Davide Abbatescianni

The talk Collective Action, Collective Power, presented in partnership with Documentary Campus and held as part of this year’s CPH:DOX Conference on 25 March, brought together a distinguished group of panellists to discuss the potential of collective organising in reshaping the documentary ecosystem. “There’s an audience out there tired of being spoon-fed by algorithms. They want engaging, meaningful content—they just can’t find it,” said former Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam.

UK production outfit Hopscotch Films returned to CPH:DOX Forum with Story of Documentary Film, the latest epic by revered filmmaker Mark Cousins. Following on from their collaborations on The Story of Film: An Odyssey and Women Make Film, this new 16x60-minute series sets out to tell the definitive story of non-fiction cinema—"boldly feminist, jargon-free, and truly global in scope."

At this year’s CPH:DOX Forum, Norwegian auteur Margreth Olin (Songs of Earth, The Self Portrait, Doing Good) unveiled details of her latest non-fiction venture. Known for her lyrical storytelling and focus on human rights and environmental consciousness, Olin is now turning her lens toward a different kind of subject: the horse - not as a servant to human needs, but as a sentient, autonomous being.

At this year’s CPH:DOX Rough Cut session director Pieter-Jan De Pue unveiled a deeply personal and visually arresting project that has been nearly a decade in the making. Four Brothers [working title], a powerful 120-minute documentary, tells the story of four orphaned siblings growing up in war-ravaged Eastern Ukraine. “This story intrigued me from the moment I heard about families torn apart by war, and that of two brothers fighting on opposite sides of the conflict,” the helmer said.

A powerful environmental and family documentary set in the rugged highlands of Montenegro, The Last Nomads by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić was presented as part of the Rough Cut sessions held at CPH:DOX 2025, marking the final production push ahead of its eventual premiere. “We joined the local people in defending their land, life, and identity,” said co-director Glomazić. “This is the story I’ve dreamt of telling since my childhood.”

At this year’s CPH:DOX Rough Cut presentations, Czech filmmaker Barbora Chalupová and producer Pavla Klimešová unveiled their latest documentary, Virtual Girlfriends, a compelling exploration of online intimacy and the monetisation of virtual relationships. The project delves into the world of OnlyFans, offering “a deep dive” into the world of virtual relationships. “Barbora is a deeply sensitive director, and our aim is to present a nuanced, observational exploration of this world,” said Klimešová.

Boris Despodov’s feature The Sinner, presented at this year’s CPH:DOX Rough Cut sessions, offers a deeply polarising, character-driven portrait of Petar Nizamov, a former Bulgarian boxer turned ultra-conservative vigilante. “It’s a character-driven film, but also a creative documentary…and it shows how political events can shape not just a person, but society as a whole,” the director told the Copenhagen gathering.

During the CPH:DOX Rough Cut session, directors Jacob Tschernia and Tomer Slutzky took to the stage to present The Alarmist, a gripping political documentary six years in the making. The Danish-US co-production traces the extraordinary political journey of Stav Shaffir, the youngest woman ever elected to the Israeli Parliament, against the backdrop of Israel’s democratic unravelling and the dramatic collapse of its political left. Screen Scotland’s Head of Unscripted Dani Carlaw moderated the presentation.

At Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2025, Business Doc Europe caught up with AJB DOC FF Executive Producer Nejra Kozarić, and Djani Hasečić, member of both the AJB DOC festival board and programming committee. “It’s one of the key stops in our festival circuit,” Hasečić reflected on their presence at the leading Greek docfest, “providing us with direct access to compelling stories and talented filmmakers who align with our editorial vision.”

Ventura Durall’s latest documentary Supernatural, premiering in the International Competition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, delves into the complex relationship between science and magic through the lens of a father-son dynamic. A co-production between Spain, France, and Belgium, Supernatural is being sold by Taskovski Films.