Nick Cunningham

Organized by the Institute of Documentary Film in cooperation with One World Film Festival, the East Doc Platform is the largest co-production, funding and distribution platform tailor-made for Central and Eastern European documentaries, and will take place at the French Institute in Prague, March 24-30.

The CEDOC Market, held during KFF Industry at the Krakow Film Festival, is now accepting submissions. Documentary producers from all around the world may apply. Every year the event selects around 25 projects. The event will take place in early June and the deadlines for submissions range from 17-31 March. The 63rd Krakow FF will be held in cinemas 28 May to 4 June, and online throughout Poland 2–18 June 2023.

As the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches, CPH:DOX has announced a wide programme to honour the Ukrainian fight for freedom and democracy in Europe, including a Special Eurimages Co-production Development Award at CPH:FORUM 2023 of €20,000 for a Ukrainian project, and strong emphases within CPH:CONFERENCE and the Programme Focus.

Before the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, five kids from Donbas were transported to the Himalayas, away from the conflict and the bombs and the ruins, and were briefly shown a glimpse of paradise. After they returned, full scale war broke out. “This film is about this last light of teenagers from this generation before the darkness swallows their dreams,” director Kovalenko tells BDE.

With 200 new films, 100+ world premieres. 61 titles across five international competitions, “CPH:DOX is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a powerful film programme full of artistic quality and contemporary relevance,” write organisers. An impressive roster of international guests includes Joan Baez, Oliver Stone, Nathan Fielder, Wim Wenders, Susan Matthews, José Gonzales and Jeremy Deller among many others.

The seventeen up-and-coming European documentary film producers were introduced to the Berlin Film Festival guests at an event hosted 17 February by the Ji.hlava IDFF, together with the European Film Market. The educational, promotional and networking EMERGING PRODUCERS programme is curated by Ji.hlava IDFF and includes workshops in Jihlava (October 2023) and Berlin (February 2024).

Daniel Roher’s feature documentary, about the investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, headed off strong competition from Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, Laura Poitras’ All The Beauty and the Bloodshed, Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love and Brett Morgen’s Bowie doc, Moonage Daydream.

The Ukrainian/German filmmaker team were making a feature documentary about the former US military base at Schweinfurt in mid-Germany when it was re-purposed in Spring 2022 to house displaced mothers and children who had fled the war in Ukraine. In their poignantly titled short doc, in equal part playful and melancholic, we see the world through the eyes of the children now living on the compound.

Five new doc projects have been selected for the 13th edition of Docu Rough Cut Boutique. Created by the Sarajevo Film Festival and Balkan Doc Center, the programme is organized in three working modules: Sofia (first week of April 2023), Budapest (June 2023) and Sarajevo (August 2023). “The selection process was one of the hardest in these last thirteen years of the program,” write organisers.

The Bulgarian journalist features in the Bafta/Oscar nominated Navalny. Grozev is lead Russia investigator for Bellingcat, and is credited with helping to expose the alleged plot to kill Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok. “I understand the need to keep the public safe,” Grozev tweeted Feb 17 of his alleged Bafta exclusion. “But moments like this show the growing dangers to independent journalists around the world.”