Davide Abbatescianni
IDFA slate interview: Estelle De Araujo of The Party Film Sales
Paris-based The Party Film Sales is specialised in repping both fiction and documentary films worldwide. “We’re proud to present almost all our main documentaries of the year, among which some are still in the race for Academy Awards,” the firm’s co-head of International Sales Estelle De Araujo told Business Doc Europe at IDFA 2023.
IDFA Luminous interview: Amor by Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Italian producer Edoardo Fracchia explains his collaboration with Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri on her dynamic debut feature doc Amor. “We had a deal: to find a compromise between her experimental, short-orientated mode of filmmaking and my experience on working on more popular, mainstream features. [The idea was] to create an intelligible project, which could attract financing but still be ambitious.”
IDFA International Comp interview: The Burden by Elvis Sabin Ngaibino
Elvis Sabin Ngaibino talks to Business Doc Europe about his new film, which concerns living with the stigma of AIDS within the Central African Republic. “The AIDS virus has wreaked too much havoc in Africa and it continues to do so. Among all the continents, Africa has paid the heaviest price. Therefore, I think it’s vital to present [this film] in my country and at African festivals,” Ngaibino explains.
IDFA slate interview: Kathryn Bonnici of Java Films
Kathryn Bonnici, Head of Acquisitions and Development at Paris-based sales agent Java Films, discussed the documentary slate she is presenting to buyers at IDFA. “We really focus on current affairs and geo-politic investigations and have developed long standing relationships with many leading producers specialising in these areas,” she told Business Doc Europe.
MIA 2023 panel: Theatrical Documentaries at the Box Office: New Films...
On 13 October, the final day of MIA 2023, MIA Head of Doc Marco Spagnoli moderated hosted a panel that revolved around the reception of theatrical documentaries at the Italian box office and their untapped potential. In 2022, theatrical documentaries generated €6.6 million in box office revenues and recorded 995,000 admissions, the professional audience heard.
MIA 2023 talk: Sarah Bernstein, Imagine Documentaries
This week Rome’s MIA market hosted a talk with award-winning producer and president of Imagine Documentaries, Sara Bernstein. The conversation, moderated by MIA Director Gaia Tridente, covered a number of topics including the exec’s illustrious career, Imagine’s latest slate of productions and global trends concerning non-fiction consumption.
MIA documentary series/feature: Hot Spot by Karin Kainer
The creative team behind Hot Spot were unable to attend MIA following the horrific outbreak of hostilities in Israel and Gaza and therefore pitched their coming-of-age project remotely. The project, produced by Tel Aviv-based Ananey Studio and set over the course of five years, comprises “an intimate coming-of-age journey featuring a remarkable group of international students, some from enemy nations.”
MIA doc feature pitch: Ilona by Chiara Salvo
Ilona is the story of the life of Cicciolina, the only porn star in the world – to date – who has gained a seat in a Parliament. The new biographic documentary, directed by Alessandro Galluzzi and produced by Chiara Salvo of Italian outfit Scarlet, “aims to “highlight the link between sex and politics, and the relationship of porn with the counterculture in the years of protest,” the filmmakers say.
MIA 2023 doc feature pitch: Price of History by Vardan Hovhannisyan
At MIA 2023, award winning Armenian producer and frontline filmmaker Vardan Hovhannisyan pitched his new doc about famed archaeologist Khaled Al-Asaad who was brutally murdered by ISIS in the historical site of Palmyra, after dedicating his life to preserving its ancient ruins. The creative team labels the doc as “a story of hope and rebirth in a war-torn land, where the spirit of Palmyra lives on.”
MIA docuseries pitch: Achille Lauro – The Terror Cruise by Raffaele...
At MIA 2023, the creative team behind Italian outfit B&B Film are pitching their new non-fiction project, titled Achille Lauro – The Terror Cruise. The docuseries explores “one of the most tragic operations of international terrorism,” through “the direct testimonies of the protagonists who lived through the hours of the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, and the subsequent Sigonella diplomatic crisis.”
