Photo: Karoline Hill
A statement released 8 January 2021 by CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival), says that the event will move from March to April/May in 2021 due to the current COVID-19 shutdown in Denmark and the continuing restrictions that are expected over the upcoming months.
The new hybrid version of CPH:DOX will run from April 21 to May 2.
“The decision was made to better allow for physical events and screenings in movie theatres,” the CPH:DOX statement continues, further stressing how the festival is planning an ambitious digital programme for national audiences as well as the international industry. Right now, the COVID-19 situation in Denmark has resulted in a complete lockdown that also affects the cultural institutions, including cinemas.
CPH:DOX CEO Tine Fischer comments: “CPH:DOX was one of the first international documentary film festivals to go online and become digital. It happened in March 2020 when Denmark and most of the world were closing down completely. Our hope in 2021 is to become one of the first major film festivals to once again open the doors to cinemas and invite our audiences back into a collective and actively shared experience.”
Apart from relaunching the physical festival, CPH:DOX will once again in 2021 provide audiences and visitors with new digital opportunities and film screenings from the festival’s online platform, the statement continues.
“2020 was a year that taught us so much and pushed us into thinking new formats, new ways of reaching people and new ways of creating social and cultural impact. Needless to say the digital experience and the democratic potential in reaching a much larger and diverse audience has been and will be central in the new version of the festival,” underlines Fischer.
“We’re preparing an ambitious programme to be experienced theatrically as well as online and digitally live. We are curating in a more inclusive way by bringing a new, more diverse and younger group of programmers on board and we’re working in close partnership with a long list of organizations and institutions to strengthen the actual reach and impact of each film.
“We will highlight some of the most powerful and critical issues that affect the world today: new democratic movements, the role of technology, the fight for climate justice, the role of science in our societies and many other important issues. And we will work to prolong the impact of the films in new partnerships not only during the festival but in a longer and deeper perspective,” Fischer continues.
The CPH:INDUSTRY programme is also being developed in a hybrid form to serve film professionals who will be able to attend personally in Copenhagen and the large professional community that will connect remotely from their home countries across the world. Industry activities will run April 26-30 2021.
The CPH:DOX industry platform comprises the co-production and financing forum CPH:FORUM, the CPH:MARKET and the 5-day CPH:CONFERENCE, as well as the talent development programme CPH:LAB.
In 2019 CPH:INDUSTRY attracted 1,900+ key industry professionals from across the world.
