA, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, HessenFilm und Medien, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG - Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, MV Filmförderung, nordmedia - Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen.


     


    see also PR by IDFA .


     



     



    The NGO Docudays and Docudays UA festival team has initiated a fund to support Ukrainian filmmakers who are bravely and daringly documenting the events of the war in Ukraine right now: recording war crimes, filming footage for the international media and for their future films which will later give the world a more in-depth perspective on the situation in our country. Darya Bassel, producer and festival representative is one of eight on the board with the German Filmmakers SUPPORT FILMMAKERS UKRAINE, as well as Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer.



     



     



    • MARIUPOLIS by Mantas Kvedaravicius © 2016  Everyday life is defined by bomb threats in Mariupol, a city in the Ukraine, situated to the east of the Crimea and once populated by Greeks. It is a visually powerful homage to a city in crisis, dedicated to its poets and shoemakers. 
      April 3, 2022. While trying to leave Mariupol, the occupiers killed Mantas Kvedaravicius.

    • THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP by Alina Gorlova ©2020
      Filmed in striking black-and-white, This Rain Will Never Stop observes the endless cycle of war and peace, in which we meet 20 year-old Andriy Suleyman. Fleeing the Syrian civil war, Andriy and his Kurdish family start a new life in a small town in Eastern Ukraine, only to be caught up in another military conflict. [CPH:DOX]*

    • RODNYE - CLOSE RELATION by Vitaly Mansky ©2015
      Russian citizen and Soviet-born Ukrainian native Vitaly Mansky crisscrosses Ukraine to explore Ukrainian society after the Maidan revolution as mirrored within his own large Ukrainian family.

    • PIPELINE by Vitaly Mansky ©2013
      Has not only connected but also inextricably merged
      'this' Russia with 'that' Europe.

    • COURAGE by Aliaksei Paluyan @2021
      During the presidential elections in Belarus, three actors from an underground theatre in Minsk are caught up in the wake of mass protests. It draws them onto the open streets of Minsk to protest for freedom of speech and the long-awaited change of power. But the people's voice is brutally crushed by the regime's security apparatus. Members of the theatre group are arrested.

    • COLOURS IN THE SNOW – BELARUSIAN WOMEN IN RESISTANCE by Juliane Tutein ©2021
      Belarus in December 2020. It has become quiet on the streets of Minsk, where just a few months ago thousands of demonstrators were protesting against the outcome of the presidential elections. Lukashenko used all the force he could muster against the demonstrators, and many of the participants are now in prison. In public, only the red-white-red colours symbolizes still that the resistance against the autocratic regime nevertheless continues.

    • ANYA AND SERYOZHA by Ivette Löcker ©2018
      Anya and Seryozha, eighteen and nineteen years old, have been close friends since school. They live in Mariupol, an industrial city in southeastern Ukraine.

    • SCHÖNBORN  by Maxim Melnyk © 2020
      Two villages with the same name: Schönborn. One located in Transcarpathia in Ukraine, the other one in Brandenburg in Germany. They are both struggling to find their identity, almost 30 years after the fall of communism in Germany and the founding of independent Ukraine.

    • SUMMERWAR by Moritz Schulz © 2019
      The war has been going on for five years now, and there are many Ukrainians who want to do something for their country. The right-wing Azov Regiment offers training for citizen militias, partly through summer camps for thousands of children. We follow two of the star candidates.

    • BOY OF WAR by Cyprien Clement-Delmas, Igor Kosenko ©2018
      "Why are you here? Are you mentally sick? Do you want to kill people?“ the Ukrainian military commander asks the 18-year-old recruit Artiom.

    • THE LAST TAPE by Igor Kosenko, Cyprien Clement-Delmas ©2016
      As Artiom prepares to fight for the Ukrainian army Anatoly his 88-year-old grandfather and war veteran records their diminishing time together and questions his choice.

    • LEARNING TO MILK A COW by Juliana Saragosa ©2016
      A 64min experimental documentary about my grandmother's personal experiences of being stolen from her family in Soviet Ukraine and taken to work for German farmers under National Socialism.

    • POSTCARD FROM UKRAINE by Sieva Diamantakos ©2016
      From the suburbs of Donetsk and the separatists camps in Lugansk, to the block posts in Mariupol and Crimea, passing by the still occupied Maidan Square in Kiev, Postcards From Ukraine sheds light on the country’s new generations – their values, their dreams – and the class tensions in the biggest crisis between East and West since the collapse of Soviet Union.

    • LANGES ECHO | LONG ECHO by Veronika Glasunowa, Lukasz Lakomy ©2017
      LONG ECHO – does it refer to the explosion not far from the town? Or to the time when people searched for a new idea for their country? Or is it rather the long echo of Soviet mentality that led to this bloody conflict? The film portrays the town Dobropolye, in Eastern Ukraine – 70 km from the border with the breakaway republics – and some of its people against the backdrop of the war. 

    • KHAN'S FLESH by Georg Kussmann, Krystsina Savutsina ©2021
      ...Like a Dziga Vertov on Lexomil, Krystsina Savutsina’s camera captures a series of gestures, micro non-events and simultaneous rituals, like so many daily choreographies to which the inhabitants of this Belarusian village, from every generation, devote or submit themselves... [Emmanuel Chicon, Visions du Réel] 

    • THE MYTH OF ODESSA by Inga Wolfram ©2017
      Odessa is a city of tradition and recommencement. Even the political dispute between Ukraine and Russia isn’t as present as somewhere else. Odessa is a multicultural microcosm since 225 years.

    • DONBAS DAYS by Philipp Schaeffer © 2021
      A short portrait of a young man, who choses Ukraine as the destination for his year abroad so he can teach juggling to children who have been affected by war. Surrounded by trenches, he confesses that he feels more comfortable here than in Czech Republic because the people are so kind-hearted. With great sensitivity the film shows a search for meaning surrounded by gunfire.


     


     




    • Are there still heroines in Putin’s Russia?
      FAITH HOPE LOVE by Katja Fedulova ©2017
      She finds three young, beautiful women, each fighting for their own vision of what their country should be. Their struggle offers a complex picture of modern Russian – full of dramatic, desperate, absurd and funny moments.

    • WEATHERMAKER by Stanislaw Mucha ©2021
      The loneliest workplace in the world on a weather station on the edge of the Russian polar sea.

    • MOSCOW – ART AND THE CITY by Inga Wolfram ©2020
      We introduce Moscow artists, designers and dancers to shed light on this latest chapter in the city’s art history. Moscow’s cultural scene dazzles these days with its splendid diversity.


     


     



     


     



    • POLISH SOLO – HOW DEMOCRACY IS DISMANTELED by Andrzej Klamt ©2021
      The documentary analyses the new 'Polish Order' in its effects, with a special focus on Poland's conflict with the EU, the systematic dismantling of press freedom and women's rights in the country.


     


     



     



    • ICE OF CHERNOBYL by Maryna Dymshyts ©2019
      Ice of Chernobyl is the treatise on the thrill of the forbidden: entering the restricted zone of a damaged nuclear power plant. 33 years after the disaster.?5 days and nights illegally in the restricted area, in Pripyat and on the Duga-1 antenna.?

    • CHERNOBYL THE INVISIBLE THIEF by Christoph Boekel ©2006
      April 26th 1986. The day a nightmare scenario became horrific reality: the day reactor block 4 of the Chernobyl atomic power station exploded. The early summer heat, insufficient security measures and lack of knowledge and training exposed the emergency workers to extreme risk. One of them was the young artist Dmitrij Gutin. During the last days of his military service he was posted to the highly contaminated 30 km. zone around Chernobyl. He died just short of his 40th birthday, after many painful years of suffering the effects of radiation poisoning.


     


     



    recomended Ukrainian films:



    • THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE by Iryna Tsilyk, 74min “War is when some people shoot. And other people shoot the people who shot first. When they start to shoot, mum wakes us up and we go to the corridor. And when they stop, we go back to sleep.” © 2020 [source 70 BERLINALE Generation 14plus, WS: CAT&Docs][CPH:DOX]*

    • A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS by Simon Lereng Wilmont, 87min, ©2022, Tears turn to soap bubbles and hugs turn to fights in this award-winning film about an orphanage in eastern Ukraine. Eminently observed, and with unforgettable moments of hope.WS: RISE AND SHINE [CPH:DOX]*

    • NOVOROSSIYA by Luca Gennari, Enrico Parenti, 64min, ©2022, takes us into the grey zone of war in Donetsk, where we meet an American communist and foreign fighter in the bitter conflict, alongside a heavy metal band and two elderly women in their eighth year living in a Soviet bunker. Life in the borderlands continues despite the bombings, but the future is as uncertain as ever. P: elliot films, Susanna Trojano [CPH:DOX]*

    • MAIDAN by Sergei Loznitsa, The 2014 Ukrainian uprising depicted as a powerful historical fresco by director Sergei Loznitsa, a maestro of the contemporary and historical chronicle. Ukraine/Netherlands © 2014, 130 min [CPH:DOX]*

    • OUTSIDE by Olha Zhurba, As a 13-year-old boy, he became the poster boy of the Ukrainian revolution. Now Roma is back on the streets with nothing in his pocket but a lighter and a knife. Can he get his life together before it’s too late? Ukraine, Denmark/Netherlands ©2022, 79 min  [CPH:DOX]*

    • THE TREASURES OF CRIMES by Oeke Hoogendijk. A collection of historical artefacts from Ukraine is stranded in a museum in Amsterdam as Russia annexes Crimea. For to whom should they be returned? A deep dilemma turns courtroom drama. Netherlands © 2021, 82 min [CPH:DOX]*


     



     


    [CPH:DOX]*: 'Before the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine was sadly underrepresented in Western media. We have selected a number of strong films offering a range of views on life in the independent state whose existence is now threatened by Putin and his army.'


     



     


     [#dokfest2022 _ 37 DOK.fest Munich]


    • A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS by Simon Lereng Wilmont, 87min, DNK, SWE, FIN, UKR 2022, P: Cinephil, Final Cut for Real,
    • DONBAS DAYS by Philipp Schaeffer, 16min, UKR, DE 2021, streetsfilm.
    • NAWALNY by Daniel Roher, 98min, USA 2022, WS: Dogwoof
    • PUSHIING BOUNDARIES by Lesia Kordonets, CH 2021, 102min, P: Dschoint Ventschr
    • TRENCHES by Loup Bureau, FRA 2021, Loup Bureau, 85min, WS: Films Boutique

  • YIDFF Yamagata, October 5–12, 2023

            with three German Documentaries, such as ANHELL69 by Theo Montoya, CROSSING VOICES by Raphaël Grisey, Bouba Touré, and THREE WOMEN ...

     



     

     

     


    with three German Documentaries, such as ANHELL69 by Theo Montoya, CROSSING VOICES by Raphaël Grisey, Bouba Touré, and THREE WOMEN by Maksym Melnyk in the programm.


     



     


     


     


    Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival:


    Browse German documentary productions and co-productions participating former YIDFFs here.


    Located in a verdant, rolling valley far north of Tokyo, Yamagata City is the site for Asia’s first international documentary film festival. The first Film Festival (in 1989) was an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Yamagata City, the sponsor of the festival at the time, and has been held biennially ever since in Yamagata’s best season, October.


    The atmosphere of the festival is intimate, and affords Asian filmmakers a prime opportunity to meet with their Western counterparts. The reasons for it being a magnet for independent filmmakers are simple.


    Until recently, the week-long YIDFF was one of the few film festivals in Asia devoted exclusively to the documentary form. Its scope, however, reaches beyond simply screening recent, ground-breaking work in the International Competition. New Asian Currents, the competition program introducing emerging filmmakers from across Asia, has over the years become one of the Festival’s vibrant centers of attention as a meeting place of raw youthful energy. By featuring special events and programs shedding light on the history and diversity of filmmaking, the YIDFF is working hard to create a new forum for the production of alternative, independent, non-fiction film and the discussion of documentary as a form of expression.


    It was in this spirit that the documentarist Ogawa Shinsuke, who passed away in 1992, spearheaded the organization of the first Festival. From the time of his earliest films about the Narita Airport protests in the 1960s to 70s, to his last works produced in Yamagata, Ogawa encouraged filmmakers around Asia to devote their energy to making meaningful documentaries. In honor of this dedicated filmmaker, the Ogawa Shinsuke Prize was established in 1993 to provide encouragement to young Asian documentarists.


     YIDFF 2023 Award Recipients .


    as single page
    YIDFF 2023

  • 57 Hof IFF, October 24–29, 2023

        The GRANIT – Hof Documentary Award 2023 goes to FRANK MEYER by Leonhard Hofmann and Riccardo Dejan Jurkovic. Special mentions go to RESTORATION ...

     

     


    The GRANIT – Hof Documentary Award 2023 goes to FRANK MEYER by Leonhard Hofmann and Riccardo Dejan Jurkovic. Special mentions go to RESTORATION by Gudrun Gruber as well as SLEEPING GIANT by Markus Schröder.


     


     


     


     



    57 Hof IFF, October 24-30, 2023

     

     


    With a total number of 44 – including 26 German productions and co-productions – documentaries are well-represented at the 57 Hof IFF. Among them is Austrian filmmaker Günter Schwaiger, who has already screened his films in Hof several times, and this time will present the German premiere of WHO IS AFRAID OF HITLER'S TOWN?A HOUSE AND THE PAST WITHIN US, [57 Hof IFF] a very personal film that attracted international attention, as well as PROJECT BALLHAUSPLATZ – RISE AND FALL OF SEBASTIAN KURZ [57 Hof IFF] by Kurt Langbein, an other Austrian production in the programm.


     


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions among others:




    Accompanying the screenings in the cinema, festival films will be available online at HoF On-Demand in the plus7streamdays until Sunday, November 05, 2023. Download the schedule as PDF here. Find the direct links to the film description and possibility to stream the films all across Germany by clicking [57 Hof IFF] in the list above.


     


    ...as single page:
    57 Hof IFF 2023
    56 Hof IFF 2022
    55 Hof IFF 2021
    54 Hof IFF 2020

  • 31 FILMFEST HAMBURG September 28 – October 7, 2023

        The Hamburg Producer Award International Cinema Co-Productions goes to the producer of Fabian Driehorst (Fabian&Fred) for the international ...

     


     


    The Hamburg Producer Award International Cinema Co-Productions goes to the producer of Fabian Driehorst (Fabian&Fred) for the international co-production with Spain SULTANA'S DREAM (director: Isabel Herguera, screenplay: Isabel Herguera, Gianmarco Serra). The jury (Britta Imdahl, acting agent; Martin Langer, cinematographer; Malika Musaeva, director) was carried away by the poetic dream and the artful realisation of the animated film: “Isabel Herguera adheres to cinematic rules and at the same time breaks them. A special experience. More than a film.”


    The FFHH23 Audience Award, endowed with 5,000 Euros, donated by the Hapag-Lloyd Foundation for the audience favourite of the festival goes to HEAVEN CAN WAIT – WE LIVE NOW by Sven Halfar. 


     


     


     


     



     #FFHH23

     


     


    The programme of 132 films and series in a total of 11 sections is including about a dozens German documentaries, such as 



     


     Browse all SECTIONS and FILMS of #FFHH23.


     



     

     

     


    EXPLORER CONFERENCE #4


    Start-up or standstill? How are new digital tools affecting the film industry? How are film production and the exploitation of stories changing in times of radical change?


    The Explorer Conference #4, October 2-6, 2023, as part of the FILMFEST HAMBURG INDUSTRY DAYS will invite producers, financiers, funding institutions and students to discuss these relevant questions together with international guests and to take a look into the future of production for cinema, streaming and TV. With Highlight Sweden, there will be a country focus for the first time, and the special conference program for students will also be continued this year.


     


     


     


    browse films of all FFHH years here.


    as single page
    FFHH23
    FFHH22 • 

  • Grand Prix at FID Marseille 2023 goes to BACKGROUND

    directed by Khaled Abdulwahed, produced by pong film GmbH. 'A photo camera is cleaned. Click. The shutter works. Bright light. A crackle and ...

    directed by Khaled Abdulwahed, produced by pong film GmbH.
    'A photo camera is cleaned. Click. The shutter works. Bright light. A crackle and hiss in the sound. A broken "Hello?" opens a conversation between Khaled Abdulwahed, a Syrian filmmaker living in Leipzig, and his father in Aleppo. The son reconstructs his father's journey, arriving in the GDR as an exchange student in 1956. His son applies for asylum more than 60 years later as a refugee. The civil war in Syria separates their stories, the film BACKGROUND brings them back together and continues them.'


    The Alice Guy Award goes to Gianna Scholten for TWO GIANTS THAT EXIST HERE — A GERMAN FAIRYTALE, produced by Academy of Media Arts Cologne.



     



     

     


     


    LineUp of German productions and co-productions:



     


     



     



     


     as single page


    FID Marseille 2023

  • 34 Sunny Side of the Doc June 19-22, 2023

          FATMA SAID: REVIVING A FORGOTTEN TREASURE by Ralf Pleger, THE PICKERS by Elke Sasse, as well as  VIETNAM – OUR VOICE UNHEARD by Lucio Mollica ...

     



     


     


    FATMA SAID: REVIVING A FORGOTTEN TREASURE by Ralf Pleger, THE PICKERS by Elke Sasse, as well as  VIETNAM – OUR VOICE UNHEARD by Lucio Mollica are awarded with Best Pitch. CONGRATULATION to the authors and German producers winning in three different categories!


     


    Over four days the 34th edition Sunny Side of the Doc brought together more than 2,000 participants from 64 countries, 1,000 companies, 90 exhibitors and 300 international decision-makers representing major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, sales agents, funders and also museums from all over the world, and welcomed 40 delegations from Spain, Canada, Australia and China, who were back in force this year. The 35th edition is scheduled for June 24–27, 2024 in La Rochelle, France.


     



    OUR VOICE UNHEARD by Lucio Mollica, produced by LOOKS Film
    wins the Best History Pitch 

     

     


    Jury’s word: "Incredible access to unknown archives, the digital work that was put into accessing it… and the point of view! Bravo."


     


     


     



      THE PICKERS by Elke Sasse, produced by Berlin Producers

    wins the Best Impact Campaigns Pitch

     


    Jury’s word: "Because of the global and timely relevance of the topic the film presents, because of the wide range of allies and partners the campaing may have; and because of the potential it has for impact actions at the community, corporate, institutional and government level, we would like to give this award to the film project “The Pickers”, directed by Elke Sasse and produced by Kristian Kaelher." Congratulation to Berlin Prducers Media GmbH!


     


     



    FATMA SAID: REVIVING A FORGOTTEN TREASURE  by Ralf Pleger

    produced by 3B-Produktion wins the Best Arts & Culture Pitch

     


    Jury’s word: "This is a project we want to see on screens because it tells a story that bridges the gap between the past and present, classical and contemporary cultures, and the Arabic and Western worlds. The main character is compelling as she serves as a true ambassador for her generation. The pitch was well-prepared and successfully involved the character in the presentation, showcasing her deep involvement in the entire project." Congratulation to 3B-Produktion GmbH!


     


     


     


     


    Meet our representatives Björn Jensen & George Kalomenopoulos at booth B04. 



    Meet&Greet at 5pm on June 19, 2023

     


     


     



     

     

     


    This year, 42 projects from 23 countries – including 6 projects from Germany – have the privilege to compete for the best pitch prize in each category. Discover the official selection of the 7 pitching sessions such as GOBAL ISSUES | NATURE & CONSERVATION | SCIENCE | HISTORY | ARTS & CULTURE | IMPACT CAMPAIGNS | NEW VOICES.


     



     

     

     



    • APOLLO 1: ETERNAL FLAME by Mark Craig, P: Seventyone Films, [history]
      A the story of the world’s first space tragedy – which took the lives of three exceptional astronauts. It tells of the devastating impact on their families, and the lasting influence the accident has had on all space flights since, as Artemis prepares to return humans to the Moon. 

    • CLIMATE WARS by Johan Gabrielsson, P: Tremoniamedia Filmproduktion GmbH [global issues]
      A soldier-turned-activist explores future security threats and the military’s increasing role within a changing climate.

    • FATMA SAID – REVIVING A FORGOTTEN TREASURE by Ralf Pleger, P: 3B-Produktion GmbH, [arts&culture]
      A colorful, touching, and entertaining documentary and film musical that bridges the cultures of the Middle East and Europe. The film follows acclaimed soprano Fatma Said on her mission to save a treasure of Arab culture that is in danger of disappearing: the astonishing work of Mohamed Abdelwahab.

    • THE PICKERS by Elke Sasse, P: Berlin Producers Media GmbH, [impact campaigns]
      We want cheap fruit and veg, all year. No problem. The Pickers deliver, but they are paying the price for us: Exploited migrants harvest our tomatoes, strawberries, carrots and other fruit and vegetables in Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, or Portugal. Our impact campaign raises awareness among consumers about their personal 'slaves' on the fields.

    • THE SREBRENICA TAPE by Chiara Sambuchi, P: Docdays Productions GmbH [history]
      In possession of a rare VHS tape shot by her father during the enclave years of Srebrenica, Alisa goes on a journey to uncover the history of her war-torn family, in search of understanding and healing. An intimate search for traces and a journey back to the enclave years of Srebrenica and the massacre of July 1995.

    • VIETNAM by Lucio Mollica, P: LOOKS Film & TV Produktionen GmbH [history]
      Between 1945 and 1975, the Vietnamese fought against the French, the Americans and among themselves, in fratricide wars that changed the world. With unprecedented access to Vietnamese archives and witnesses from all sides, the series looks at the history of this country from the perspective of the Vietnamese women and men who lived through it.



     


    Sunny side of the doc has been bringing the international documentary community together for more than 30 years. It organises events and activities throughout the year, and its signature event – the international marketplace – is held live in June in La Rochelle. This year, Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 #ssd23 will put the spotlight on viewers.



    Who watches what, where and why?



    Documentary is currently enjoying a Golden Age. Streamers have certainly impacted the documentary space, by boosting the exposure and popularity of the genre and pushing for new forms of storytelling. At the same time, with a profusion of content and entertainment options, the audience is ever more fragmented.
    What does it take to address and reach an audience, particularly a younger and more diverse audience? We wish to provide the industry with key elements in order to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. To that extent, Sunny Side of the Doc will address this subject in all market activities: panels, discussions, workshops and even pitching sessions.


     


     



     

     


     


    Ex Oriente Film, a training program powered by Institute of Documentary Film in association with Sunny Side of the Doc, has just unveiled its open program! Conferences, case studies and masterclasses: Sunny Side of the Doc accredited delegates will have the opportunity to take part in some of the Ex Oriente Film workshop activities, being held at the University of La Rochelle. Program highlights will include a case study 'producing documentary series' by Charlotte Uzu (Les Films d'Ici), a masterclass by director Angus McQueen on episodic storytelling and a lecture by Ken-Ichi Imamura on the Asian documentary market.  


     


     


     as single page:
    #34ssd #SSD23 •
    #33ssd #SSD22 • REPORT _German only_
    #30ssd #SSD19 •


     PHOTOS

  • German Documentary Award 2023

      DEUTSCHER DOKUMENTARFILMPREIS 2023 Stuttgart, June 30, 2023    KASH KASH by Lea Najjar as well as WHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA by Mila Teshaieva ...

     




    Stuttgart, June 30, 2023


      



    • KASH KASH by Lea Najjar as well as WHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA by Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz are awarded with the GERMAN DOCUMENTARY AWARD  2023.

    • The HDF sposorship award goes to NASIM by Ole Jacobs, Arne Büttner.

    • BETTINA by Lutz Pehnert is the winner of the SWR MUSIC AWARD.

    • BEYOND REVOLUTION – FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY | GENERATION EUROMAIDAN – SEHNSUCHT NACH DEMOKRATIE by Kristof Gerega gets awarded by the Audience of SWR Landesschau.

    • HONORARY AWARD 2023 goes to Wim Wenders.


    ...more information –German only– here.


     


     


     



    DEUTSCHER DOKUMENTARFILM PREIS 2023

     


      


     


    The 7th edition of the SWR Doku Festival will take place in Stuttgart from June 27 to 30, 2023. Twelve films have been nominated for the GERMAN DOCUMENTARY AWARD, covering a broad range of topics and creativity. The award ceremony will take place at the end of the film festival, on June 30, 2023 in Stuttgart.


    HONORARY AWARD 2023 goes to Wim Wenders.
    The SWR Doku Festival is progamming three of his documentaries such as
    TOKYO-GA ©1985
    BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB @1999
    PINA ©2011.


    And as well honoring him by screening the portrait by Eric Friedler and Andreas Frege
    • WIM WENDERS – DESPERADO
    ©2020.


     


     


     


    GERMAN DOCUMENTARY AWARD | DEUTSCHER DOKUMENTARFILM PREIS 2023 NOMINEES:



     


     


     


    SWR MUSIC AWARD NOMINEES:



     


     


    as single page:


    German Documentary Award 2023
    German Documentary Award 2022
    German Documentary Award 2020
    German Documentary Award 2019
    German Documentary Award 2018

  • FilmKunstMesse Leipzig, September 18—22, 2023

       Sorry, the website of the Film Art Fair is German only.     The FILM KUNST MESSE counter is located in the foyer of the Elaya Hotel Leipzig ...

     



     Sorry, the website of the Film Art Fair is German only.

     

     


    The FILM KUNST MESSE counter is located in the foyer of the Elaya Hotel Leipzig City Center (1st floor, Hainstr. 21). Accredited trade visitors can book tickets in advance for all industry screenings with their access code. If there are still seats available at the start of the screening, you will also be admitted on site with your trade visitor badge. Tickets for the public screenings can be purchased at the respective box office. During the main screening (19:30 - 21:00), tickets are subject to a charge. For the films from 21:30 onwards, you can pick up free tickets at the box office with your badge. Part of the film programme will be available for online viewing for trade visitors in the FKM Video Library from 18 September - 29 September.


     


    LineUp german documentaries:



     


    as single page:
    FilmKunstMesse Leipzig 2023

  • 4 LETsDOK September 11-17, 2023 all across Germany

                  The German nationwide documentary filmdays LETsDOK 2023, organized by the Association for the Promotion of Documentary Film ...

     


     



     

     

     


     


     


    The German nationwide documentary filmdays LETsDOK 2023, organized by the Association for the Promotion of Documentary Film Culture [Verein zur Förderung der Dokumentarfilmkultur] in Cologne and Partners all over Germany, take place for the fourth time and started as documentary day celebrating the 40th anniversary of the AG DOK, German Documentary Association in September 2020.


     4 LETsDOK all across Germany, September 11-17, 2023


     


     
    LineUp of German documentary productions and co-productions among others in the program [LETsDOK]:



     


     


     



     


     


     


    as single page:
    LETsDOK 2023
    LETsDOK 2022
    LETsDOK 2021D


     


     


     


     

  • German Focus at the Venice Production Bridge 2023

      The IWONDERFULL Grand Prize of the 38 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS' WEEK as well as the Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for Best ...

     


    The IWONDERFULL Grand Prize of the 38 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS' WEEK as well as the Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for Best Technical Contribution goes to MALQUERIDAS by Tana Gilbert, a Chilean/German coproduction.



     IWONDERFULL Grand Prize Settimana Internazionale della Critica conferred by an international jury to the best film in competition and consisting of 5,000 Euro.


     


     


     


    German Focus at the Venice Production Bridge 2023 with German VR Booth on the Immersive Island at the



      80th Venice International Film Festival, August 30—September 9, 2023


     


     


    FOCUS ON GERMANY, supported by German Films:



    • VR | Meet the German Creators + Cocktail on Sep 1, 5.00 pm, Meet the Creators Area, Immersive Island. Hosted by German Films with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MOIN!, Hessen Film & Medien, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Nordmedia, FFF Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

    • VR | Panel | German XR Gaming: Exploring the Potential and the Market of Narrative Games in XR on Sep 4, 9.30 am, Spazio Incontri Immersivo, Immersive Island. Hosted by German Films with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MOIN!, Hessen Film & Medien, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Nordmedia, FFF Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

    • Edward Berger (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT) and Philippe Falardeau in Conversation on Sep 3, 3.30 pm, Press Conference Room, Palazzo del Casino. Hosted by German Films, SODEC, Variety and La Biennale di Venezia.


     


     


     


    Documentaries with German participation in the 80 Venice IFFSettimana Internazionale della Critica programme, or Venice Production Bridge are:



     


    Find more information and the whole LineUp of films with German participation at the website of German Films and visit the website of 38. Settimana Internazionale della Critica, la selezine 2023 for the whole LineUp of the 38 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS' WEEK.


     


     


     


      as single page:
    80 Venice IFF


     Download programme.

  • 76 Locarno Film Festival, August 2-12, 2023

              With 11 sections, 3 competitions and 20 awards, quality and variety are key. This is the framework of a festival that explores cinema ...

     


     



     

     

     


    With 11 sections, 3 competitions and 20 awards, quality and variety are key. This is the framework of a festival that explores cinema from every perspective, to discover in the present the filmmakers and films destined to have a future. With more than 300 films presented in 13 theaters, including a huge number of German fiction productions and co-productions.


     


     


     Documentaries in the programme with German participation:



     


     


    as single page:
    76 Locarno FF 2023
    75 Locarno FF 2022


     


     PRESS:
    _ VARIETY _


     




  • 40 FILMFEST MÜNCHEN Juni 23 - July 1, 2023

            premiering three german documentaries: BOYZ by Sylvain Cruiziat, THE COMBINE by Moritz Springer, WAR AND JUSTICE by Marcus Vetter ...

     



     

     

     


    premiering three german documentaries: BOYZ by Sylvain Cruiziat, THE COMBINE by Moritz Springer, WAR AND JUSTICE by Marcus Vetter, Michele Gentile, and WAKING UP IN SILENCE by Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi screening in the KINDERFILMFEST section. [#40FFMUC]


     


     



    Some 58,000 people attended the opening evening and the eight days of the festival, which saw approximately 500 film screenings and festival events.

     

     


     


     


    LineUp german documentaries:



     


     


     

  • 30 Sheffield DocFest June 14—19, 2023

      The Youth Jury Award was presented to ANHELL69 by Theo Montoya by five of the UK’s most passionate young documentary lovers to celebrate ...

     



    The Youth Jury Award was presented to ANHELL69 by Theo Montoya by five of the UK’s most passionate young documentary lovers to celebrate non-fiction cinema. 

     

     


    The jury, Alexandra Judkins, Amanda Daud, Annabel Bai Jackson, Jenny Luisa Barruol and Tymofii Donets, who curated a selection of seven films to be considered in a mentored deliberation said: "To us, The Youth Jury Award means the future of documentary filmmaking - films that push the boundary of the form, are inclusive and diverse, and champion voices left out of the conversation. We’re at a time in which documentary filmmakers are self-reflexive in their approach, and the films in our selection do just that. They interrogate the struggles for young filmmakers and the lack of representations of voices within our industry and show the future of documentary filmmaking as exciting and innovative. One film encompasses exactly what the award represents to us as a generation. It is boundary breaking, it is unique, it’s visually stunning and genre defying. The film is an act of resistance against documentary conventions and we are proud to give the award to Theo Montoya’s Annhell69!"


     


    The Tim Hethering Award goes to the Ukraine production 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL by Mstyslav Chernov. The Special Mention goes to TOTAL TRUST by Jialing Zhang. The jury, Julian Carrington, Bruno Jorge and Katayoon Shahabi, said: “A film of profound political bravery that draws the audience into a chilling dystopian reality, TOTAL TRUST honours those Chinese citizens valiantly standing against a totalitarian regime now supercharged by seemingly omniscient surveillance technology. We extend our congratulations to director Jialing Zhang.”


    Browse all the other JURY AWARDS here.


     


    This year’s festival, June 14-19, saw international and UK delegate attendance rise by 17% compared to 2022. More than 2550 delegates from more than 60 countries attended the five day festival – up from 2188 delegates attending in 2022. More than 190 Industry Representatives from 93 companies and 19 countries took in-person meetings with selected projects and talents over the course of the festival market days.


     



     


     37 World Premieres, 20 International Premieres, 10 European Premieres, 47 UK Premieres and 8 retrospective films, from 52 countries of production
     


    The 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest will take place in Sheffield from Wednesday 14 June to Monday 19 June 2023. The MeetMarket will take place on Thursday 15 June and Friday 16 June, allowing Industry Professionals the opportunity to experience the opening of the Festival. Browse information on the full public programme for Sheffield DocFest 2023 here.


     


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions:



    Browse all films A-Z in the programme of 30 Sheffield DocFest here.


     


     


    There will be a German delegation. More Information ___German only___ here.


     


     


    2023 MeetMarket Projects:


    The selection for the 18th edition of the pitching forum, the MeetMarket, which will take place on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 of June 202 is published here. The slate includes 48 documentary projects – 5of them with German participation – , in development or at production stage, to be pitched in one-to-one meetings to international and UK industry representatives and experts.
    The 48 projects in the 2023 edition encompass 35 countries of production/co-production: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Norway, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, and Venezuela.
    Drawn from over 500 submissions, new work will be presented from directors including: ... Ike Nnaebue of No U-Turn, a project developed as part of Generation Africa, screened at 72 BERLINALE, Docs Against Gravity, 29 Sheffield DocFest, HRWFF – Human Rights Watch FF  a.o.


     


    Inspired by #WimWenders’ book A SENSE OF PLACE, the anthology project ‘Iran: A Sense of Place’ sees a group of Iranian filmmakers develop new work inspired by a connection to place. Four of the ‘Iran – Sense of Place’ films are presented at #SheffDocFest2023, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, who were mentored by Wim Wenders and Hella Wenders, and project curator Afsun Moshiry. The programme was developed by Afsun Moshiry (Road River Films) Wim Wenders Foundation and is co-produced by Pejman Foundation and La Onda Productions.


     


     


    The five projects with German participation are:


     



    • CASAS MUERTAS  rough cut project
      Venezuela submerged and dark. The present of Venezuelans trapped in exile in their own country, drowned by the whim of some barbarians who rule it. Isabel, Jesús, Darwin and Juan Pablo's parents survive by resisting, desperate and cornered between flight, hunger and resilience.
      Director: Rosana Matecki | Producers: Rosana Matecki, Natalia Imaz (Parabellum Film), Claudia Lepage | Executive Producers: Rosana Matecki, Natalia Imaz (Parabellum Film), Claudia Lepage [Venezuela, Ecuador, Germany, Spain]

    • FINDING EL DORADO 
      Finding El Dorado is a journey through Europe, portraying the lives of Westafrican migrants who (seemingly) made it – in the eyes of the ones back home. Was it all worth it? What is their perspective?
      Director: Ike Nnaebue | Producers: Asbirg Naranjo (Andersona Films & Amuché prod),  Ike Nnaebue [Germany, Nigeria]

    •  MOLKA 
      Two filmmakers follow South Korean survivors and activists in their fight against Korea's 'spy-cam epidemic', only to discover the issue is closer to home than they could have ever imagined. 
      Directors: Ieva Zellite, Olivia Neller | Producer: Andrew McLain [South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany]

    • MOSCOW NIGHTS
      How could the current war in Ukraine have been prevented?  Thirty years ago, the New Thinking of Mikhail Gorbachev was dismissed as a utopian fantasy, but a chance for long-lasting peace was lost forever in the pursuit of short-term gain.
      Director: Irina Maldea | Producers: Brendan Culleton (Akajava films), Sorin Manu, Ralitsa Golemanova [Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria]

    • TENS ACROSS THE BORDERS
      Four Southeast Asian youth discover the colorful and dynamic vogue and ballroom subculture. We witness their journey to build their own ballroom families, connect with voguing’s source in New York City, and grow a flourishing queer community across the region.
      Director: Chan Sze-Wei | Producers: Alemberg Ang (Daluyong Studios), Chan Sze-Wei | Executive Producers: Daniel Karslake, Derren Lawford (DARE Pictures) [Philippines, Singapore, Germany, United Kingdom]


     


    Discover the range of venues across Sheffield city centre, most within walking distance from the train station.


     More information ___German only___


     


    SVE THE DATE
    31 Sheffield Documentary Filmfestival, June 12-17, 2024. [SUBMISSION]


     


    as single page:
    30 Sheffield DocFest 2023
    29 Sheffield DocFest 2022
    28 Sheffield Doc|Fest 2021
    27 Sheffield Doc|Fest 2020
    26 Sheffield Doc|Fest 2019
    25 Sheffield Doc|Fest 2018
    24 Sheffield Doc|Fest 2017


     


     


    30 Sheffield DocFest Festival Report:


    "This year, we celebrated our 30th anniversary edition in Sheffield and online from 14 - 19 June, sparking our audiences' curiosity through a diverse array of events and voices. Our 2023 programme boasted 122 films, including 38 World Premieres, 19 International Premieres, 10 European Premieres, 47 UK Premieres and 8 retrospective films, from 52 countries of production with 43 languages represented. We had over 37,821 in-person admissions and a further 4,724 online views of films in the programme and welcomed more than 2270 delegates to Sheffield."

  • DEUTSCHER FILMPREIS – German Film Award 2023

           Presented by longdistance swimmer Sara Mardini the GERMAN FILM AWARD DOCUMENTARY #lola23 goes to ELFRIEDE JELINEK – LANGUAGE UNLEASHED ...

      


     



     


    Presented by longdistance swimmer Sara Mardini the GERMAN FILM AWARD DOCUMENTARY #lola23 goes to ELFRIEDE JELINEK – LANGUAGE UNLEASHED by Claudia Müller, produced by Martina Haubrich and Claudia Wohlgenannt. The German/Austrian co-production (CALA Filmproduktion GmbH / Plan C Filmproduktion OG) portraing the Austrian (based Munich) literature nobel prize winner 2004 Elfriede Jelinek, got awarded with the AUSTRIAN FILM AWARD DOCUMENTARY [Österreichischer Filmpreis – Sektion Dokumentarfilm] as well. Ingrid Molnar, editor of german documentaries congratulates.


     


     



    Volker Schlöndorff, the director of THE FOREST MAKER, gets awarded for his lifework with the EHRENPREIS, laudatio by John Malkovich videoconferencing.


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     





      The award ceremony will take place May 12, 2023. Invitees only.


     


     


     



    • KALLE KOSMONAUT by Tine Kugler, Günther Kurth, Producers: Tine Kugler, Günther Kurth, Production Company: KMOTO Medienproduktion, [LOLA TALK]

    • LOVE, DEUTSCHMARKS AND DEATH | LIEBE, D-MARK UND TOD by Cem Kaya, 96min, Producers: Claus Reichel, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, Florian Schewe, Stefan Kauertz, Production Companies: filmfaust, Film Five, Distribution Germany: Rapid Eye Movies, [LOLA TALK]

    •  ELFRIEDE JELINEK – LANGUAGE UNLEASHED | ELFRIEDE JELINEK – DIE SPRACHE VON DER LEINE LASSEN by Claudia Müller, Producer: Martina Haubrich, Claudia Wohlgenannt, Production Companies: CALA , Plan C Filmproduktion and Editor Mechthild Barth is nominated for best editing as well. Mechthild Barth has already successfully edited German documentaries for many years and the editor of german documentaries is therefore particularly pleased that she has been nominated this time with a documentary for this section. The montage of archive material with voiceovers and interviews, some of them recently recorded, is told from Jelinek’s point of view. [39 FFMUC] [LOLA TALK]


     


     


     



     


     



    Ansgar Frerich, Martin Farkas, Annekatrin Hendel, Felix Grassmann, Karsten Aurich, Ursula Höf, Lorenz Dangel, Mirjam Leuze, Antonia Kilian, Mohammad Farokhmanesh [preselection comission documentary]

     © 2022 Florian Liedel | Deutsche Filmakademie e.V.

     


     


     



     


     


    20. DEUTSCHER FILMPREIS – the 20 German Film Award 2024 #lola2024 will be presented on May 3, 2024.
    With the 20th anniversary the Deutsche Filmakademie e.V. changes the voting procedure. Find the new guidelines  _ German only_ here.
    Both the increase in the number of members and the digital screening platform make a new, two-stage process possible. To ensure that all films entered for the selection process are seen, each Academy member receives an allotted list of at least a list of an average of ten films that must be seen in order to be allowed to vote. In this way, each film is statistically viewed by at least 100 members and all films are given the opportunity to prevail. This principle of individual allocation has already been successfully tested in the voting for the Oscars and BAFTAS for several years. The task and responsibility of the previous and responsibility of the previous pre-selection commissions to screen all films will be and is thus a joint and year-round task of all Deutsche Filmakademie members.


     


     


     as single page


       German Film Award | LOLA 2023
       German Film Award | LOLA 2022
       • German Film Award | LOLA 2021
       German Film Award | LOLA@Berlinale 2020
       • German Film Award | LOLA@Berlinale 2019
       German Film Award | LOLA@Berlinale 2018

  • Thomas Kufus awarded with Carl Laemmle Producer Prize

      The renowned director Andres Veiel, a long-time companion and close friend of Thomas Kufus, gave a moving laudation for the award winner ...

     


    The renowned director Andres Veiel, a long-time companion and close friend of Thomas Kufus, gave a moving laudation for the award winner, in which he recounted the life of an ever-curious, often courageous and, above all, passionate 'man of conviction' who wants to enlighten and bring about change: "Even with your first films, you set milestones that are still valid 30 years later: With documentaries and, increasingly, fiction feature films that question familiar points of view, that cause offence, that initiate debates. They explore new territory in terms of form and content. At the same time, you're taking a risk: you're constantly leaving the safe standards of convention – which means, especially with documentaries, traveling into the open, letting the film develop bit by bit in the editing room. Your projects have thus repeatedly pushed you and your company into risk zones that others wouldn't have entered in the first place."


     


     



    Ingo Bergmann, Christine Strobl, Thomas Kufus, Andres Veiel, Björn Böhning

     

     


     


      


    Thomas Kufus is one of the most influential independent producers in Germany today. He was born in Essen in 1957 and began his career as a director (including MEIN KRIEG | MY PRIVATE WAR, BLOCKADE – Leningrad 1941-1944). In the past 25 years, he has produced over 120 documentaries, series and feature films with the Berlin-based production company zero one film, including award-winning films such as Regina Schilling's KULENKAMPFFS SCHUHE | KUHLENKAMPFF'S SHOES (Grimme Award and German Television Award 2019), Andres Veiel's BEUYS (German Film Award Best Documentary 2018), Anne Zohra Berrached's 24 WOCHEN (German Film Award in Silver 2017), Lars Kraume's DER STAAT GEGEN FRITZ BAUER (German Film Award 2016), Julia Albrecht's DIE FOLGEN DER TAT (Grimme Award 2016), Markus Imhoof's MORE THAN HONEY (German Film Award 2013 as well as Austrian and Swiss Film Awards), WESTEN by Christian Schwochow (German Film Award for Jördis Triebel), Corinna Belz's GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING (German Film Award 2012), Arnon Goldfinger's DIE WOHNUNG | THE FLAT (Ofir Award), and BLACK BOX BRD by Andres Veiel (European and German Film Awards). He is also a co-production partner of several films by renowned Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov (including MOLOCH, FATHER AND SON, FRANCOFONIA). Together with business partner and director Volker Heise, Thomas Kufus realized groundbreaking documentary television formats such as 24H BERLIN - EIN TAG IM LEBEN | 24H BERLIN – A DAY IN THE LIFE and 24H JERUSALEM (both German Television Award) as well as SCHWARZWALDHAUS 1902. For 24H JERUSALEM he received the Producer Award of the German Academy for Television. The format was continued with the projects 24H BAYERN and 24H EUROPA. Currently, the feature fiction film DER VERMESSENE MENSCH | MEASURES OF MEN  (D: Studiokanal, WS: Picture Tree International) by director Lars Kraume is in theaters. Thomas Kufus is a member of the German Film Academy. He was also its chairman from November 2009 to early 2015. [source: PR May 26, 2023 PRODUZENTENALLIANZ]


     


     


    Produced or co-produced by Thomas Kufus in our catalogue a.o.



     


     



    THOMAS KUFUS, CEO of zero one film GmbH

     

     


     

  • ANSELM by Wim Wenders at 76 Festival de Cannes

                          Wim Wenders shot this 93minutes portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.     This unique film experience ...

     


     



     

     

     


     


     


     


     



     

      Wim Wenders shot this 93minutes portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.

     


     


    This unique film experience delves deep into an artist's work, revealing their journey through life, inspiration and creative process. It explores his fascination with myth and history. Past and present intertwine to blur the line between film and painting and allow the audience to be fully immersed in the remarkable world of one of the greatest contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer.


     


    FOUR DAUGHTERS | LES FILLES D'OLFA | OLFAS TÖCHTER by Kaouther Ben Hania, WS: The Party Film Sales, P: Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion,[Festival de Cannes - Competition] Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. To fill in their absence, the filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses and invents a unique cinema experience that will lift the veil on Olfa and her daughters’ life stories. An intimate journey of hope, rebellion, violence, transmission and sisterhood that will question the very foundations of our societies.


     


    MALQUERIDAS by Tana Gilbert, 75min co-produced by Dirk Manthey Film UG, Germany is looking for festivals, sales agent, distributors, buyers, gap financing [MARCHÉ DU FILM] Women in prison reconstruct their experience of motherhood through videos and photographs captured with their forbidden cell phones while serving their sentences. Malqueridas offers a reflection on the severity of motherhood when faced with confinement and the loss of affections.


     


     


     


    The festival will take place May 16 – 26, 2023, download the PDF with screening times here.


     


    Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes
    German Pavilion #124
    Village International - Riviera
    1 Boulevard de la Croisette
    06400 Cannes, France
    info@focusgermany.de


     



     German Films – German Documentaries Happy Hour

     May 22, 2023, 18:00-19:00 GMT+2, The Viewpoint (Lerins)

     


     


     


     


     



     

     


     


    The nominees for the 2023 Doc Alliance Award are announced.


    In 2023, each of the Doc Alliance festivals has nominated one feature-length and one short film, both eligible for two respective feature and short prizes. The selection of 16 films has been revealed at Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes, May 23, 2023. Discover all nominees here. The award ceremony will take place at DokuFest in Prizren in August 2023.


    This year’s jury members are:
    • Jonathan Ali, programmer and curator (Locarno, Open City Docs, True/False and Sheffield Doc/Fest, Third Horizon Film Festival)
    • Anna Berthollet, CEO, Lightdox (sales and distribution)
    • Arnaud Hée, programmer (Bibliothèque publique d’information in Centre Pompidou) 


     Nominated by DOK Leipzig are the two german documentaries




    Julia Teichmann, Simone Baumann @ 76 FESTIVAL DE CANNES

     


     


    More information..

  • 38 DOK.fest Munich, May 3-14, 2023 [May 8-21 @home]

         • VIKTOR DOK.international Competition goes to  THEATRE OF VIOLENCE by Lukasz Konopa, Emil Langballe   • VIKTOR DOK.deutsch Competition ...

      


     



    • VIKTOR DOK.international Competition goes to  THEATRE OF VIOLENCE by Lukasz Konopa, Emil Langballe  

    • VIKTOR DOK.deutsch Competition goes to GRETA'S BIRTH by Katja Baumgarten


     


    19 festival days with 28 world premieres, 13 international premieres and 45 German premieres. Among the directors, men are only slightly in the majority this year with 51 percent. 45 percent of the filmmakers are female, 4 percent diverse. Find the entire programme here


    The main award VIKTOR of the DOK.international Competition, sponsored by BR – Bayerischer Rundfunk, is endowed with 10,000 Euros and will be awarded – among other prizes – at the festive awards ceremony on May 13, 2023 at Deutsches Theater München. Among the 12 nominated films are four german documentaries:
    BE WATER – VOICES FROM HONG KONG by Lia Erbal, 94min.
    JACKIE THE WOLF by Tuki Jencquel, 93min.
    LA EMPRESA by André Siegers, 90min.
    THEATRE OF VIOLENCE by Lukasz Konopa, Emil Langballe, 104min.


     



    38 DOK.fest München, May 3–14, 2023 [May 8–21 @home]

     


     


    LineUp German productions and co-productions:



      


     


    The guest country at DOK.fest München 2023: TURKEY
    Between tradition and modernity, secularism and religiosity: at DOK.guest this year we look east to Turkey. With five films, the festival illuminates various facets of life in Turkey, a country of contrasts that has recently distanced itself politically more and more from Europe. Discover the films, including the German production EREN by Maria Binder.


     


     


     



     


    The award winning projects with German participation of the 38th DOK.fest München



    • VIKTOR DOK.international Competition goes to  THEATRE OF VIOLENCE by Lukasz Konopa, Emil Langballe, 104min. Jury statement: 'In their carefully constructed film, Emil Langballe and Lukasz Konopa create a more complex space with each new scene in which we, as viewers, ask ourselves question after question about international law in a post-colonial framework, about the challenges of doing justice while threatening to reopen old wounds and about guilt, forgiveness and reconciliation.'

    • VIKTOR DOK.deutsch Competition goes to GRETA'S BIRTH | GRETAS GEBURT by Katja Baumgarten, 96min. From the jury statement: 'From an unpretentious and feminist standpoint, she tells the story of a progressive midwife and doctor whose life becomes a nightmare as a result of the trial. We become witnesses to a tendentious and unprecedented verdict that not only destroys an entire existence but also advances long-standing efforts to limit the work of independent midwives. With GRETAS GEBURT the filmmaker succeeds in making an essential contribution to this highly sensitive topic and impressively demonstrates the social relevance of documentary film work.'

    • The megaherz Student Award goes to BORDER CONVERSATION by Jonathan Brunner, 30min. From the jury statement: 'Through text messages, still tableaux and a camera that is in the right places at the right time, the film allows us to sense and feel how terrible the circumstances on the border between Belarus and Poland must be. Here, Europe’s external border becomes the setting for the dissolution of the very values that Europe is meant to represent. Without losing touch with its subject matter, the film portrays the work of the two activists Kornelia and Karolina. In its sensitive devotion to the protagonists, the film does not leave us alone but becomes a manifesto for humanity and justice.'

    • The VFF Documentary Film Production Award 2023 goes to the producers Carsten Rau, Hauke Wendler, PIER 53  with the German documentary FOR EVER | FÜR IMMER. The jury says: 'Intended as a long-term observation, which according to the basic idea was to continue until the death of one of the two spouses, the project was difficult to calculate in terms of the effort and costs involved. The impossibility of naming a clear completion date defies the procedures in the German film industry. (...) With clever interventions in the calculation and in the funding applications, the Hamburg production company managed to realize a project with an open outcome and temporal unpredictability - and without allowing the creative participants to exploit themselves in the process.'

    • The FFF Talent Award Documentary goes to SHE CHEF by Melanie Liebheit, Gereon Wetzel, 100min. From the jury statement: 'In a direct cinema style, always remaining close to the protagonists, the co-director Melanie Liebheit takes the audience behind the scenes of 'Haute Cuisine', with an exciting, entertaining narrative approach and clear dramaturgy. Little by little, different working cultures are revealed and Agnes asks herself how she would like to work in the future: what kind of working environment is important to her? Which is right? And how can you combine family and career? Agnes represents a generation of young women who no longer take a back seat in male domains.'

    • The German Documentary Film Music Award goes to composer  David Langhard for original score of THIS KIND OF HOPE by by Pawel Siczek, 83min. Jury statement: 'With his work on THIS KIND OF HOPE, David Langhard has succeeded in what this award seeks to honor: a composition that combines with the documentary narrative in an outstanding way - and at the same time shapes and contrasts it as an independent artistic design element,' says Barbara Schulte, Managing Director of the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung. 'It is a matter of concern to our foundation to promote the encounter between artistic documentary film and contemporary music. For this, we can't think of a better partner than DOK.fest Munich, and I'm very pleased that we can jointly present this award for the ninth time.'

    • DOK.digital – Award for New Narrative Formats goes to TRUTH DETECTIVES – SERIOUS GAME by Anja Reiss and Raphael Perret. From the jury statement: The prototype for this contemporary and innovative serious game has a high social relevance, shows the potential when journalistic and interactive skills are combined and complemented with scientific expertise. It can sustainably promote the media competence of users by enabling them to learn journalistic research using real image sources, to uncover fake news or even to become online investigators beyond the game in order to uncover human rights violations.

    • DOK.talent Award [offers students to present their current projects to industry experts] goes to A SMALL MOMENT | EIN KLEINER MOMENT by von Daniela Magnani Hüller. From the jury statement: A Small Moment' by Daniela Magnani Hüller tells from the inside perspective of all the small but very significant moments that happened to the filmmaker after she survived an attempted murder. There are many films that are told from the perspective of the perpetrator, but only a few that are from survivors. (...) Courageously, bluntly and with a lot of heart, Daniela addresses an important social issue with her film: In Germany, a femicide happens every third day. Above all, however, the film sheds light on how the actions of one individual can decisively change the life of another person.

    • DOK.archive Award [promotional prize for compilation films in development] goes to BERLIN CHIC by Sigal Rosh. From the jury's statement: In 1933, there were 2,700 brands in German-Jewish ownership; in 1939, there were only 120 left in Germany. With a wealth of new information and archive images – film footage, photographs, sketches, drawings and fashion magazines – the team brought to life the colourful Berlin fashion industry of the 1920s and 30s and showed how the glamorous "Babylon" Berlin became a fashionable backwater.

    • Doc Around Europe Award & Visioni dal Mondo Award goes to HEADSHOTS – ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS, FOTOGRAFIN | HEADSHOTS – ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS, PHOTOGRAPHER by Sonya Winterberg

    • Nebulae Project Selection Award goes to SURROGAT (WT) by Benedikt Schulte

    • browse the winner of the ohter awards and more information here.


     


     


     


      



     

     

     


     


     


    An award for courageous documentary film producers: The VFF Documentary Film Production Award, unique in Germany, recognises the passionate commitment and the role of production in the creation of current cinema documentary film projects. The process of making a documentary film is difficult to plan, often involves great uncertainty and requires courage. The award is sponsored by the VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten mbH and comes with prize money of 7,500 euros. The award goes to the producer of the film. Jury for this year's VFF Documentary Film Production Award.


    Eight productions have been nominated for this year's VFF Documentary Film Production Award:



     


     


     



     


     


    Young documentary filmmakers who are from Bavaria or live or have studied in Bavaria, and whose films are shown at the festival: The FFF Documentary Film Talent Award (Förderpreis Dokumentarfilm), sponsored by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, honours local up-and-coming directors at DOK.fest München. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros. In 2023, the jury members are Hannes Kaltenhauser, Martin Blankemeyer und Elina Kewitz.


    The nominees are:



    • PLASTIC FANTASTIC by Isa Willinger, 102min, original with English subtitles.
      Plastic is designed to last for eternity. Only where should all the hazardous plastic waste go?

    • SHE CHEF by Melanie Liebheit, Gereon Wetzel, 100min, original with English subtitles. The male-dominated world of high-end cuisine: the young chef Agnes is determined to do things the way she wants to.

    • STIMMEN AUF DEM DACH DER WELT by Patrick Ranz, Felix Möller, 55min, original with German subtitles. High altitude music lessons between Sichuan and Eastern Tibet. A film like a fortune cookie.

    • VON VIELEN by Eva Hartmann, 79min, original with English subtitles. Rainer Von Vielen – a music band during the pandemic. What remains when the essence of your job disappears?


     


     


     



    nominees of the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe 

     


    Focus on editing: with the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe, an editing award will be given for the third time at DOK.fest München in 2023. The award is donated by Adobe and endowed with 5,000 euros. The award is intended to shed light on the post-production of documentaries and to honour the work of editors. It was developed in cooperation with Adobe. Films with outstanding editing work are nominated across all sections. The nominated films will be presented at the festival with extended Q&As with the DOK.edit jury and the respective editor. One of the three nominated productions is the German production #RACEGIRL – THE COMEBACK OF SOPHIA FLÖRSCH by Sonia Otto, edited by Finbarr Willbrink, Karoline Schulz, 95min, P: Gebrüder Beetz.


     


     



     


     


    Every year, the German Documentary Film Music Award honours a composition that combines in an outstanding way with the documentary film narrative. It sees itself as a platform for the work of the composers and the value of music as a narrative level in documentary films. The award is endowed with 5,000 euros. The composer of the film is being honoured. It is donated by the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung and supported by the Förder- und Hilfsfonds des Deutschen Komponistenverbandes DKVMembers of the jury 2023 are...


     


     The nominated German documentary productions and co-productions are:



     


     



     

     

     


     


     


     


    DOK.forum Marketplace


    As the market for co-creation and co-production of DOK.fest München, the DOK.forum Marketplace invites around 45 selected, strong documentary film projects in the development stage to Munich every year. At pitching events, Roundtable Sessions and One-to-One Meetings the project teams meet around 250 experts such as commissioning editors, producers, funding representatives, distributors and sales agents. The aim is to provide a forum for relevant ideas through targeted matchmaking, to provide valuable feedback, to enable and new partnerships, and thus help the projects to get realised. The next edition of DOK.forum Marktplatz will take place from 3 to 8 May 2023.


    Schedule 2023 Format- and Award Pitchings of DOK.forum Marketplace:
     
    Pitching DOK.digital: 3 May
     • Pitching DOK.archive: 5 May
     • Pitching DOK.talent: 7 May (tbc)
     • Pitching DOK.composition: 7 May
     • Master's Pitch: 6 May
     • Roundtable Sessions: 6 and 7 May
     • One-to-One Meetings: 7 May (on site) and 8 May (online)


     


     


    out of the newsletter April 30, 2023:


    For the first time, the DOK.forum Perspectives also invite you to two major conferences to discuss the future of documentary film in all its facets: Under the motto "It's a Match! Connecting Formats to Audiences", we will be focusing on the interplay between programme content and viewers from 4 to 5 May; at the conference "Perspektive Kino! Concepts for a Future-proof Practice" we will explore possible synergies between regular cinema and festival operations, also from 4 to 5 May.


    The project selection for the DOK.forum Marketplace is ready: This year they welcome 42 exciting documentary projects in various stages of development – from the first idea to the rough cut – which will meet relevant experts from the industry in various pitching and meeting formats.


    SUCH AS:


    • A SIMPLE PLACE
    Director Etna Ozbek, Producer Burak Karamete for Zug Film,


    • A SMALL MOMENT
    Director Daniela Magnani Hüller, winner of DOK.talent Award by Haus des Dokumentarfilms.
    From the jury statement: A Small Moment' by Daniela Magnani Hüller tells from the inside perspective of all the small but very significant moments that happened to the filmmaker after she survived an attempted murder. There are many films that are told from the perspective of the perpetrator, but only a few that are from survivors. (...) Courageously, bluntly and with a lot of heart, Daniela addresses an important social issue with her film: In Germany, a femicide happens every third day. Above all, however, the film sheds light on how the actions of one individual can decisively change the life of another person.


    • AUF BEWÄHRUNG / ON PROBATION
    Director Jan Prazak, Producer I am looking for a producer.


    • BERLIN CHIC
    Director Sigal Rosh, Producer Michal Weits- HSCC, winner of DOK.archive Award by British Pathé.
    From the jury's statement: In 1933, there were 2,700 brands in German-Jewish ownership; in 1939, there were only 120 left in Germany. With a wealth of new information and archive images – film footage, photographs, sketches, drawings and fashion magazines – the team brought to life the colourful Berlin fashion industry of the 1920s and 30s and showed how the glamorous "Babylon" Berlin became a fashionable backwater.


    • DIE VERSTOSSENEN (AT) / HOUSE 4 (WT)
    Director Philipp Schaeffer, Producer Paul Hartmann, Franziska Unger


    • EATENFISH
    Director Daniel Nils Roberts, Producer Anne Köhncke,


    • EIN KLEINER MOMENT / A SMALL MOMENT
    Director Daniela Magnani Hüller, Producer HFF München,


    • EISFRAUEN / ICEWOMEN (AT / WT)
    Director Jens Becker, Producer Dorothea Braun,


    • FIRST TASTE
    Director Sorina Gajewski, Producer Milena Krmek


    • HARVEST MOON
    Director Rama Ayasra, Producer Mariam Salim & Asmahan Bkerat, Composer Zeina Azouqah, winner of DOK.composition Award by Sonoton Music.
    From the jury statement: The jury finds the approach of combining Arabic sound systems with tempered, modern soundscapes and using authentic instruments convincing. The film material is appropriately arranged, the score fits the location of the action perfectly. The sounds of sowing and harvesting are harmoniously integrated.


    • HEADSHOTS - ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS, FOTOGRAFIN // HEADSHOTS - ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS, PHOTOGRAPHER
    Director Sonya Winterberg, Producer Birgit Schulz, BILDERSTURM Filmproduktion GmbH,
    [winner of Doc Around Europe Award as well as Visioni dal Mondo Award ]


    • HOLY DOGS
    Director Adrian Huber, Producer Zündholzfilm,


    • I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE
    Director Redon Kikaj, Producer Dardan Hoti and Luca Tesei Li Bassi Composer N/A


    • IN A NUTSHELL
    Director Johann Schilling, Producer Julius Wieler, Composer Kilian Oser


    • KIZILTOPRAK
    Director Irmak Karasu, Producer Zeynep Ekmekçi


    • LETTERS FROM MS. IRAN
    Director Farahnaz Sharifi, Producer Anke Petersen, Composer Atena Eshtiaghi, JYOTI Film,


    • MAKING GOOD AGAIN
    Director Gilad Baram Producer Gilad Baram – Nowhere Films UK, Composer Bnaya Halperin-Kaddari,


    • OURS TO OWN
    Director Nuno Escudeiro, Producer Andreas Pichler,


    • OUT OF JOINT
    Director and Producsér Miriam Jakobs and Gerhard Schick,


    • PORTRAIT EINER FREUNDSCHAFT
    Director Faezeh Nikoozad Producer Julia Cöllen, Karsten Krause, Frank Scheuffele,


    • QUEEN OF THE EIGER / DIE KÖNIGIN DES EIGERS (WT)
    Director Michael Bühler, Producer Martin Schilt,


    • SHADOW RUNNER
    Director Karanja Ng'endo, Producer Joan M. Njeri


    • SHE SINGS OF MURDER AND LOVE
    Director Virginia Heath, Producer Grant Keir, Faction North, Alex Tondowski, Tondowski Films, David Power & Ciaran Deeney, EZ Films, Dublin, Composer David McAulay (Tondowski Films)


    • SON OF THE STREETS
    Director Mohammed Almughanni, Producer Rashid Abdelhamid,


    • STATEFREE (WT)
    Director Annelie Boros, Christiana Bukalo Producer Lea Neu, Katharina Kolleczek,


    • SURROGAT (AT)
    Director Benedikt Schulte Producer Christoph Menardi, NEOS Film,


    • THE GODS MUST BE MISTAKEN
    Director Jakob Krese Producer Jürgen Kleinig (Neue Celluloid Fabrik)


    • THE PREMIERE
    Director Luyao Zhang,  Producer Julien Coquet, 


    • THE SREBRENICA TAPE
    Director Chiara Sambuchi Producer Antje Boehmert (DOCDAYS)


    • THE VALLEY OF THE WIDOWS
    Director Miro Jelok, Producer Katarina Jonisova, Miro Jelok


    • THE VISITOR
    Director Zvi Landsman, Producer Zvi Landsman


    • TINNER FILES (WT)
    Director Adrian Winkler, Producer Laurin Merz


    • TO THE BIRDS
    Director Daniel Froidevaux, Producer Marc Serpa Francoeur, Ben Lenzner, Julian Carrington, Composer Joseph Shabason


    • TRANSITER
    Director Arata Mori, Producer Arata Mori, Andreas Hartmann


    • TRASH CEMETERY
    Director Firas Rebiai, Producer Dhia Rebiai, Firas Rebiai,


    • TRUTH DETECTIVES
    Directors Raphael Perret, Anja Reiss, winner of DOK.digital Award by Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien BLM
    From the jury statement: The prototype for this contemporary and innovative serious game has a high social relevance, shows the potential when journalistic and interactive skills are combined and complemented with scientific expertise. It can sustainably promote the media competence of users by enabling them to learn journalistic research using real image sources, to uncover fake news or even to become online investigators beyond the game in order to uncover human rights violations.


    • UNDINE*
    Director Felix Rier, Producer Helios, Sustainable Films – Martin Rattini, Petra Forer; Torero Film – Rouven Rech
    [winner of the DAE Talent Award, Documentary Association of Europe]


    • VOI COME NOI / YOU AS US
    Director Lilian Sassanelli,


    • VOLLKONTAKT / FULL CONTACT
    Director Denis Pavlovic, Producer Julia Meyer-Pavlovic, Denis Pavlovic (Glass Frog Films)


    • WOMEN ON THE MOVE
    Director Jana Stallein, Producer Charlotte Peters,


     


     


     


     


     


    DOK.forum is looking forward to a lively exchange with the (inter)national industry and invites filmmakers to take advantage of the diverse range of events.


    To the events of DOK.forum


     


     


    AG DOK members SAVE THE DATE:



     


     


    as single page:
    38 DOK.fest Munich 2023
    37 DOK.fest Munich 2022
    36 DOK.fest Munich 2021
    35 DOK.fest Munich 2020
    34 DOK.fest Munich 2019
    33 DOK.fest Munich 2018


     


    ...by the way


    Daniel Roher's film NAWALNY celebrated its German premiere May 2022 as the opening film of 37 DOK.fest Munich 2022. March 2023, the movie won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The documentary follows prominent Russian opposition figure and Putin opponent Alexei Nawalny from the Russian secret service assassination attempt to his return to Moscow and imprisonment. Among the five feature documentaries nominated for Oscars were two other works that screened at last year's 37 DOK.fest Munich: A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS and FIRE OF LOVE

  • 20 Millenium DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY May 12-21, 2023

          in cinemas across the eight Polish cities Warsaw, Wroclaw, Gdynia, Poznan, Katowice, Lódz, Bydgoszcz and Lublin, and online all across ...

     



     


     


    in cinemas across the eight Polish cities Warsaw, Wroclaw, Gdynia, Poznan, Katowice, Lódz, Bydgoszcz and Lublin, and online all across Poland May 23 – June 4, 2023 online#20MDAG


     


    LineUp of german documentaries



     


    Download the catalogue of 20 MDAG here.

  • ROMAN BRODMANN PREIS endowed by HDF

      April 27, 2023, Berlin       Steffi Niederzoll has received the Roman Brodmann Prize 2023 for SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHERAN.          The €10,000 ...

     



    April 27, 2023, Berlin

     


     


     



    Steffi Niederzoll has received the Roman Brodmann Prize 2023 for SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHERAN

     

     


     


     


    The €10,000 award recognizes politically and socially relevant documentaries. Around 110 submissions were received for the ROMAN BRODMANN PRIZE, which was awarded for the second time by the Haus des Dokumentarfilms - Europäisches Medienforum Stuttgart e.V. (HDF) and the Institut für Medien- und Kommunikationspolitik (IfM). A twelve-member selection jury – consisting of industry members and media journalists – has nominated eleven productions: seven feature-length documentaries, most of them with theatrical release, and one documentary series.


     


    The nominated german documentaries are:



    and until yet not mentioned in our catalogue



     


    From the eleven nominations, the main jury will select one production to be awarded the Roman Brodmann Prize on April 27, 2023, at the Landesvertretung Rheinland-Pfalz in Berlin. In accordance with its statutes, the prize may not be shared. Jury members are:
    David Bernet (director, AG DOK co-chairman)
    Bettina Böhler (editor, director)
    • Elwira Niewiera (writer, director of THE HAMLET SYNDROM)
    • moderated by Ulrike Becker, HDF


     


     


     



     

     

     


     


     as single page:
    ROMAN BRODMANN PREIS 2023

  • 59 GRIMME PRIZE 2023

    CONGRATULATIONS to the juries for taking the opportunity to draw attention to current issues by awarding these four german documentaries. Between ...

    CONGRATULATIONS to the juries for taking the opportunity to draw attention to current issues by awarding these four german documentaries.



    • Between Carsten Rau, director and producer of the 94min documentary NUCLEAR FOREVER | ATOMIC POWER FOREVER, and the moderator Jo Schück, started a discussion on the efficiency and safety of nuclear power plants during the ceremony, less than a week later after the shut down of them in Germany.

    • Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz continue to watch the war in the Ukraine. They are currently working on the next film, planned with a lenght of 90 minutes ore more. They have been awarded for the 60 minute documentary LEBEN NACH BUTSCHA – TRAUMA UND HOFFNUNG | WHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA.

    • Peter Nestler – together with Dieter Reifarth and DoP Rainer Komers – spent already more time to work through eight decades of injustice on two documentaries with Romani Rose in UNRECHT UND WIDERSTAND | INJUSTICE AND RESISTANCE with 116 minutes as well as some artists of the Sinti and Roma in DER OFFENE BLICK | AN OPEN MIND with 101 minutes.

    • Antonia Killian's film THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER is unfortunately an ongoing topical for more than one reason. Women who want to live self-determined in the Orient, forced marriage, warlike conflicts, education.... 91 minutes on the feminist movement in Kurdish regions.


     


    The editor of german documentaries congratulate the awarded filmmakers and wish them all the best for their current projects.


     


      


     



    ...and the Grimme Prize trophies go to

    JUSTICE AND RESISTANCENUCLEAR FOREVER
     THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVERWHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA
     April 21, 2023 is the date of the award ceremony

     


    The awarded german documentaries are:



     


     



     The award ceremony will take place at Theatre Marl April 21, 2023.

     

     


     


    '...The documentary NUCLEAR FOREVER | ATOMKRAFT FOREVER (PIER 53 Filmproduktion for SWR/NDR) follows the debate about nuclear energy, which has once again come into focus since the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine. Images of partly immense destruction of the Ukrainian small town of Bucha are shown in the documentary WHEN SPRING CAME TO BUCHA | LEBEN NACH BUCHA – TRAUME UND HOFFNUNG (Wildfilms for WDR/Die Story im Ersten). Two other award-winning productions deal with resistance: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER (Doppelplusultra Filmproduktion/Pink Shadow Films/Greenlit Productions OY for ARTE) accompanies a Kurdish woman in autonomous Rojava, while the documentary JUSTICE AND RESISTANCE – Romani Rose and the Civil Rights Movement | UNRECHT UND WIDERSTAND (strandfilm/Navigator Film for ZDF/3sat) portrays the family of civil rights activist Romani Rose and their struggle against discrimination against Sinti and Roma....' [out of the PRtext GRIMME PREIS 2023]


     


     


     


    GRIMME PREIS is the German equivalent of the Emmys. Only movies that have been broadcasted by a public or private TVstation or provided in the internet in Germany can be nominated or awarded. Therefore some of the nominated documentaries for Grimme Preis 2023 you'll knew from former edtions of our catalogue, because they have been shown at festivals and German cinemas for about two years, the common usage of the retention period for coproductions with TVstations before broadcasted in German speaking territories.  


     



     2023

     

     


     


    The nominated german documentaries mentioned in our catalogue are:



     


    Further German documentaries attractive for the international market [...but until yet not mentioned in the catalogue. Maybe because no English version available until yet. Stay tuned.]



     


     


    ... find all 59 GRIMME PRIZE 2023 nominees here ...


     


    as single page
    59 GRIMME PRIZE 2023
    58 GRIMME PRIZE 2022
    57 GRIMME PRIZE 2021


     


     


     


    follow GRIMME PREIS FB

  • 30 Hot Docs April 27 – May 7, 2023

          Celebrating the art of documentary for 30 years together with a German delegation, this year's festival features 214 outstanding documentaries ...

     



     


     


    Celebrating the art of documentary for 30 years together with a German delegation, this year's festival features 214 outstanding documentaries – including 18 german documentaries – from 72 countries.


     


     


    LineUp german documentaries



     


     



     


    30 HOT DOCS 2023
    Programme browse here
    .


     


     


     


     



    May 2 – 4, 2023 in-person at Toronto's Hart House 
    May 11, 2023 online meetings

     

     


     


     


    Deal Maker Projects


    35 documentary projects – including 3 German co-productions – from 25 countries, participate in the 2023 edition of Hot Docs Deal Maker and pitch to international decision makers at the 30th anniversary festival. Deal Maker returns in-person to Toronto's Hart House with pitches taking place from May 2 to May 4, and an additional day of online meetings on May 11.


     


     



    • HANNAH ARENDT: THINKING IS DANGEROUS
      Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal  
      Producers: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, Birgit Rasch  
      Executive Producers: Jeff Bieber, Gunnar Dedio, Regina Bouchehri, Michael Kantor  
      Production Companies: Jeff Bieber Productions, LLC (USA), LOOKSfilm GmbH (Germany), WNET/American Masters (USA), Elsewhere Films (USA)

    • LIFE IN THE SHADOWS
      Director: K.D. 
      Producers: Ilyas Yourish 
      Co-Producers: Anke Petersen, Lilian Tietjen  
      Executive Producer: Graeme Isaac  
      Production Company: Kamay Film (Afghanistan), Jyoti Film GmbH (Germany)

    • THE FIRST LADY
      Directors: Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein
      Producers: Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Christian Beetz
      Production Companies: udiVsagi production Ltd (Israel), gebrueder beetz filmproduktion GmbH (Germany)

    • explore all projects.


     


     


     


    Participating Deal Makers from Germany:
     • 3Boxmedia International Sales, J. Valentin Romero
     • MAGNETFILM, Georg Gruber, Frauke Knappke
     • NEW DOCS, Elina Kewitz
     • Rise And Shine World Sales, Stefan Kloos


     


     


     



     

     

     


     single page


    30 Hot Docs 2023
    29 Hot Docs 2022
    28 Hot Docs 2021
    27 Hot Docs 2020
    26 Hot Docs 2019
    25 Hot Docs 2018


     


    More information ___German only___

  • Visions du Réel Nyon, April 12–21, 2023

                VdR Call for entry     Opening of registrations: September 5, 2023 First deadline: November 6, 2023 – for films finished by ...

     


     



     

     


     


     



     



    • Opening of registrations: September 5, 2023

    • First deadline: November 6, 2023 – for films finished by October 2022, and for projects already ready for submission.

    • Final deadline: December 20, 2023

    • Deadline VdR–Development Lab: October 31, 2023


    Call for films in the official selection:
    The films in competition are screened in world, international or European premiere.
    International Feature Film Competition
    Burning Lights Competition
    National Competition
    International Medium Length and Short Film Competition
    Grand Angle
    Opening Scenes
    Highlights
    Special Screenings


    Projects for VdR–Industry activities such as:
    VdR–Pitching
    VdR–Work in Progress
    VdR–Rough Cut Lab
    VdR–Development Lab


     


     


    as single page
    55 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2024
    54 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2023
    53 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2022
    52 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2021
    51 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2020
    50 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2019
    49 Visions du Réel, Nyon 2018 • 

  • CPH:DOX March 15 – 26, 2023, Copenhagen

        At the end of March 2023, Katrine Kiilgaard, Managing Director of CPH:DOX, said:"Since 2017, CPH:DOX has worked purposefully to develop ...

     



     


    At the end of March 2023, Katrine Kiilgaard, Managing Director of CPH:DOX, said:
    "Since 2017, CPH:DOX has worked purposefully to develop the industry activities, and we are very happy to see that it is really bearing fruit. We have presented more projects, welcomed more professionals, conducted more individual meetings and given out more awards than ever before. But more importantly, CPH:DOX has attracted a critical mass of the most important players in the industry to meet the most talented filmmakers, making Copenhagen a hub for the further development of the documentary genre and a place not to be missed by the industry".


    21 CPH:DOX will take place March 13–24, 2024.



    • CPH:DOX 2024 is open for film submissions. Browse the regulations here. The deadlines for submitting a film to CPH:DOX 2024 are September 1 for films finished by that date, and December 1 for films finished after the first deadline.

    • CPH:FORUM 2024 is open for submissions. The deadline to submit is November 15, 2023. The next edition of CPH:FORUM takes place March 18-21, 2024. CPH:FORUM is CPH:DOX's international financing and co-production event dedicated to facilitate the development and financing of creative and visually strong film projects with international potential, whether they are features, series or new media projects.


     



     

     



    SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN

    © 2023 MADE IN GERMANY Filmprod. GmbH | Cercamon

     


    11 new films have benn nominated for 2023's F:ACT AWARD, the prize for journalistic films in the large format and the winner is SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHERAN by Steffi Niederzoll.


    "This film is artfully crafted – from the visual language to editing style, we are impressed by the filmmaker's creative vision and ability to execute. It's emotional but never sensational. It tells a tragic story but yet allows us to witness the warmth and resilience of human nature. It not only shows the courage of individuals standing up against systemic abuse and violence but also reminds us that even deaths can't defeat one's will to fight. The award goes to 'Seven Winters in Tehran'." The jury says.


     Browse here the full DOX:NEWS 'And the winners of CPH:DOX 2023 are...' or  Winners of CPH:DOX 2023 announced.


     


     



     


    Marking the 20th anniversary of the International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX, the 2023 edition  offered an outstanding programme of 200 films, including 24 German documentary productions and co-productions, by both established and emerging filmmakers as well as talks, debates, performances, exhibitions, parties and much more from 15-26 March 2023.
    In addition, a selection of the official 2023 programme was available from March 24 – April 2  at the festival’s streaming platform PARA:DOX (geo-blocked to Denmark). The 20th anniversary of CPH:DOX became a record breaking year for us with an audience number reaching 125,680 - in total. 
    With an audience of 125,680, CPH:DOX 2023 became the most visited edition of the festival ever. Over the past 20 years, CPH:DOX has grown from a small Copenhagen event with just under 12,000 visiting guests to one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals with a large and engaged audience, both in the cinemas and online on the festival’s new streaming platform PARA:DOX.


     


     


     


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions:



     


    LineUp German interactive productions and co-productions:



    • BLACKTRANSARCHIVE.COM/WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT  by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, UK/Germany, 2020, Game [CPH:DOX’ INTER:ACTIVE]

    • LOCAL BINARIES by Lauren Moffatt, Germany, Spain, Denmark, 2022, AR, International Premiere  [CPH:DOX’ INTER:ACTIVE]

    • THE UNCENSORED LIBRARY by Reporters Without Borders, Germany, 2020, [CPH:DOX’ INTER:ACTIVE]

    • HIVEMIND with Danielle Bathwaite-Shirley in association with Trust and Serpentine’s R&D Platform. UK/Germany, [CPH:DOX’ INTER:ACTIVE]


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


    Juries of the five festival competitions DOX:AWARD, NEW:VISION, F:ACT AWARD, NORDIC:DOX and NEXT:WAVE.


     


     


     


    CPH:DOX’ industry events will include the financing and co-production event CPH:FORUM, CPH:CONFERENCE and INTER:ACTIVE symposium. The industry programme runs under the banner 'Business as Unusual' between March 19-24. Read more about the key dates and events in the industry programme here. For the tenth year running, CPH:FORUM and Eurimages are happy to present the Co-Production Development Award of 20,000€ for the best pitch. To express solidarity with the Ukrainian film industry, alongside the long-standing Co-Production Development Award, Europe's Eurimages Fund decided to award a new Special Eurimages Co-production Development Award at CPH:FORUM 2023 of additional 20,000€, that will go to one of the Ukrainian projects in the Forum line-up.
    The awards will be handed out during the CPH:INDUSTRY AWARDS Happy Hour Drink on Thursday, March 23 at 18:00.


     


     

    KEY DATES for filmmakers and professionals


    If you’re a filmmaker or an industry professional, please mark your calendar with these important dates and deadlines, to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the activities that CPH:DOX has to offer:


    INTRO:DOX Day (19 March)
    INTRO:DOX is a brand-new initiative envisioned to welcome emerging filmmakers from all over the world, working on their first or second non-fiction feature. INTRO:DOX will open the CPH:INDUSTRY 2023 programme with a full day of introductory sessions on Sunday, March 19, 2023, finishing off with a networking happy hour.


    CPH:FORUM (20-23 March)
    CPH:FORUM is our long-standing financing and co-production event. Highly acknowledged producers and directors from all over the world will take the stage to pitch 35 carefully selected projects in the intersection of non-fiction, fiction, visual art, journalism and science. Besides project presentations, CPH:FORUM offers pitch preparation and tailored one-to-one meetings between the presenting teams, potential co-production partners and interested financiers and distributors, and culminates with presenting the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000 for the event’s best pitch.


    INTER:ACTIVE SYMPOSIUM (20 March)
    The half day symposium will showcase the projects developed throughout the CPH:LAB training programme and will be used as the pivot of the debate about the business aspects of how to produce, finance and distribute this kind of audiovisual projects. The next edition of the Symposium will take place in Copenhagen and will be open for all accredited guests as well as ticket holders.


    DELEGATIONS (20 March)
    CPH:INDUSTRY offers a wide range of activities and networking events to help facilitate the match of potential business partners among nearly 2.000 film professionals from all over the world who are joining CPH:DOX annually.


    CPH:CONFERENCE (21-24 March)
    CPH:CONFERENCE is a unique industry event, presented and curated in partnership with the leading training initiative Documentary Campus. The next edition takes place in Copenhagen and is open to all accredited guests, as well as the public.


     


    as single page:


    CPH:DOX 2024
    CPH:DOX 2023
    CPH:DOX 2022
    CPH:DOX 2021
    CPH:DOX 2020
    CPH:DOX 2019


     CPH:DOX will return to the Copenhagen cinemas March 13-24, 2024. New submissions start May 15, 2023. Submit a film here. Rules&Regulations.

  • 73 BERLINALE February 16-26, 2023

              The Berlinale Documentary Award goes to EL ECO | THE ECHO by Tatiana Huezo, awarded as Best Director by the Encounters Jury as well.  ...

     



     


     


     


     


    • The Berlinale Documentary Award goes to EL ECO | THE ECHO by Tatiana Huezo, awarded as Best Director by the Encounters Jury as well. 
      In rural surroundings, young people discover the world. Luminous, intimate images of a grandmother, rainstorms, and school classrooms reveal a complex community. This deeply affectionate film shows time passing, a world opening up. It is a fascinating new piece in the director’s already distinguished body of work. Our award goes to Tatiana Huezo for El eco. [Jury Statement]

    • The Compass-Perspektive-Award as well as the 38 Friedensfilmpreis der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung [PeaceFilmPrize] goes to SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHERAN | SIEBEN WINTER IN TEHERAN by Steffi Niederzoll.
      'How does one overcome the feeling of powerlessness and show resistance?
      Spellbound, we follow the story of a young woman who defies institutionalised male violence. What also emerges is a sensitive portrait of a family torn apart by the battle against an unethical regime. Using a variety of documentary materials, the film follows a strict narrative arc.
      This film is painful and unsettling. At the same time, encountering the young protagonist Reyhaneh is inspiring, leaving us with a spark of hope. The 2023 Compass-Perspektive-Award goes to Seven Winters in Tehran by Steffi Niederzoll'. [Jury Statement Compass-Perspektive–Award]

    • The Caligari Film Award goes to Selma Doborac for DE FACTO.
      The jury states: "an extraordinary and highly intense film that, like hardly any other before it, makes us think philosophically about destructive (group) dynamics and the inhuman in human beings".

    • The Special Prize of the Generation Kplus by Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk for Best Short Film  goes to WAKING UP IN SILENCE by Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi.
      We would like to give the prize to a film that offers a tender glimpse into the daily rhythms of a dislocated childhood. This film’s effortless intimacy bears witness to enduring joy, strength and innocence against a backdrop of profound loss. We were moved by the film’s confident approach. It powerfully evokes a sense of place and history as it offers an important snapshot of the urgent present. [Jury Statement]

    • The Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film of the Youth Jury Generation 14plus goes to AND ME, I'M DANCING TOO | MAN KHOD, MAN HAM MIRAGHSAM by Mohammad Valizadegan
      Woman: A person who identifies as female.
      Life: The period of time between birth and death. The experience of being alive.
      Freedom: The absence of coercion and restrictions. The ability to express yourself as you wish.
      Dance: A ritual, a custom, a profession, a sport, a form of therapy, a social interaction or simply an expression of feelings. Dancing is liberation.
      The film not only moved and touched us, but it also made us thoughtful and, above all, combative, through the authentic presentation of topics which are unfortunately still as relevant today as they were years ago. [Jury Statement]

    • and...



    ...the GOLDEN BAER for Best Film of the 73 BERLINALE goes to the French documentary production


    SUR L'ADAMANT | ON THE ADAMANT by Nicolas Philibert, produced by Céline Loiseau, Gilles Sacuto, Miléna Poylo. The film portrays the floating structure located on the Seine in the heart of Paris de jour L'Adamant, a special day center for the treatment of adults with mental disorders.



     


     


     


     



     


     


    73 Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin 2023 with a total number of 17 German Documentaries in the programme and some more as screenings at the EFM. Visit our virtual stand online at the EFM linking to the screening schedule of each of them or let's meet at our booth 18, groundfloor GROPIUS BAU. Access with market badge only.


     


     



     

     


     


    LineUp German documentary productions and co-productions @ 73 BERLINALE



     


     


     



    Berlinale Documentary Award [photo ©2022 Gundula Krause]


    The Berlin International Film Festival has long been committed to the diversity of documentary forms. A distinct award for the best documentary film was launched in 2017. The Berlinale Documentary Award, endowed with 40,000 Euros in prize money, will be sponsored by public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb).


    In total, 20 documentary forms from the sections Competition, Berlinale Special, Encounters, Panorama, Forum, Generation and Perspektive Deutsches Kino are nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Award. The prize money will be shared by the director and the producer of the winning film. The award will be presented during the official Award Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on February 25, 2023. A three-member jury will pick the winner. Click here for more information.


     


     


     


     


     



     


     


     


    53 BERLINALE FORUM: Powerful documentaries stand alongside highly personal essay films, while works of fiction draw on pared-down plots or surrealist exuberance in equal measure. Whether narrow analogue formats or digital scans, 80s video footage or hand-coloured images from cinema’s early years: the 28 films that make up the 53rd Berlinale Forum main programme celebrate the diversity of cinematic forms, approaches and narratives, and explore the predicaments of the past and the present in unflinching fashion.
    With German documentary productions and co-productions such as:
    DE FACTO LEAVING AND STAYING CALLS FROM MOSCOW  IN UKRAINE


    18 FORUM EXPANDED is presenting a total of 33 works from 19 countries at the Forum Expanded cinemas, at the silent green Betonhalle, as well as at SAVVY Contemporary and in the Marshall McLuhan Salon of the Embassy of Canada in Berlin including German documentary productions and co-productions such as:
    THE EARLY RAIN WHICH WASHES AWAY THE CHAFF BEFORE SPRING RAINS AFRAID DOESN'T EXIST IN-BETWEEN WORLD


    PANORAMA screens extraordinary cinema, is a traditional audience favourite and - with its own audience award - has the festival’s biggest jury. Every year since 1999, the Berlinale’s biggest jury – the Panorama audience – has awarded the Panorama Audience Award for the most popular feature film and documentary. The section has always recognised its audience as its closest ally.
    IRON BUTTERFLIESUNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS


    PERSPECTIVE The Perspektive Deutsches Kino section presents debut and second films produced in Germany but featuring universal, international stories. The selected narratives are multifaceted and courageous, their creators devise and realise them with curiosity, passion and originality.
    KASH KASH – WITHOUT FEATHERS WE CAN'T LIVE • LONELY OAKS – ONLY YOUR LIFE BETWEEN  • NUCLEAR NOMADS


    ENCOUNTERS is a platform aiming to foster aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent, innovative filmmakers. Its goal is to support new perspectives in cinema and to give more room to diverse narrative and documentary forms in the official selection. Conceived as a counterpoint and a complement to Competition, Encounters is a competitive section devoted to new cinematic visions. The films selected will challenge traditional forms and ask viewers to reconsider their positions in relation to them. Being a mirror of the different ways of production that have developed in the 21st century and reflecting this vibrant energy, Encounters will become a meeting point for filmmakers and producers, programmers and film critics, cinephiles and festival lovers. • THE ECHO


     


     


     



     

     


    Visit our 'Companie Profile' AG DOK / German Documentaries online or let's meet booth 18 at GROPIUS BAU groundfloor under the umbrella of German Films, with Kordula Marisa Hildebrandt [t: +49 30 25920 - 842], who gladly will present your press material of your latest German documentary production or co-production.


    EFM 2023 Shipping Information:
    European Film Market
    Booth 18 [German Films / AG DOK / German Documentaries]
    contact: Kordula Marisa Hildebrandt
    GROPIUS BAU, Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin, Germany


    'The European Film Market (EFM) of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival came to a successful close yesterday (February 22). After two online editions in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic, this year’s market, now once again on-site, reports record results with 230 stands and 612 companies from 78 countries and a total of over 11,500 market participants from 132 countries. These numbers are an impressive testament to the EFM’s position as one of the most significant audiovisual content trade platforms worldwide. 773 films were shown in 1,533 screenings, including 647 online screenings and 599 market premieres. The total number of buyers also rose to 1,302. 629 film projects were presented on the new Producers & Project Pages.' source: PR Feb 23, 2023
    Back in Full Force: The European Film Market (EFM) Reports Positive Results for the First Post-Pandemic Edition.


     


     



     

     


     


    EFM Market Screenings
    Focussing all activities at Potsdamer Platz, the EFM offers numerous state-of-the-art screening venues in different sizes, all in proximity to the EFM venues and the festival centre.



     


     


     


    73 BERLINALE Press Releases click here.
    BERLINALE video channel click here.


     


     


     



     


    POWER FOR CHANGE!
    global forum for women film organizations @berlinale 2023


    As part of the Berlinale 2023, the global forum for women film organizations will shine a light on the work of women filmmakers who operate in war zones and other areas of danger and conflict currently shaking the world. On Friday February 17th at 10a.m. at the Embassy of Canada to Germany, Leipziger Platz 17, 10117 Berlin [admission 9.15 am]
    The aim of this event is to highlight the importance of female voices during times of crisis and in authoritarian regimes. Female filmmakers from Afghanistan, Iran and Ukraine are invited to the panel to share their perspectives. Get yout ticket here.


     


     


     


    as single page


    73 BERLINALE 2023
    72 BERLINALE 2022
    71 BERLINALE 2021
    • 70 BERLINALE 2020
    69 BERLINALE 2019
    68 BERLINALE 2018


     ••• 74 BERLINALE, Februar 15—25, 2024 •••
     Online submission for 2024 will be activated in mid-September 2023. General guidelines.


    DEADLINES
    Feature-length films: Nov 01, 2023
    Short films: Nov 15, 2023


     

  • 20 dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg, april 24-30, 2023

              With German productions and co-productions a.o. ALL SOUNDS WITHIN | TODOS LOS SONIDOS ENTRAN ADENTRO by Salka Tiziana, 26min, AN ...

     


     



     

     

     


    With German productions and co-productions a.o.



    • ALL SOUNDS WITHIN | TODOS LOS SONIDOS ENTRAN ADENTRO by Salka Tiziana, 26min,

    • AN OPEN MIND | DER OFFENE BLICK by Peter Nestler, 101min

    • DEAD BIRDS FLYING HIGH | DIE TOTEN VÖGEL SIND OBEN by Sönje Storm, 83min

    • EIGENTLICH EIGENTLICH JANUAR by Jan Peters, 100min,

    • INJUSTICE AND RESISTANCE | UNRECHT UND WIDERSTAND by Peter Nestler, 113min,

    • I'TIKAAF by Raaed Al Kour, Anna-Maria Dutoit, 30min

    • KAYU BESI by Andrianus 'Oetjoe' Merdhi, Max Sänger, 28min

    • KLASSENVERHÄLTNISSE AM BODENSEE by Ariane Andereggen, Ted Gaier, 82min

    • NÖRDLICH VON LIBYEN – DARIUSH UND ANTJE by Luise Müller, 60min

    • RETREAT by Anabela Angelovska, 30min

    • TARA by Volker Sattel, Francesca Bertin, 86min,

    • THREE WOMEN | DREI FRAUEN by Maksym Melnyk, 85min

    • WITHIN SIGHTS by Benjamin Hassmann, 30min

    • URBAN SOLUTIONS by Minze Tummescheit, Arne Hector, Luciana Mazeto, Vinícius Lopes, 30min


     


     


     


     



     MY MOTHER, A WAR AND ME by Tamara Trampe

     

     


    20 dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg dedicate a small tribute to the film-maker and dramaturge Tamara Trampe, who died at the end of 2021. In a panel discussion with long-time companions, it will be possible to look at the work of the exceptional documentarian.



    • MEINE MUTTER, EIN KRIEG UND ICH | MY MOTHER, A WAR AND ME by Tamara Trampe, Johann Feindt, 78min

    • WEISSE RABEN – ALPTRAUM TSCHETSCHENIEN by Tamara Trampe, Johann Feindt, 92min


     


    Download the PDF with the programme of the 20th edition of the dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg here.


     

  • 52 IFFR Jan 25 – Feb 5, 2023 at Rotterdam

            In 2023, IFFR recorded 283,506 visits (incl. 8,871 online visits) and more than 2,500 attending film professionals; this makes IFFR ...

     


     



     


     


    In 2023, IFFR recorded 283,506 visits (incl. 8,871 online visits) and more than 2,500 attending film professionals; this makes IFFR one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. The festival's official selection generally includes more than 400 feature, mid-length, and short films from over 90 countries and also offers a high-quality line-up of exhibitions, performances, masterclasses and talks.


     


    with German documentary productions and co-productions such as:



     


    Find all German productions and co-productions at the 52 edition of IFFR at the website of GERMAN FILMS.


     


     as single page
    52 IFFR 2023


     


    NEXT:  IFFR January 25 – February 4, 2024,

  • 29 It’s All True, April 4–14, 2024 at Brazil

       SUBMISSION up to December 8, 2023     29 É Tudo Verdada 2024 at São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and an event tour in Brazil. • Opening for ...
  • 64 Krakow Film Festival, May 26 – June 2, 2024

            The 64th Krakow Film Festival will be held in Kraków’s cinemas from 26 May to 2 June 2024 and across Poland at the KFF VOD online ...

     



     

     

     


    The 64th Krakow Film Festival will be held in Kraków’s cinemas from 26 May to 2 June 2024 and across Poland at the KFF VOD online streaming platform between 31 May and 16 June 2024.


     


    With the beginning of October, the call for films for the 64th Krakow Film Festival has started. The organisers and selectors are eagerly awaiting short films and documentaries from all over the world. From among several thousand entries, approximately 200 of the most interesting titles are going to make it to be shown in Kraków’s cinemas to festival audience in late May and early June – and online throughout Poland.


    "To us, beginning the process of accepting submissions for the next festival is like entering the new year. It’s the same emotions and expectations for returning masters and brilliant debutants. We expect the films to show us – as in a mirror – the most painful but also hopeful moments. Every choice comes with certain tension, because we are aware of the importance of each decision." – says Krzysztof Gierat, director of the Krakow Film Festival.


     


    Krakow Film Festival is one of the oldest events in the world dedicated to documentary, animated and short feature films. Since 2006, the festival is accompanied by Krakow Film Market, dedicated to film industry professionals. It core consists of three competitions of equal rank: documentary film competition, short film competition and national competition. During the eight festival days, the viewers have a chance to watch about 250 films from Poland and from around the world. They are shown in competition sections and in special screenings. The festival is accompanied by exhibitions, concerts, open-air shows and meetings with artists. Every year, the festival is visited by approximately 900 Polish and international guests: directors, producers, festival programmers and numerous Krakow audience.


     


     


     


    as single page
    64 KFF 2024

  • International Film Festivals in Germany

    The festivals with markets are: BERLINALE | efmDOK.fest Munich | DOK.forumDOK Leipzig | DOK INDUSTRY      Schedule of the international documentary ...

    The festivals with markets are:


    BERLINALE | efm
    DOK.fest Munich | DOK.forum
    DOK Leipzig | DOK INDUSTRY   


     


    Schedule of the international documentary festivals as well as festivals with sections of documentaries chronologic throughout the year.


     



    45 Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis January 22—28, 2024 [FB] ___Submission___ starts September 1 until End of October


     


     



     

    74 BERLINALE – International Filmfestspiele Berlin, Feb. 15—25, 2024
    Online submission for 2024 will be activated in mid-September.

    efm - European Film Market further information  [FB]

      


     



    20. dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg, April, 20–24, 2023
    Find out more information about 20. dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg at the festival's website: https://dokfilmwoche.com/en/home/


     


     


     


     



    40 INTERNATIONALES FRAUEN FILM FEST Dortmund+Köln, April 16—21, 2024 in DORTMUND. The festival takes place annually, alternating between Dortmund and Cologne [FB


     


     


       39 DOK.fest Munich, May 1—12, 2023
                              and  May 6—20 @HOME
     


     


     



    IKFF - 40 Hamburg International Short Film Festival, June 4–9, 2023
    ___Submission___ starts November 1, 2013 [FB]


     


     



    #FFMUC | 40 FILMFEST MÜNCHEN in Munich  June 23—July 1, 2023. All films screened at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN are selected by the festival programmers.


     



    NaturVision Filmfestival, Ludwigsburg, July 20—23, 2023 [FB]


     


     



    31 FILMFEST HAMBURG, September 28 – October 7, 2023
    #FFHH23 _ Submission _ opens in March [FB]


     


     



    57 Internatonale Hofer Filmtage | Hof International Film Festival, October 24—29, 2023
    [FB] For futher Information please visit the website of the festival.


     


     



    67 DOK Leipzig, Oct 28–Nov 3, 2024
    International Leipzig Film Festival for Documentary and Animated Film [FB


     


     


     



    65 Nordic Filmdays Lübeck, November 1–5, 2023  [FB].
    __ online submission starts Spring 2023  and ends August 1, 2023.
    __FB__


     


     


     



    47 DUISBURGER FILMWOCHE, df#47 the festival of documentaries produced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland  in Duisburg, November 6—12, 2023. Deadline for submission is August 6, 2023. For further information concerning 48 DUISBURGER FILMWOCHE please visit the website of the festival. [FB]



     doxs! festival - creative European documentaries for children and adolescents, Duisburg, November. For further information concerning next dox! please visit the website of the festival. [https://www.do-xs.defilmwoche@stadt-duisburg.de]


     


     

    40 KASSELER DOK-FEST, Kasseler Dokumentarfilm und Video Fest, November 14—19, 2023. The 40th Kassel Dokfest is being planned as a hybrid form, it will take place on-site from November 14 to 19, 2023. The online offer will be available until November 26, 2023. Submission will be possible from mid-April until July 1, it is always free of charge and a premiere is not a requirement.
    [FB]


     


    among others...

  • German Films

      is the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide. German Films’ range of activities includes: ...

     



    is the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide.


    German Films’ range of activities includes: Close cooperation with and presence at all major international film festivals and selected TV markets; hosting selection delegations from international festivals; PR and press work for all major national and international media representatives; information and advice for international buyers, German producers and exporters; publication of informational literature on current German films and the film industry; organization of the annual “Next Generation” short film program; administration of the selection procedure for the German entry for the OSCAR for Best Foreign Language Film; staging of “Festivals of German Films” worldwide and “German Premieres” in selected cities; collaboration with Deutsche Welle’s DW-TV KINO program; organization of the “German Films Previews”; selective financial support for the foreign releases of German films; organization with Unifrance of the annual German-French film meeting.


    For additional information and a complete list of the current shareholders, board members and staff, please visit the German Films Website.