Nick Cunningham

CPH:DOX reveals the full programme of its Inter:Active exhibition running March 25 to April 3, 2022 that will showcase a curated selection of ten new projects. “This collection takes us on a deep dive into themes of violence and identity in society and the human influence on nature, giving audiences an embodied experience of some of today’s most pressing issues,” says Mark Atkin, exhibition curator and CPH:LAB Head of Studies.

Agora Docs, the industry arm of the 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, is set to run in-person March 11-19 with 250+ documentary toppers in attendance. Programme head Yianna Sarri fills in BDE on the event’s USPs, which include a market of 350 titles, a pitching forum, a works-in-progress session, a lab workshop and a focus on new Georgian talent, with overall emphasis placed on Mediterranean, Balkan and, of course, Greek documentary.

The 23 films, 9 of which will be presented as world or international premieres, “mark the cinematographic year and reveal the landscape of contemporary non-fiction filmmaking,” says the festival. VdR expresses its support for Ukrainian artists and filmmakers and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian invasion. At the same time it underlines “its support for Russian artists and citizens who are currently expressing their resistance,” says the festival.

Initial highlights include a six-film homage to Heidi Specogna, and the new Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Award (valued at €2000). The festival also reveals the 8 nominees for the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022, worth €5000. The festival is set to run May 4-15 in Munich cinemas, 9-22 May within German homes.

Telling the story of the 2020 assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Daniel Roher’s doc opens the Movies that Matter Festival Friday 8 April. Earlier this year, 'Navalny' won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Movies that Matter 2022 will run April 8 - 16 April in the Dutch city of The Hague, online and in cities across the country.

International Echoes of the 25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will kick off March 8 in New York. Also, running March 7-12 is a special online event to support Ukraine. The selection, presented on DAFilms.com includes My Unknown Soldier by Ukrainian director Anna Kryvenko, Foundation Pit by Russian director Andrey Gryazev, and My Granny from Mars by Belarussian director Alexandr Mihalkovich.

For the second year running Ben Proudfoot is in the frame for Best Short Documentary Oscar following his nomination for The Queen of Basketball, about pioneering women’s basketball player Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the first female to score a basket in the Olympic Games, and one of the only women to be drafted into the NBA. The director talks hoop dreams with Business Doc Europe.

The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk has set up a special 'Emergency Fund for Filmmakers’ who are suffering danger as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Over past days, significant financial contributions have been pledged by Germany’s key national and regional film funding bodies (€100K), with other contributions coming from French multimedia author society LaScam* and individual donors.  

Ukrainian filmmakers, who remain in a country under bombardment from Russian artillery, continue to articulate their desire for a boycott of Russian cinema. “Do you want to stop Russian aggression? You should stop its culture from influencing your minds,” says Darya Bassel, head of Industry at Docudays. The following statements were co-ordinated and forwarded by Ukrainian Denis Ivanov, who produced Sergei Loznitsa’s Donbass and Oleg Sentsov’s Rhino.

Filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was unlawfully imprisoned in Russia for five years following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, released a statement March 3 directed to the international film community which asks for support for a boycott of “Russian cinematography in all [its] dimensions… as requested by the Ukrainian Film Academy.”