Davide Abbatescianni

CPH:DOX last week hosted a conversation on the craft of doc with two brilliant women filmmakers – Estonia’s Anna Hints, director of Smoke Sauna Sisterhood and Chile’s Maite Alberdi, director of The Eternal Memory, both Sundance-winning films. The talk, moderated by film journalist Wendy Mitchell, focused on these docs, in particular on their protagonists’ vulnerability, the directors’ sense of moral compass and some of their artistic and technical choices.

On March 20 CPH:DOX hosted a 90-minute conversation between Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning British director Asif Kapadia and Thom Powers, programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival, co-founder of DOC NYC and host of the Pure Non Fiction podcast. The event was part of the Morning with Filmmakers initiative organised by the festival.

FIFDH hosted the launch of the #JeSuisNoires global campaign on 14 March. Journalist-turned-filmmaker Rachel M’Bon explained how hers was the first Swiss film to give Black women a voice about the reality they live in. “When I decided to make this movie it was because I felt very concerned about the under-representation of Black women in media and the systemic racism in this country.”

This week Geneva-based FIFDH Impact Days presented a particularly poignant case study which revolved around the Ukrainian project Peace for Nina and which saw the participation of the project’s director and producer, Ukraine’s Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych, and Swiss-Albanian filmmaker Dea Gjinovici, who is also producing.

Geneva’s FIFDH Impact Days showcased a successful case study revolving around STEPS, a groundbreaking, 360-degree documentary project that aims to promote social change throughout Africa. “War, conflicts, deep inequality, forced displacement, the climate crisis… Never before have we such a responsibility as media creators and human rights activists,” said STEPS’ Don Edkins.

Healing from trauma is the main theme of Zaina Erhaim’s very intimate debut feature. “For the last seven years, I’ve been trying to suppress my memories and my traumas…Two years ago I decided to face it all, once and for all,” explained the helmer during her presentation. The creative documentary project is being produced by Brian Hill for London-based independent film and TV production outfit Century Films.

The Sacred Way was the famous road connecting Athens to Eleusis. Ancient Greeks used to walk this 21 km path to engage in body-cleansing and spirit-awakening, as part of the initiations known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. In her debut feature Nikoleta Paraschi embarks on her own pilgrimage visiting what today, at first glance, looks just like a busy highway, like many others.

A painful and deeply intimate father-daughter story is the main focus of Ksenia Ciuvaseva’s debut feature, pitched at this year’s Thessaloniki Docs in Progress. “The insight into my father’s life did make me understand him better, but there was still something I was struggling with and couldn’t find my peace with,” the director told the festival’s professional audience.

“Have you ever imagined Pippi Longstocking being old? Well, that’s Maomi,” said director Judit Oláh during the presentation of her doc feature Maomi – Larger Than Life, currently in late development and produced by Inez Matis for Pi Productions (Hungary), Annika Mayer for Majmun Films (Germany) and Anna Stylińska and Katarzyna Slesicka for My Way Studio (Poland).

20-year-old Constantina is the protagonist of Holy Human Angel, a new creative documentary feature directed by Athens-born Angeliki Aristomenopoulou (Citizen Europe) and presented at this year’s Thessaloniki Pitching Forum. The project, currently in development, is produced by Yuri Averof and Rea Apostolides for Anemon Productions (Greece), Vicky Miha for Asterisk* (Greece) and Heather Millard for Compass Films (Iceland).