To express its support of and solidarity with the Ukrainian film industry, the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund will present a Special Eurimages Co-production Development Award at CPH:FORUM 2023. The cash prize of €20,000 will go to one of the Ukrainian projects in the Forum line-up. This is in addition to the long-standing Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000 for the best pitch, that will be awarded for the tenth year running.
Ukrainian productions and co-productions, eligible for both Eurimages awards, represent 12% of this year’s projects within CPH:FORUM, CPH:WIP and CHANGE, the development co-production training program presented in collaboration with IMS and EAVE, and featuring projects from the European Union’s Eastern Partnership countries.
“We see our festival as an agora that brings people together to have conversations around films, projects and the larger matters they represent and revolve around. At a time when democracy is questioned globally, the tenacious Ukrainian fight is a reminder that democracy rests on the courage to insist on equality, freedom and truth. That’s a message of hope, and a duty for all of us” says Niklas Engstrøm, Artistic Director of CPH:DOX.
Film and Democracy revisited at CPH:CONFERENCE 2023
Noting that “producing actual change requires more than packed screenings,” the final day of the CPH:CONFERENCE is dedicated to Film and Democracy. In this context, the programme will feature a number of Ukrainian filmmakers and initiatives, among them filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko, recently awarded for her voluntary military service on the eastern frontline, and the Ukraine War Archive project, established by the team of the documentary festival DocuDays UA, in cooperation with the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize awarded team of Centre for Civil Liberties. Read more about the Conference programme.
Programme focus: ‘Predicting the Past, Rewriting the Future’
The 20th anniversary of CPH:DOX, themed Predicting the Past, Rewriting the Future, “will reflect how crucial is the role that history plays in the major debates of our time – from post-colonialism, claims to representation and identity politics, to the resurgence of fascism, to Putin’s historical justifications for his invasion of Ukraine,” write organisers.
The European premiere of Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol – taking place on Thursday, March 16 in Bremen, one of Copenhagen’s biggest cinemas – will be accompanied by a panel debate between Red Cross Secretary General Anders Ladekarl and International Media Support Regional Director Gulnara Akhundova about the status of the emergency aid efforts and security risks in Ukraine right now. Read more about the Programme Focus.
About CPH:DOX 2023
Marking the 20th anniversary of the International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX, the 2023 edition will offer a programme of approximately 180 films by both established and emerging filmmakers as well as talks, debates, performances, exhibitions, parties and much more from 15-26 March 2023.
CPH:DOX industry events will include the financing and co-producton event CPH:FORUM, CPH:CONFERENCE and INTER:ACTIVE symposium. The industry programme runs under the banner “Business as Unusual” between March 19-24. Read more about the industry programme.
About CPH:FORUM
CPH:FORUM is an international financing and co-production event for creative documentaries and the flagship industry activity atCPH:DOX. Over the past years CPH:FORUM has presented new projects from high profile directors and artists that include Petra Costa (BR), Mads Brügger (DK), Guido Hendrikx (NL), Hubert Sauper (AT), Victor Kossakovsky (RU), Peter Meller (US), Sally Potter (UK), Yael Bartana (IL), Theo Anthony (US), Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (FR), Stephanie Spray (US), Tonje Hessen Schei (NO), Ben Rivers (UK), Roberto Minervini (IT), Ulrich Seidl (AT) and Crystal Moselle (US).
