Davide Abbatescianni
EFM industry: Italian docs and docmakers in Berlin
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.
EFM Interview: Irena Taskovski of Taskovski Films
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.
EFM Interview: Stefan Kloos of Berlin-based Rise & Shine
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.
EFM Interview: Georg Gruber and Frauke Knappke of Magnetfilm
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.
EFM 2024 interview: Kathryn Bonnici, Java Films
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.
Industry interview: Andrea Prenghyová, founder of dok.incubator
Since its launch in 2010, dok.incubator’s core mission has been to transform good docs into exceptional docs. Run by a small team of six, the Prague-based programme consists of several rough-cut workshops aiming to strengthen the potential of promising non-fiction projects. “This mission is much more urgent now. As the space for creative documentaries gets narrower, I think we’ve to fight for our audience,” director Andrea Prenghyová tells BDE.
Laceno d’oro interview: Aldo Spiniello, Head of Programming
A few days ahead of Italy’s Laceno d’oro, Business Doc Europe caught up with Aldo Spiniello, the Avellino-based festival’s Head of Programming. The event, running this year from December 3-10, is one of Italy’s main winter festivals and has emerged over the years as an unmissable cinematic gathering screening fiction and non-fiction works tackling urgent socio-political themes.
Torino FF interview: Giulio Sangiorgio, Programmer
Ahead of this year’s Torino Film Festival (November 24-December 2), one of Italy’s largest cinematic gatherings, BDE caught up with festival programmer Giulio Sangiorgio to talk through the event’s raison d’être, this year’s rich selection of documentary features and the current state of non-fiction production in Italy. “We aimed to include films exploring boundaries with fiction, video art and experimental cinema. In other words, we pick films able to come up with new modes of filmmaking.”
IDFA 2023 Talk: Wang Bing in conversation with Orwa Nyrabia
The Guest of Honour this year was Chinese auteur Wang Bing. In Amsterdam the director was celebrated with a dedicated retrospective showcasing six of his films, including Youth (Spring), Man in Black and Mrs. Fang, a Top 10 programme and a one-on-one conversation with Orwa Nyrabia that zoomed in on his career and body of work.
IDFA slate interview: Massimo Arvat of Doc/It
Business Doc Europe spoke to Zenit producer Massimo Arvat, the delegate in charge of internationalization for Doc/It, the Italian association of doc filmmakers and producers made up of 170 members, and active since 1999. During our chat, Arvat touched on this year’s slate of projects, the main industry activities and the current state of the country’s non-fiction landscape.
