Nick Cunningham

‘A person who dies without a name is like a story without an ending,’ reads the logline for Pure Unknown, screening in AJB DOC Competition. The objective of Italian forensic pathologist Cristina Cattaneo, profiled in the film, is to make sure as many stories as possible do find an ending. “I completely fell in love with…her mission and her ethical approach to her work, to her life and to the lives of others,” co-director Mattia Colombo tells BDE.

Does the subject or ‘star’ of a documentary really know what they are signing up for before agreeing to have their story told? Will the experience be cathartic or will ongoing public exposure determine that the trauma they have hitherto suffered will continue, or even intensify. Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall’s new film, five years in the making, talks to the subjects of some the most celebrated documentaries of recent years who reflect on their experiences of being in front of the camera.

The sixth edition of the Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) will kick off September 8 in Sarajevo with the screening of the film Game: Second Level by Sajid Khan Nasiri, Eefje Blankevoort and Els Van Driel. The festival runs from September 8 to 12 and presents 24 films whose common theme is human rights. The second edition of Al Jazeera Documentary Industry Days @ AJB DOC will run Sept 9 to 11.

The Geneva-based FIFDH International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights will once again host Impact Days between 10-12 March 2024. “Documentaries have the power to motivate change! Now in its sixth year, Impact Days has helped hundreds of participants elevate and amplify the impact of their work,” write organisers. The deadline for submissions is October 6.

The next edition of VdR runs 12 to 21 April 2024 in Nyon, Switzerland. Organisers are looking for films for official selection and projects for VdR–Industry activities. Films in competition are screened as world, international or European premieres. The first deadline is November 6, the final deadline is December 20. The deadline for VdR–Development Lab is 31 October, 2023.

This year TIFF Docs presents 22 titles from 12 countries, 13 of which are world-premieres. The section opens September 7 with Copa 71 by Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, about the unofficial Women's World Cup tournament of over 50 years ago hitherto written out of history. TIFF Docs Lead Programmer Thom Powers discusses his programme rationale with BDE.

The second Al Jazeera Documentary Industry Days @ AJB DOC will be presented September 9 - 11 2023. “The initiative will not only support aspiring documentary filmmakers within the Arab world, it will also give them the opportunity to connect and network with decision-makers and leading professionals from around the world, which will reflect on the quality of doc films in the region,” says Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, Aljazeera Documentary Channel MD.

The sixth Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival is set to run September 8-12 in Sarajevo. With a theme of Rights[s], 24 films are selected, six of which are world premieres. At the same time, 22 new doc projects will be presented during Industry Days (Sept 9-11). “We found our time-frame and niche in the world of documentary films, and that is documentary films intended for television broadcast,” says festival director Edhem Fočo.

Celine Daemen is back in Venice with 'Songs for a Passerby', described as a VR opera about our tenuous relationship with the transitory nature of reality. “I have attempted to create an experience that investigates the connection between the physical and the metaphysical world,” director Daelen says of her new work. In 2022 she presented the VR 'Eurydice, a Descent into Infinity' at the Venice interactive sidebar.

Corine Meijers (Studio Biarritz) is on the Lido in 2023 with two projects at Venice Immersive. She is co-producer on Colombian-Belgian Juanita Onzaga’s Floating with Spirits, and lead producer of Steye Hallema’s The Imaginary Friend. As if this isn't enough, she has also been presenting Iris van der Meule’s Gay Simulator at Venice Production Bridge.