Nick Cunningham

In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. The filmmakers discuss their Sundance-winning film Sugarcane.

The lab, running October 17-21 in Sitges, Spain, will focus on the art of pitching, innovative storytelling, and impact distribution. "Making impactful creative films, being successful, changing the world—all of this starts with you,” comments producer and Head Tutor Irena Taskovski. “Our labs combine industry know-how with mindfulness practices and conscious leadership training to empower filmmakers to lead with purpose and creativity.”

The 9th Verzió DocLab (Nov 5-9) is a 5-day intensive editing workshop for directors and editors, organised during the 21st Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Budapest running November 6-13, 2024. Deadline: September 9. The 3rd Verzió Documentary Film Critics Workshop (also Nov 5-9) has an earlier submission deadline of August 1.

The call for projects for the Rome-based Doc Co-Production Market will close July 8, 2024 (5 PM CET). The market accepts submissions across all genres and formats, at different stages of development (not yet in post-production). The projects must be suitable for international co-production, and aimed at representing “independent and diverse voices and perspectives.” The next edition of MIA runs October 14 to 18.

As Swedish artist Victoria Verseau examines her life more than a decade after the transition surgery she underwent in 2012, she also attempts to process the fragmented memories she has of her friend Meril who underwent similar surgery at the same time, but who died three years later. Verseau additionally follows Athena and Aamina, who are on their own journeys towards transition. “It’s a movie made by and about trans people, aiming for an honest portrayal of our lives,” says Verseau.

Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) will examine the theme of ‘Justice?’ during its 7th edition, to be held 13-17 September 2024 in Sarajevo. “Art is tasked with dealing with issues of wider significance, sometimes painful, forbidden, ignored or marginalized, but too important to be quiet about. Our task is to give voice to those who have been denied it, and the festival theme of ‘Justice?’ speaks about and examines precisely that,” write AJB DOC organisers.

Over four days, the La Rochelle market hosted 2100 participants from 68 countries, over 1000 companies, 90 exhibitors, and 250 international decision-makers including major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, distributors, financiers, and museums from across the world. Award Winners from seven pitch sessions were announced plus numerous other cash and in-kind prizes.

The Czech doc fest reminds the international doc sector of its June 30 deadline, and unveils this year’s visual concept, that of islands, as authored again by the award-winning book graphic designer and illustrator Juraj Horváth. Ji.hlava will also present a major retrospective of directors Vit Klusák and Filip Remunda and their leading Czech production company Hypermarket Film. More news…

The award-winning documentary filmmaker Nicole Horanyi will head Zentropa’s new film initiative Zentropa Documentary, which aims to develop and produce documentary content in all formats, the company announced June 24. “I will collaborate with directors who dare to take a stand, push the boundaries of the genre, and tell stories with great originality,” she comments.

CIRCLE, the training programme and “safe space” for women and gender expansive filmmakers, has unveiled its cohort for the seventh edition of its flagship programme Women Doc Accelerator. Ten filmmakers and their projects have been chosen from 117 submissions by the selection committee of writer and producer Suzy Gillet, programmer and project manager Babette Dieu, producer Kesmat El Sayed, film scholar Jelena Mišeljić, and director/producer Rok Biček.