AJB DOC 24

Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s emotionally-charged documentary follows the family of Norwegian photographer Maria Gros Vatne as they deal with the bitter new reality of her untimely death from cancer. Her friend’s passing hit Jacobsen very hard as well, at which point the director decided she “had to make something from [Vatne’s] universe,” she tells Business Doc Europe.

In Mila Turajlić’s new project, the firebrand Elaine Mokhtefi, now in her mid-90s, revisits her days of radical activism within the Third World. “Elaine has now become an interpreter of the past for many young activists,” said Turajlić. “As she is confronted with their questions about the way things fall apart, we see an interrogation between generations in the search to understand what's left of the ideals of revolution, militancy and solidarity.”

Even at the age of nine, Iranian Melina has already learned to deal with disillusionment and broken promises - she sees her mother much less than is promised; her father uses Melina's passport, which is in his possession, to exercise power. With great patience, respect and attentiveness, the filmmaker has made a very personal and relatable story of a universal phenomenon: the child who, between two bickering parents, has to fend for themselves.

Swedish-based Palestinian filmmaker Wafa Jamil spoke to Business Doc Europe after her emotional pitch for The Other Gaza, in which she articulates her cherished dream - to show her 8-year-old daughter the other Gaza, the fairyland that she left almost 30 years ago. “For me home is the essence of orange blossom and the taste of summer water melon, which became the symbol of Palestine,” she recalls.

Croatian director Filip Filković Philatz and German producer Tamara Babun (Wolfgang & Dolly) pitched their doc project K67, about the iconic work kiosks that populated much of the former Yugoslavia before the Balkans War. In the film Filković and the kiosk designer Saša Mächtig will go on a whistle stop tour to visit the locations where the objects still stand. “I think that we're going to be a lovely couple in the film, like the professor and his student,” the director told the Industry audience in Sarajevo.

“Jodari Meno presents a compelling investment opportunity by combining a universally relatable narrative of perseverance and self-discovery with visually stunning and emotionally resonant storytelling,” producer Cindy le Templier told BDE ahead of her September 15 presentation of debutant Jamal Al Khanji’s story of a passionate spearfisher and his relentless quest to capture the biggest ever dogtooth tuna.

The seventh AJB DOC opened September 13 with a screening of Where the Olive Trees Weep by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, about life under Israeli occupation. Over the coming days, the audience will have a chance to watch 23 docs presented across five programme sections: Competition, AJB Screening, Last Minute Cinema, SmartDoc, and Special Screening.

In 2012, Georgia’s ruling ENM party ran a toothless election campaign – quite literally. In parts of the country voters were enticed into having all their rotten teeth removed, to be replaced with shiny new dentures after the election. The problem was that the ENM party lost, and the incoming Georgian Dream party saw no need to fulfil the promise. Director Luka Beradze chews over questions on his film, as posed by BDE.

Pauline Blanchet discusses her new doc project, which pitches September 14 at AJB DOC, about a 14-year old female wrestler defying traditional gender norms and ethnic barriers in her isolated Albanian-Muslim community. “Audiences worldwide will connect with Sadije’s struggle to forge her own path in a world that has already defined her role. Her story speaks to anyone who has faced pressure to conform to societal norms, especially during teenagehood,” Blanchet tells Business Doc Europe.

Belgian producer Frederik Nicolai discusses his new project, which pitches September 14 at AJB DOC, that focuses on Baron Arthur, the leader of a once wealthy and powerful Romani community at the border between Moldova and Ukraine, who faces a dilemma as his community seems to fall apart. “The emancipatory struggle raging in the Roma community today is a story that is universally relevant,” Nikolai tells BDE. “It can inspire women from other communities worldwide to dare to pursue their own dreams and ambitions, and fuel vigilance in more progressive societies.”