Nick Cunningham

The 5th Impact Days of the FIFDH human rights fest opened with an address by Industry Head Laura Longobardi who welcomed guests to “the annual gathering of all those who believe that storytelling can play an essential role in advancing positive values such as human and civil rights, social and environment justice and peacekeeping, right here at the very heart of Geneva, the city of multilateralism, of peace, and, of course, of human rights.”

Daniel Roher’s documentary about Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and outspoken critic of Putin, garnered the Best Documentary Feature at the Oscar ceremony held March 12 2023. The Netflix film The Elephant Whisperers, about an Indian couple’s relationship with a baby elephant, received the nod for Best Short Doc.

Under the Sky of Damascus by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh wins the International Competition Golden Alexander (€12,000), securing its place in the selection shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. The Silver Alexander, accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize is awarded to Who I Am Not by Tünde Skovrán. All competition awards…

On March 9 the 25th Thessaloniki Doc Fest bestowed an honorary Golden Alexander upon the revered filmmaker for his entire body of work. "I would like to thank all of you who are present in this room and honour us, as well as the people who participated in the films and illuminated them with their presence. I want to thank the collaborators and contributors of the films, each of whom added their work and talent to what you see," Psillakis said.

The Party Film Sales also announced March 9 international sales on Orlando, My Political Biography to UK & Ireland, Spain, Italy, Poland and Portugal. The film premiered in the Berlinale Encounters Section and won 4 awards including: Teddy Award for Best Documentary, Special Jury Mention in Encounters, Special Jury Mention for Best Documentary and the independent award, Tagspiegel Readers Award.

The Swiss fest has unveiled the project selections for VdR-Industry, namely VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress and VdR-Rough Cut Lab. Aimed at filmmakers and producers, the VdR-Industry platform is “a springboard for audiovisual creation, offering support at every stage of production, concrete financing and distribution opportunities, as well as an inspiring and productive networking hub for the industry.”

The Agora market of the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival handed out its professional awards March 9. This year’s attracted more than 400 international visitors. The top Greek award (the Onassis Film Award) went to Angeliki Aristomenopoulou for her project Holy Human Angel. The Forum Pitch Award was won by Alaa Dajani’s The Native Dance. Top Doc in Progress prize went to Post Love by Alexis Taillant.

The feature doc The Ghost of Richard Harris, directed by Adrian Sibley, has garnered multiple award noms across the UK and Ireland following its New York Craicfest Premiere. The film focuses on the Irish actor, poet and singer whose prodigious career was overshadowed by a reputation for drinking and riotous behaviour, earning him the epithet ‘hell raiser.’

Between March 12-14, Impact Days, the industry programme of FIFDH (International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights) will look to facilitate strategic collaborations between filmmakers and NGOs/governmental organisations, all of whom believe in the power of doc to effect radical change, whether in terms of policy or across society in general. Impact Days chief Laura Longobardi explains her programme’s mission to BDE.

Austrian film director Nikolaus Geyrhalter was awarded an honorary Golden Alexander by the 25th Thessaloniki Doc Fest before the March 7 screening of his new film Matter Out of Place. “I accept this award on behalf of all the people who have accompanied me during these years of my career, all those who have worked with me, and for all the people who have agreed to share their stories with me,” Geyrhalter said.