Nick Cunningham

The Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival (DocsBarcelona) has opened the call for submissions to its 28th edition, to be held from May 8 to 18, 2025. The call will remain open until Friday, November 15, and consists of two deadlines: Early Bird: from September 16 to November 1. Regular Entry: November 2 to November 15.

The Whickers 2024 'Cost of Docs survey of documentary makers' launched at AJD Industry Sept 16 in partnership with Al Jazeera Documentary channel. “This is such an important benchmark tool for our industry and the results will help many lobby for more funding for documentary,” said The Whickers’ Jane Mote. “We are so pleased that Al Jazeera Doc Channel and AJB DOC have agreed to create an Arabic version, and we hope this will help to ensure the diversity of documentary makers responding to the survey.”

In the absence of filmmaker Morteza Atabaki, DOP Zeynep Secil delivered a hilarious pitch for the Turkish documentary 32 Meters, about the indomitable Halime who organises a women-only shooting competition in a remote village in the south of her country. Moderator Rudy Buttignol summed it up: “First of all, it shows never to mess with a woman with a gun, but it also illustrates my mantra that no documentary ever suffered because it was too funny.”

In Mila Turajlić’s new project, the firebrand Elaine Mokhtefi, now in her mid-90s, revisits her days of radical activism within the Third World. “Elaine has now become an interpreter of the past for many young activists,” said Turajlić. “As she is confronted with their questions about the way things fall apart, we see an interrogation between generations in the search to understand what's left of the ideals of revolution, militancy and solidarity.”

Swedish-based Palestinian filmmaker Wafa Jamil spoke to Business Doc Europe after her emotional pitch for The Other Gaza, in which she articulates her cherished dream - to show her 8-year-old daughter the other Gaza, the fairyland that she left almost 30 years ago. “For me home is the essence of orange blossom and the taste of summer water melon, which became the symbol of Palestine,” she recalls.

Croatian director Filip Filković Philatz and German producer Tamara Babun (Wolfgang & Dolly) pitched their doc project K67, about the iconic work kiosks that populated much of the former Yugoslavia before the Balkans War. In the film Filković and the kiosk designer Saša Mächtig will go on a whistle stop tour to visit the locations where the objects still stand. “I think that we're going to be a lovely couple in the film, like the professor and his student,” the director told the Industry audience in Sarajevo.

“Jodari Meno presents a compelling investment opportunity by combining a universally relatable narrative of perseverance and self-discovery with visually stunning and emotionally resonant storytelling,” producer Cindy le Templier told BDE ahead of her September 15 presentation of debutant Jamal Al Khanji’s story of a passionate spearfisher and his relentless quest to capture the biggest ever dogtooth tuna.

The seventh AJB DOC opened September 13 with a screening of Where the Olive Trees Weep by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, about life under Israeli occupation. Over the coming days, the audience will have a chance to watch 23 docs presented across five programme sections: Competition, AJB Screening, Last Minute Cinema, SmartDoc, and Special Screening.

The Finnish Weird (F-Weird) programme of FFA, which runs 25-27 September, is described as “a playground for your wildest ideas and a party for your extravagant thoughts.” The two doc projects (out of an overall selection of twenty) are the Indian/Czech ‘Death. Karma. Moksha.’ by Roy Dipankar, and the Finnish ‘Postpartum – Are You Ready for the Challenge’ by Milla Puolakanaho.

In 2012, Georgia’s ruling ENM party ran a toothless election campaign – quite literally. In parts of the country voters were enticed into having all their rotten teeth removed, to be replaced with shiny new dentures after the election. The problem was that the ENM party lost, and the incoming Georgian Dream party saw no need to fulfil the promise. Director Luka Beradze chews over questions on his film, as posed by BDE.