Nick Cunningham

The Amsterdam-based fund is now accepting submissions for IBF Classic, the grant program that supports doc projects in development or (post-)production, with funding of up to €7,500 and €25,000 respectively per project, in addition to tailored support from the Filmmaker Support department. The deadline is June 10 2023.

The purpose of the award, valued at €20,000, is to provide support in the development of a comprehensive impact campaign for a project at post-production phase participating as a CineLink Work-in-Progress or in the Docu Rough Cut Boutique programme. The award is made in association with Think-Film Impact Production. Industry Days, the professional arm of the Sarajevo Film Festival, will run August 13-18.

The leading UK docfest invites audiences and professionals alike to “spark [their] curiosity” for documentary from June 14 to 19. The film programme includes 37 World Premieres, 20 International Premieres, 10 European Premieres, 47 UK Premieres and 8 retrospective films - all from 52 countries of production. The fest opens with the world premiere of Paul Sng’s Tish.

Cannes Classic docs on the Croisette in 2023 include works on the late Jean-Luc Godard, the Rassam-Berri dynasty, Liv Ullmann and filmmakers discussing the future of cinema, a la Wim Wenders’ Room 666 (1982). Other subjects getting the doc treatment, as announced May 5, are Agnès Varda, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Anita Pallenberg, Michael Douglas and Warner Bros, as the studio celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.

As doors opened May 3 on the 38th DOK.fest Munich, Deputy Festival Director Adele Kohout outlined to Business Doc Europe the raison d’être behind Germany’s biggest doc event. “We see ourselves as a relevant platform for mediation, participation and exchange between audiences and the creative industry, and thus also as ambassadors for documentary film,” she said.

Sales company Split Screen has acquired world rights for Planet B, the third feature by filmmaker and climate activist Pieter Van Eecke, which celebrated its world premiere at Visions du Réel. The film is produced by Hanne Phlypo for Belgian production outlet Clin d'oeil films in co-production with Katja Draaijer and Frank Hoeve for BALDR Film (the Netherlands), broadcaster VRT and Shelter Prod.

A gently sympathetic and generous portrait of a young Lithuanian woman meandering through life as she looks for a sense of direction, Elena Kairyte’s modestly staged film Roberta is easy to watch though never becomes revelatory, and at times lacks dynamism, relying instead on the main character’s warm-hearted nature and sense of optimism.

The Irish documentary Vicky tells a tale of bravery and determination in the face of gross negligence within the Irish health system. Back in 2011, Vicky Phelan was given the all-clear after a smear test, just like hundreds of other women. But many of these results were wrong, despite incontestable evidence of pre-cancerous cells or abnormalities, ultimately leading to many deaths. Director Sasha King discusses her film with BDE.

Parts 1 and 6 of Mettler’s 7-part feature series were presented at Visions du Réel 2023. The Burning Lights Competition was won by Knit's Island, shot entirely from inside a video game. The National Competition winner was Chagrin Valley. “It is…an honour and a pleasure that the Grand Prix will once again be awarded to a Swiss production, which – and this is already a certainty – will go down in the history of cinema.” said VdR Artistic Director Emilie Bujès. All winners…

Angeliki Vergou, Head of Agora at Thessaloniki Doc Fest; French producer Karim Aitouna, and Brazilian Fernanda Lomba, EP at Mundi Filmes and co-founder of Nicho 54, will deliberate over 32 docs-in-progress, presented across 8 showcases May 19-22 during Cannes Docs, the dedicated documentary programme of the Cannes Market. The Awards Ceremony is scheduled for ‘Doc Day’ on May 23.