Nick Cunningham

The Geneva Grand Prize was awarded to Edward Lovelace’s Name Me Lawand, a deeply moving narrative portraying the journey of a deaf Kurdish teenager in exile, while The Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize went to Mohamed Jabaly’s Life is Beautiful, a Palestinian film showcased during a dedicated event honouring those who portray the narratives of the Palestinian people through documentaries, photography and film.

Trapped in the freezing forest between Belarus and Poland, 16-year-old Kurdish refugee Runa must assume all family responsibilities for her father and brothers after the death of their mother. In her new hybrid doc, Polish Agnieszka Zwiefka follows Runa as she tries to create a new life for her family in Poland, in the process telling a story both terrifying and inspirational. “This is actually our obligation as documentary filmmakers. Who would we be if we didn't react to such a humanitarian crisis at our doorstep,” Zwiefka underlines to BDE.

“Our film is a love story featuring four deaf couples signing the stories of how they met, fell in love, and the joys of complexities of their relationships,” Irish producer Anne Heffernan told the audience of change-makers at FIFDH Impact Days. “Together, these cinematic love stories weave a tapestry of deaf experience over a 70-year period and we believe it will make people think differently about what it means to be Deaf in a hearing world."

The Long Rescue tells a desperate tale of abuse, but the focus is on recovery rather than trauma, survival rather than rescue. It’s a story of human trafficking in The Philippines. “Sexual violence can feel overwhelming, but we're here because we believe much can and must be done,” director Jennifer Huang told the Geneva audience. “We invite you to talk with us about how we can work together to support the journeys of these survivors in their recovery, discovery, and agency.”

Chile arrives at CPH:DOX 2024 where Oasis, the latest film from the MAFI collective, is in selection following its world bow in Berlin Forum. Additionally, the project Unwelcomed, Amilcar Films' debut doc, will be presented at CPH:WIP. “The presence of Chilean documentaries at events like CPH:DOX demonstrates the growing interest in the Nordic countries and worldwide in our country's creative industry,” says ProChile’s Catalin Butnariu.

New Head of Industry Mara Gourd-Mercado and MD Katrine Kiilgaard spoke to BDE about how CPH goes about the business of doc. This year the Forum presents a whopping 46 projects whose key criteria are artistic quality, relevance and marketability, they stress. “It's that kind of magic formula that ties it all together that we're looking for, something that will interest the industry, that will garner attention and that will potentially go and get those partners and get these projects made,” says Gourd-Mercado.

The professional market of the 27th DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival will run May 6-10. Projects are selected across the Public Pitch, Speed Meetings, Rough Cut and New Tech Pitch sections and participants within each section will present to a panel of international decision makers, funders and distributors. The DocsBarcelona festival runs May 2-12.

A total of 29 new projects have been selected to participate 14-17 April across Visions du Réel Industry’s four pitch events this year. 15 projects in development are selected for VdR–Pitching, and six projects in finishing stages will be presented at the VdR–Work In Progress pitch. Four projects have been selected within both the VdR–Rough Cut Lab and the VdR–Development Lab respectively.

A second StoryBoard Collective/Sunshine Cinema grant of 5,000 CHF was handed out March 12 at FIFDH to support future community screenings of the Kenyan doc The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. During the Geneva festival and market, producer Toni Kamau and Impact producer Elsie Ann Wambui Kariuki outlined their impact strategy for the film, which world-premiered at Sundance 2024.

On the isolated Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, men perform a very particular ritual. They play football together, and then they cry together. Helena de Castro’s debut doc feature will analyse this fascinating variation on the beautiful game. “If we let ourselves cry because of football, then let's use football to unleash all the [other] things we should cry about,” de Castro told the Geneva audience.