Nick Cunningham

Claudia Marschal’s feature documentary tells a story of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and of one man’s refusal to be silenced over the wrongs he had to suffer. It is also the story of a dad whose life is filled with regrets having not taken seriously his son’s pleas for help. At the heart of the film is a recorded deposition that victim/survivor Emmanuel Siess made to the French police. Director Claudia Marschal, Emmanuel’s cousin, talks to BDE.

Industry professionals can now register for the 67th DOK Leipzig (International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film). Accreditation grants exclusive access to the DOK Industry Programme activities and networking events, the festival film programme, masterclasses and talks. DOK Leipzig takes place 28 October to 3 November.

The International Factual Forum enables TV or digital content producers to present and promote their ideas for factual formats and programs to potential stakeholders at MIA (October 14-18 2024). Italians Doc It Better is an initiative aimed at presenting Italian documentaries in post-production, or documentaries completed but not yet released outside Italy.

Documentary films can be submitted from September 16 to November 15, and projects from Dec 10 to Jan 27 2025. The Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival will take place May 8 to 18 2025. The associated DocsBarcelona Industry (May 12-16) is a key meeting point for the professional non-fiction sector in Southern Europe.

The tenth edition of the Rome-based market will take place October 14-18 2024 and across the MIA Digital platform, offering five days of specific programs, featuring dedicated pitching forums, showcases, networking events, conferences, workshops and talks, “aimed at strengthening relationships among industry professionals and promoting new collaboration agreements,” organisers underline.

The DocLab Forum is open to non-fiction artworks, at all production and financing stages, that use emerging media to represent reality, including web experiences, multimedia journalism, digital art, games, audio experiences, immersive experiences (such as VR/AR/MR, social VR and full-dome films), physical installations, live performances, and immersive theatre. Presentations will be November 18 and 19 in Amsterdam.

“This year’s selection can be described as ‘fishing in the river of time,’” says programmer Rada Šešić. “This method, creatively applied in a large number of chosen films, offers a unique authorial perspective on the passage of time, whether through exceptional archival material or refined cinematic observation.” Two additional feature docs to play Out of Competition.

More than 100 new documentary projects were submitted by leading Nordic makers for the 31st Nordisk Panorama Forum for Co-financing of Documentaries. Between 23-24 September in Malmö, Sweden, twenty-four of these new doc projects and 22 observer+ projects will be pitched and presented to the (approx) 70 decision-makers in attendance. (Pic: 'A Face to be Loved' by Angelica Ruffier)

New docs by such heavyweights as Petra Costa, Amos Gitai, Asif Kapadia, Kevin Macdonald and Errol Morris play in the Out of Competition Non-fiction sidebar, while Wang Bing’s Youth - Homecoming gets the nod for Venezia 81 Competition. Orrizonti Competition hosts the feature docs Wishing On A Star by Péter Kerekes and Mistress Dispeller by Elizabeth Lo. A further nine docs on cinema are selected for Venice Classics.

The Canadian fest will present Elton John: Never Too Late by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish; Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band by Thom Zimny, and Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe by Cosima Spender. Josh Greenbaum’s Will & Harper, which bowed at Sundance 2024, receives its Canadian premiere. The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5 – 15, 2024.