Business Doc Europe

Julia Loktev’s new film begins just two days after its predecessor (My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow) ended, the point at which the last remaining independent media outfits in Russia were shut down. Some of the journalists head to Istanbul, others to Israel or Georgia. Some ended up in Prague or Vienna. “History happened and I kept shooting directly, when everybody fled Russia. I followed them and I just kept shooting,” Loktev tells BDE. “I had this incredible opportunity to capture this historic moment as it was happening.”

With precious little source material to work with – a mere 5 seconds of footage, a few photos and a handful of letters – how do you make a documentary about a woman who headed up one of Italy’s leading galleries, had a towering intellect and displayed uncommon wartime bravery, and whose influence over the culture and politics of post-WW2 Italy was substantial? Filmmakers Francesco Clerici and Mattia Colombo, whose Anatomy of a Portrait world-premieres at Venice FF, explain how to BDE.

Erik Shirai unveils the secretive world of sumo in his new feature documentary, world-premiering in Venice and opening the festival’s Spotlight section. The film is, in equal parts, refined, elegiac and minimalist. “Two men on a dirt ring trying to fight each other, half naked. There's nothing more minimal or simpler than that.” Shirai tells Business Doc Europe.

Ryan Holliger dreams of making a film about his chaotic life, one in which he served 4 years in prison and fathered six kids with five women. Fellow school dad Robert Greene decides to help him in this quest as he feels a special kinship with Ryan, both having grown up in broken homes in working-class areas. “But the difference between he and I is he likes to fight, so he punched someone in the face a bunch of times and went to prison. I don't like to fight. I like to write poetry and make paintings and eventually I made movies, and that's where our lives diverged,” Greene tells BDE.

In her new doc, world-premiering in Venice before its North American premiere at TIFF, the revered double-Oscar winner is back on the picket line, focusing on the UPS drivers, Amazon employees and app-based bike delivery workers who are keeping the city of New York ticking over. Their working conditions, however, are often deplorable. “It’s a world where the ‘deliveristas’ have absolutely nothing. They have to buy their gloves, their motorcycles or their bikes. Beyond that, they have to look over their shoulders now to make sure that ICE is not trailing them,” Kopple tells BDE.

Filmmakers Vasarhelyi and Chin discuss their audacious new feature doc in which mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson plan to climb, together with Chin, the North Face of Mount Everest, before skiing back down the way they came. “You can shape and define your fate to a certain degree. We all think that as humans we get to decide everything. We don’t,” Chin tells BDE. “There is only so much you can control…”

During the Fipadoc International Pitch session (Biarritz) the 24 selected project teams will pitch to 60+ international funders from Europe and beyond. Decision makers from France TV, ARTE, RTBF, RTS, SVT, Al Jazeera, ZDF, HBO and many other broadcasters will be present together with distributors, sales agents, festival programmers and film funds. Application deadline: October 2 2026. Fipadoc Industry Days will run January 25-28, 2027.

The deadline for submissions of projects to MIA’s Italians Doc It Better showcase is September 6. Italians Doc It Better looks to facilitate the circulation of new Italian documentaries by providing producers with a platform to present their projects and secure international distribution. Eligible titles must be 100% Italian productions or co-productions in which Italy holds a majority share.

Diana Sanchez has been elevated to President of Hot Docs, with immediate effect. Restructuring the executive leadership team “to better accomplish the organization’s long-term strategic goals and growth,” Sanchez has appointed Mara Gourd-Mercado (currently at CPH:DOX) to the position of Executive Director. Gourd-Mercado begins her new role on October 19, 2026, and will report to Sanchez.

Cinéma du réel competition comprises up to 30 international and French documentary films of any length, many of which will be looking to kickstart their career at the Paris-based festival. “Such a carefully curated selection of international and French documentary films within the production of an entire year commits us, and we thank all the professionals who entrust us with their films and trust us to defend them,” says Catherine Bizern, Artistic Director. The 49th edition of Cinéma du reel will run March 19-27 2027.

Organisers of the 69th DOK Leipzig (26 Oct to Nov 1) have announced first details of this year’s programme, which include the new ‘Positions’ section which is designed to create more space for exchange and debate. “The selection of films is intended as a starting point and catalyst for dialogue and exchange – listening to one another, having conversations, accommodating differing views and contradictions, and questioning our own convictions,” the festival writes.

Press accreditation for the 12th edition of MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo - one of the leading global audiovisual markets, bringing together the international film, drama, documentary, animation, and entertainment industries on a single international platform for business and networking - is now open. MIA will take place from Monday, October 19 to Friday, October 23, 2026, in Rome and on the MIA Digital platform.