Davide Abbatescianni

The Iceland Doc Film Festival, aka IceDocs, kicks off its fifth edition July 19. Located in the village of Akranes and running through July 23, the festival opens with a screening of Bogna Kowalczyk’s Boylesque. “We are always learning and like to bring in people that can expose us to new things or ways of thinking about creation and documentary filmmaking,” co-founder Ingibjörg Halldórsdóttir tells BDE of the festival’s international outlook.

During Sunny Side of the Doc 2023, Business Doc Europe caught up with Kathryn Bonnici, Head of Acquisitions and Development of Paris-based sales agent Java Films. Founded in 2005 by Roch Bozino, Java Films rapidly established itself as one of Europe’s leading independent distributors, handling both pre-sales and distribution for documentaries.

At Sunny Side of the Doc 2023, BDE caught up with Catherine Le Clef, CEO and Head of Acquisitions and Sales of Paris-based sales agent CAT&Docs. The Paris-based sales doyenne emphasised how “rigour, respect, curiosity, diversity and innovation” underline the company’s editorial policy and commitment “to meet the demands of national and international markets.”

At Sheffield 2023 Business Doc Europe sat down with Kim Christiansen of DR Sales. DR Sales is the international sales department of the Danish public broadcaster and one of the leading Nordic distributors of high-end audiovisual productions – in particular, the team focuses on award-winning documentaries, drama series and children’s content.

At Sheffield 2023 Business Doc Europe spoke with Irena Taskovski, CEO and founder of Taskovski Films, a production and sales outfit based in London and currently celebrating its 20th year of activity. The company CEO described her journey so far, and shared insights into her current editorial policy and approach to the business of doc.

How can the film industry – and in particular documentary makers – move beyond empathy? How can they fight their prejudices and deal with their emotions? How fresh (or outdated) is the concept of impact? These were some of the questions tackled during Mehret Mandefro’s Cannes Docs keynote speech on Doc Day, May 23.

On May 23, the Plage du CNC hosted the Cannes Docs talk ‘Cinema and the Pleasures of the Impossible.’ The event, moderated by writer-director and producer Guetty Felin, saw the participation of director and DOP Kirsten Johnson, President of the 2023 OEil d’or Jury. BDE reports.

Mirjam Wiekenkamp of Amsterdam-based Noise Film and TV talked to the Cannes Docs professional audience May 22 about the business of repping European docs, as well as the complex work performed by publicists across both old and new media.

Cannes Docs hosted a panel May 21 titled ‘The (market) value of creative documentaries.’ The talk was moderated by Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) co-director Brigid O’Shea, and saw the participation of Visions du Réel’s artistic director Emilie Bujès, the Museum Of The Moving Image’s Associate Curator of Film Edo Choi, and Grasshopper Film’s founder Ryan Krivoshey.

On May 20, Cannes Docs hosts a special Italian showcase focused on four Italian works-in-progress at advanced post-production. The initiative was organised by Cinecittà on behalf of the Directorate General of Italy’s Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with Doc/it, who tells how the projects are characterised by a strong international appeal for both festivals and theatres and are “ready to meet the expectations of the market.”