Harley Unknown Mission by Andrzej Miękus
A key component of FIPADOC 2021 is a focus on the Visegrad countries of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. On this, the festival is collaborating with key players from the region, including the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) in Prague, Hungarian Documentary Association MADOKE in Budapest, Polish Docs and the Krakow Film Foundation (Poland), and the Slovak Independent Producer’s Association in Bratislava.
The public facing component of FIFADOC is postponed until French cinemas re-open. Meanwhile, Industry Days continues online 18-22 January 2021.
Eight of the 24 International Co-production Forum projects will be from the Visegrad countries, and organized meetings between Visegrad producers and French producers are designed to facilitate co-production activity. Hands-on sessions include case studies, presentations and master classes to inform internationals professional on the diversity of documentary production with in the Visegrad group of countries and to promote wider collaboration.
International Co-production Forum projects (20/21 January)
At the Forum two Polish projects in development will be presented to international experts and decision makers. Harley Unknown Mission by Andrzej Miękus (prod. Filmicon) tells how iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles abandoned by the Red Army paved a way to freedom for a group of young people living beyond the Iron Curtain. In Candidates of Death by Maciej Cuske (prod. Fundacja Budgoska Kronika Filmowa) the decade-long process of creating an amateur horror film “Candidates of Death” by a group of friends becomes the starting point to observe their growing up, their successes and their failures.
From Hungary, Kix – The Story of a Street Kid by Balint Revesz & David Mikulán (prod. Elf Pictures) is a story about a troubled street boy, Sanyi, as he grows from 8 to eighteen, from kid stuff to the verge of adulthood. Over a decade he turns from a young mischief into a public enemy. In Conquering Time by Kata Oláh (Makabor Studio and Belfilms, Israel) we meet warrior, feminist and super-human Ágnes Keleti, the world’s oldest living Olympic champion, Hungary’s most accomplished living athlete and the most decorated female Jewish Olympian of all time.
The Slovakian Velvet Generation by Ivana Hucikova (prod. Nutprodukcia) is a portrait of contemporary youth in search for identity, values and place in modern society that unfolds against the backdrop of the emerging Czech and Slovak ballroom culture. In We Have To Survive by Tomáš Krupa (Hailstone), mankind is unlikely to stop climate change, but it can adapt to the new, harder conditions. Four stories told from all four points of the compass, the process of adaptation being the basis of the film’s narrative.
The Czech Republic is represented by Blix by Greta Stocklassa (prod. Pink). In telling the story of Swedish Hans Blix, sometimes just telling the truth is not enough. Musica O Muerte: Destined to Freedom by Hana Jakrlová (Cinepoint) is story of the most famous Cuban punk band Porno para Ricardo that cannot perform because of its critical stance towards the political regime.
Two of these selections are Ex Oriente Film projects (see below): Blix by Greta Stocklassa (Czech Republic) and Kix – The Story of a Street Kid (Hungary).
Other highlights of the Visegrad programme include:
How to Co-produce with the Visegrad Group Countries January 20, 11:00-12:30 CET
Panelists: Vratislav Šlajer (Bionaut, CZ), Juianna Ugrin (Eclipse Film, HU), Jakub Viktorín (nutprodukcia, SK), Maciej Kubicki (Telemark, PL); Moderated by Zdeněk Blaha (IDF)
Mapping the Festivals and Markets Landscape in Central Europe. January 20, 12:30-14:00 CET
Panelists: Eva Križková (One World Slovakia, SK), László Józsa (MaDoKe, Speak Easy Project, HU), Katarzyna Wilk (Krakow Film Foundation, PL), Zdeněk Blaha (IDF). Moderated by Brigid O’Shea (Documentary Association of Europe).
Doc in Central Europe: hybrid forms and innovation Jan 20, 16:00-17:30 CET
Panelists: Martin Kollár (5 October, SK); Jasmina Wojcik (Symphony of the Ursus Factory, PL), Abel Visky (Tales from the Prison Cell, HU), Pavla Klimešová (Caught in the Net, CZ); Moderated by Heleen Gerritsen
From the Vaults: Dealing with the (archival) past in Central Europe. January 21, 16:00 – 17:30 CET
Panelists: Tomasz Wolski (An Ordinary Country, PL), Peter Kerekes (Occupation 1968, SK), Anna Kryvenko (My Unknown Soldier, CZ), Eszter Hajdu (Judgement in Hungary, HU); Moderated by Hana Křepelková Rezková
Window on Ex Oriente Film January 21, 18:00 – 18:30 CET
Ex Oriente Film is the international training programme supporting the development and funding of creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe. The programme opens a window to FIPADOC professionals for a sneak preview of the lab’s latest output, featuring some of its current participants and alumni:
The Sound Is Innocent (2019, Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)
Presented by director Johana Ožvold and producer Kristýna Michálek Květová, Cinémotif Films, Czech Republic – Ex Oriente Film 2016 / East European Forum 2017
Alice in Mother’s Land (in production, Croatia, Germany, The Netherlands, USA)
Directors: Zhanna Agalakova, Tatjana Božić
Presented by producer Magdalena Petrović, LEWA Productions, Croatia – Ex Oriente Film 2018 / East Doc Forum 2019
Roma (in production, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Denmark)
Director: Olha Zhurba
Presented by Darya Bassel, Moon Man, Ukraine – Ex Oriente Film 2019 / East Doc Forum 2020
Broadcasters in the Visegrad Countries – and beyond January 22, 14:30 – 16:00 CET
International producers are invited to meet the key broadcasters from the region who will detail their editorial lines.
Panelists: Magdalena Borowska (Commissioning and Programming Editor for Documentaries, Telewizja Polska SA), Hanka Kastelicová (Executive Producer of Documentaries, HBO Europe), Anna Różalska (Director of original production and co-production, Canal+ Polska), Ondrej Starinski (Documentary Commissioning Editor Radio and Television of Slovakia), Marketa Stinglova (Manager of International Content Project Center, Czech Television)
Polish Anna Gawlita (Kijora Film) and Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska (Pinot Films) will take part in Producers Meet Producers programme of individual meetings whose aim is to facilitate co-operation between France and the Visegrad countries.
Click here for the full programme of the 2021 FIPADOC Industry Days
