Business Doc Europe

Premiering in the main competition at CPH:DOX 2026, Little Sinner is a profoundly intimate documentary built from more than two decades of personal recordings. Helmed by Daro Hansen and Thomas Papapetros, the film traces Hansen’s journey from Damascus to Denmark while confronting the emotional aftermath of forced marriage, displacement and generational trauma. “The stories within it are incredibly important,” Hansen tells BDE. “So we wanted to balance things carefully. The film is only 90 minutes—how many stories can you tell in that time?”

Business Doc Europe talks to Mandy Chang, who this month was appointed first CEO of the UK advocacy body, Documentary Film Council. “I think if you are privileged enough to work in this industry, you have to give something back - and I feel we are at a critical time in documentary where some of that space that documentaries once took up in the broadcasting schedules has been eroded away by formats and by other kinds of filmmaking,” Chang tells BDE.

In 1996, intrepid Swedish freelance journalist Erling Söderström was part of an expedition into the Amazon jungle with Brazilian ethnographer and social activist, Sydney Possuelo. They were trying to make “first contact” with the Korubo Indians. As we see in Nathan Grossman’s new feature doc, 30 years on the footage makes for highly uncomfortable viewing, with the encounter seeming both awkward and exploitative. “It shows what enormous risks there are in relationship to these contact events,” Grossman tells BDE. “It’s also why today these kind of situations should be avoided to the largest extent we can.”

Martin, the younger brother of Danish director Emil Langballe, has learning difficulties, as has Martin’s best friend Casper. But that doesn't stop them talking about cars, working on cars, and buying cars. And Martin’s long-held dream is to buy a Honda Civic. “I've always been attracted to these kind of stories of beautiful friendships, and I always liked buddy movies myself, and I thought Martin and Casper were this iconic kind of couple who called out to be filmed,” Langballe tells BDE.

In her feature doc In Defense of Self, Norwegian filmmaker Linn Helene Løken explores the fatal shooting of a man in urgent need of psychiatric help. The film reconstructs the final years of writer Morten Michelsen through more than 35 hours of personal audio recordings, alongside police reconstructions of the incident. World-premiering at CPH:DOX 2026, the 87-minute film examines the fragile intersection between mental healthcare systems and law enforcement, while raising broader questions about responsibility, narrative control and institutional transparency. Director Løken talks to BDE.

Sabine Lidl’s film about the Norwegian/American author was never going to be a simple retelling of Hustvedt's life story. It would also be about her obsessions and inspirations - figures like Dadaist artist Baroness Elsa and French-American artist Louise Bourgeois. It was also going to be about biology, neurology and psychiatry, her migraines and hyper-sensitivity, and her attritional relationship with her father. “My editor Maxine Goedicke saved me…I had much more to tell, and this was already 110 minutes,” the director tells BDE of the struggle to shoehorn so much material into a feature under two hours. The film screens in the festival's Highlights section.

Organised by the Institute of Documentary Film in cooperation with the One World Festival, the 15th edition of East Doc Platform once again opens part of its programme to the public through talks, screenings, and discussions exploring contemporary documentary filmmaking. “This year’s programme focuses on questions shaping the field today – from audience engagement and distribution to creative practice and changing industry structures,” write organisers.

Four new Swiss documentary projects, ripe for outreach treatment, were presented this week during FIFDH Impact Days in Geneva, with To the Moon and Back by Elisa Gómez Alvarez picking up the Swiss Impact Award, valued at CHF 2500. Business Doc Europe reports on the winning project, and the three other presentations: A Search for Love by Carlotta Piccinini, Imagine Peace by Fabian Chiquet and One Step Closer by French director Mehran Tamadon.

Visions du Réel unveiled March 12 the projects selected to participate in the 24th edition of VdR–Industry, the festival’s four-day programme dedicated to industry professionals, and which features an “exciting slate with bold artistic ambition,” alongside returning talents and new faces to Nyon. The opening of Industry Days will feature a conversation with Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras. Under the direction of new Head, Sabine Fayoux Cantillo, the 2026 VdR–Industry Days will take place April 19-22.

Brian Logvinsky's creative feature project, exploring how young Ukrainians navigate war through music, nightlife and community, was presented to professionals at Agora Docs, where it won the 2|35 Post-Production Company Award. Immortal Flowers is currently in post-production and seeking partners for its final stages. “My hope is that audiences first connect with the characters and their energy, and through that begin to understand the reality they’re living in," says director Logvinsky.

Four international and one Swiss award were handed out March 10 as doors closed on the 8th Impact Days, the professional arm of FIFDH. The StoryBoard Impact Award, valued at CHF 10,000, was given to Olimbi - Mother Courage by Karlo Mlinar. The Swiss Focus Impact Award, valued at CHF 2,500, was given to To the Moon and Back by Elisa Gómez Alvarez. All awards…

Renowned Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, born and raised in Gaza’s Al-Shati refugee camp, explored two vital aspects of film and filmmaking in Gaza during his Impact Days keynote on March 9. He articulated the urgent need to bring the works of Palestinian filmmakers to international audiences. At the same time, films from around the world must be delivered to children in Gaza, who have grown up surrounded by blockade, loss, and repeated wars, to offer moments of escape, imagination, and emotional relief.