Organisers of the inaugural AJB Doc Industry Days program (10-12 September) have unveiled the 30 projects at various stages of production that will be presented within three specific categories – Main Pitch, Work in Progress and Balkan Stars. The majority of projects will be in the running for co-production awards worth $60,000+.
The goal of the event is “to support the development of production of documentary films from across the world, including international and regional productions.”
Over the course of Industry Days, projects from Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be presented, and participants will have the opportunity to connect with numerous leading broadcasters, financiers, distributors, film festivals and funds.
“Directors and producers from the region, Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the MENA region will have an opportunity to present their documentary projects and get financing, distributors, film festivals and broadcasters, as well as to get contacts with other film festivals and film foundations that will be attending the festival,” comments selector Lejla Dedić. “We are very proud of the new platform, and we hope it will be successful.”
Projects will compete for co-production awards worth more than $60,000, to be awarded by Al Jazeera Documentary and Al Jazeera Balkans, as well as several other partners.
Ten projects will be presented in the Main Pitch category.
- Blueberry Dreams by Elene Mikaberidze. Production: Parachute Films. Production country: Georgia. Co-production Countries: France, Belgium. Production stage: In production
- Theft of Fire by Amer Shomali. Production: Rashid Abdelhamid – Made in Palestine Project. Production Country: Palestine. Co-production Country: Canada. Production stage: Development
- Harvest Moon by Rama Ayasra. Production: Independent producers. Production country: Jordan. Production stage: Late production
- Flowers of Ukraine by Adelina Borets. Production: Gogol Film, Koskino. Production country: Poland. Co-production country: Ukraine. Production stage: In production
- Last Letters from my Grandma by Olga Lucovnicova. Production: While We’re Here. Production country: Belgium. Co-production countries: Germany, Netherlands, Moldova. Production stage: Development
- Him, Too! By Elahe Esmaili. Production: Jumping Ibex. Production country: Iran. Co-production country: UK. Production stage: Late production
- The Last Nomads by Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić. Production: Wake Up Films. Production country: Serbia, France. Co-production countries: Montenegro, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia. Production stage: Development
- Cinema Under Siege by Srđan Šarenac. Production: Novi Film. Production country: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Co-production country: Croatia, Serbia. Production stage: Development
- The Owl’s Luck by Omar A Rashed. Production: Flink Studios. Production country: Egypt. Co-production country: United States. Production stage: Pre-production
- Sorry To Be There! by Aissa Djouamaa. Production: Nouvelle Vague Algérienne. Production country: Algeria. Co-production country: Belgium, USA Production stage: Development
- Little Red Riding Hood by Parvana Rahimova. Production: Cinex Productions. Production country: Azerbaijan. Production stage: Development (not competing for awards)
- A Woman’s Path by Marjan Khosravi. Production: Seven Springs Pictures & Lukimedia. Production country: Iran. Co-production country: Spain. Production stage: In production (not competing for awards)
Eleven projects will be presented during in the Work-in-Progress program.
- Abastumani by Mariam Chachia, Nik Voigt. Production: OpyoDoc. Production country: Georgia. Production stage: Post-production
- Do You Love Me? By Lana Daher. Production: Wood Water Films. Production country: Lebanon. Co-production country: Germany. Production stage: In production
- Shaman vs Putin by Beata Bubenec, Mikhail Bashkirov. Production: Les Steppes Productions. Production country: France. Co-production country: USA. Production stage: Post-production
- Friday at the Window by Atieh Zare. Production: Associate Directors. Production countries: Iran, Belgium. Co-production country: Norway. Production stage: Post-production
- Land of Sar by Petra Seliškar. Production: Cinephage, Petra Pan Film. Production country: North Macedonia. Co-production countries: France, Slovenia. Production stage: Late production
- Proud, Suspended and Obstinate by Mohamed Akram Nemmassi. Production: Bingo Films. Production country: Morocco. Production stage: Development
- Company of Steel by Yuliia Hontaruk. Production: Babylon`13, VFS Films. Production country: Ukraine. Co-production country: Latvia. Production stage: Postproduction
- Flotation by Eluned Zoë Aiano, Alesandra Tatić. Production: Wild Pear Arts, Servia Film. Production country: Serbia. Production stage: Post-production
- Mother and Child by Eliane Raheb, Cynthia Choucair. Production: Road2Films. Production country: Lebanon. Production stage: Development
- Women of My Life by Zahraa Ghandour. Production: KARADA Films. Production country: Iraq. Co-production countries: Switzerland, Sweden. Production stage: Development
- Let’s Play Soldiers by Mariam Al-Dhubhani, Mohammed Al-Jaberi. Production: MEEM SQUARE FILMS LLC. Production country: USA. Production stage: In production (not competing for awards)
The final day of the Industry Days will feature Balkan Stars, a platform where seven projects will be presented.
- Jablan by Jelena Bosanac, Tanja Brzaković. Production: Public film. Production country: Serbia. Production stage: In production
- Marathon Runner by Aleksandar Reljić. Production: Core Dox. Production country: Serbia. Production stage: Pre-production
- Assassination of Hakija Turajlić by Mirza Pašić. Production: MPSC Production. Production country: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Production stage: Pre-production
- Hvar League by Emina Kujundžić. Production: Studio Switch. Production country: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Production stage: Development
- The Sun Doesn’t Shine On All Sides by Gligor Kondovski. Production: Revolution Production. Production country: North Macedonia. Co-production country: Australia. Production stage: Post-production
- The Teacher, Piano and Mountain by Valentina Delić. Production: Document. Production country: Serbia. Production stage: Pre-production
- Woman of God by Maja Prettner, Iza Strehar, Boštjan Virc. Production: Studio Virc. Production country: Slovenia. Production stage: Post-production
