Davide Abbatescianni

Produced by Maja Medić and Ena Bajraktarević for Serbian outfit Marienbad Films, Kafka in Belgrade is the working title of one of the feature docs in development pitched at this year’s Thessaloniki Agora. In it, director Maša Nešković unravels her past and that of her filmmaker stepfather, as they navigate together “the maze of memory and identity.”

Filmmaker Sergej Kreso and Doxy Films (NL) producer Harmen Jalvingh pitched their new feature-length doc project, Dark Blue River. Two industry veterans with over 20 years of experience in the non-fiction business, Kreso and Jalvingh had previously pitched Here We Move Here We Groove at the Greek gathering in 2017. In his latest effort, Kreso returns to a place very dear to him - namely the Neretva river, within the eastern part of the Adriatic basin.

BDE speaks to the makers of the French-Indian coming-of-age doc Until I Fly, which world-premieres at Thessaloniki 2024. Filmed over a number of years, the picture follows Veeru, a charismatic boy born to an Indian mother and a Nepalese father living in an intolerant Himalayan village. “Veeru saw me first as an old man, then he perceived me as a brother and then I sort of became his friend… Meanwhile, Kanishka became a sort of elder sister,” co-director Shetty tells of the directors’ close relationship with their subject.

Ahead of the 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Business Doc Europe chatted to Angeliki Vergou, Head of Agora. Agora is the gathering’s “developmental branch” unfolding both on site and virtually. The Greek industry event focuses on showcasing stories and filmmakers from the neighbouring region through a series of dedicated initiatives such as the Pitching Forum and the Docs in Progress section.

Between 1945 and 1975 hundreds of tuberculosis sufferers in an Athens hospital were buried in unmarked graves in the hospital grounds. After hearing of this discovery, Greek director Marianna Economou was determined to reconstruct many of their identities. “I felt I had to tell this story, there was no [other] way. These people were coming out of ‘oblivion’ after 80 years telling me, ‘here we are, make a film about our lives,’” she tells BDE.

It’s a special year for Italy, the Country in Focus at Berlinale 2024. Business Doc Europe reached out to Massimo Arvat, of Doc/it, Italy’s National Association of Docmakers, to discuss the non-fiction-related initiatives in place, the titles present in the official selection and most importantly, the current state of Italian documentary and Doc/it’s move towards greater internationalisation.

Business Doc Europe spoke to Irena Taskovski, CEO and founder of Taskovski Films, a sales and production outfit based in London and one of the leading players in the field of non-fiction. Ahead of the bustling days of the European Film Market (EFM), Taskovski zoomed in on her firm’s slate and shared valuable market insights.

BDE spoke to Stefan Kloos, veteran doc producer (Last Men in Aleppo, Holy Cow, Hi, A.I.) and head of Rise & Shine. Founded in 2007, the German sales agency has gradually emerged as one of the leading industry players marketing and selling high-quality documentary films to broadcasters and local distributors around the world. During our chat, Kloos zoomed in on the two main titles of his company’s line-up and shared his take on the current state of the non-fiction market.

On the eve of the 2024 European Film Market (EFM), Business Doc Europe caught up with Georg Gruber and Frauke Knappke of Berlin-based outfit Magnetfilm. During our conversation, we touched on Magnetfilm’s editorial policy, the current climate for doc sales and, of course, the company’s solid non-fiction slate, spearheaded by the Panorama-bound doc Teaches of Peaches.

Ahead of of this year’s European Film Market (EFM), Business Doc Europe spoke to Kathryn Bonnici, Head of Acquisitions and Development of Java Films. Founded in 2005 by the late Roch Bozino, the Paris-based sales agency rapidly established itself as one of Europe’s leading independent distributors, handling both pre-sales and distribution for documentaries. The firm sets sail to Berlin with a rich slate of completed films and projects in the works.