Nick Cunningham

In recent years Nijsmans has been project manager for the international promotion of documentaries, short films and immersive productions. He was also involved in the organisation of CONNEXT, the annual film and series showcase event. He takes up the role April 17 and replaces Christian de Schutter whose departure from Flanders Image was announced in December 2023. Flanders Image is the audiovisual export agency for Flanders and Brussels, Belgium.

In her feature doc, which receives its Swiss prem at VdR, Dutch director Saskia Gubbels observes, at first hand, how change is effected within the Amsterdam Fire Department towards wider gender and ethnic inclusivity. The central character, commander Gerrie, puts up little objection to his every move, nor those of his team, being followed, but he certainly wasn't going to change behaviour for the camera, says director Gubbels.

A doc as a western. A western as a doc. Who could ask for more? In his debut feature Alexis Franco tells a story of elemental forces and extreme opposites. Desert and water. Childhood and old age. Wind and fire. Life and death. All set against the vast backdrop of the Argentinian Pampas, and populated by the director’s own gaucho family. Franco talks to Business Doc Europe about life in the big country.

The Docs&Pearls Official Section, featuring 15 films, also addresses other contemporary debates such as the dangers of the digital world and the empowerment of women. “This year's Docs will be full of discoveries and doors that open to invite us to walk along paths not yet explored, full of questions and tools to unlearn and relearn different ways of thinking and being in the world," comments Artistic Director, Anna Petrus.

The Main Competition of the 21st edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity comprises 12 films from around the world directed by a total of 10 female and 9 male directors. The films will compete for six awards across six festival cities, including the Grand Prix - Millennium Bank Award. The Polish fest also revealed the Jury members: Anna Hints, Murtada Elfadl and Lauren Greenfield. The upcoming MDAG runs 10–19 May in cinemas and 21 May to 3 June online.

On April 15 Visions du Réel awarded the 2024 Prix d’honneur to Chinese director Jia Zhang-Ke. French filmmaker Claire Denis, Guest of Honour at the Festival in 2020, paid tribute to him while the prize itself was awarded by Carlo Chatrian, International Feature Film Competition Jury member and former Artistic Director of the Berlinale.

Swiss Films’ Doc topper Charlotte Ducos discusses the six projects nearing completion that have been selected for the SWISS FILMS Previews showcase of April 17. Most of the projects are just about ready to be launched onto the festival circuit. “I think we have a great diversity of storytelling and of background and among the six projects we have three women directors and three women producers. That's important for us,” Ducos underlines to Business Doc Europe.

Each year, Cannes Docs partners with a number of institutions and organizations from different parts of the world to showcase curated selections of docs-in-progress at finalization stage, aiming to hit the circuit within a few weeks or months. These showcases of docs-in-progress are primarily designed for decision makers looking for fresh new titles, in particular festival programmers and sales agents.

In Anas Zawahri’s feature doc debut, world-premiering April 16 in Nyon, residents of the shattered city of Homs (Syria) talk about their recent past that delivered little other than devastation within their lives and surroundings. “The film explores the idea of disclosure as a way to confront repressed emotions and heal from internal wounds that have not yet healed,” explains director Zawahri.

In Maria Stoianova’s feature doc debut she revisits the Ukraine of her childhood, as well as the world beyond, courtesy of the films that her father, a champion ice skater, shot on his video camera between 1986 and 1994. “I was selecting material for the film, hoping to understand our path from point A to point B. After 2022, it became clear that we were all already at point C, and this, of course, also influenced some of my choices,” she says of her film that world premieres April 13.