CPH:DOX 2021

A magical exploration of the mushroom in scientific, practical, gastronomic and philosophical contexts, viewed as foodstuff, medicine, hallucogen or metaphor. In Neumann’s beautiful film the mushroom might not actually speak, but it is telling us a lot.

An observational documentary about a nomadic mother of five, belonging to the Nenets people living in the Russian Arctic, that beautifully follows the adage that the best way to learn about people in general is to look at one person in particular, and with great care.

Heather Millard is British and proud of it, but has been based in Iceland for 12 years now, heading up international production and financing at Compass Films, the company she founded in 2012 and runs alongside Thordur Jonsson. She directs BDE about her upcoming Forum project Band.

Documentary has been pushed up the agenda at the Icelandic Film Centre in recent times with around €1.3m is set aside to support feature docs each year. IFC director Laufey Guðjónsdóttir talks to BDE of a concerted attempt to “get the overall framework stronger for docs.”

Who can fathom the numbers involved when we’re talking about nuclear energy and waste? Especially when comparing their pros and cons with those of fossil fuels. In Nuclear Forever, director Carsten Rau does an admirable job of letting the unfathomable sink in.

Can we make it rain in the desert? And if we could, should we? Or is controlling the weather dangerous hubris? Finnish Filmmaker Halttunen seeks to weigh up these moral concerns in assessing the work of meteorologist Hannele Korhonen, for whom the opportunity to widen scientific research in the field is too appealing to turn down.

Liisa Karpo, boss of Finnish outfit napafilms, speaks to Business Doc Europe about “Finnish weirdness,” why she is happy to embrace both documentary and fiction, and how she draws on her early film marketing expertise whenever she launches a film.

Volkan Üce’s story of two young Turkish men trying to settle into jobs at the all-inclusive Nashira Resort makes for an engaging and insightful documentary that perfectly encapsulates the eternal culture clash between the haves and have-nots.

Did the Nazis change the tuning of music to manipulate the masses? Is this the same pitch we are still using today? This urban legend kicks off a wonderful exploration of the meaning of sounds in human life. A celebration of listening, from the sizzling of champagne to the wailing of ghosts.

There is a rhythm to the film’s sounds and images, a balance between the wild and the thoughtful. It’s as if we’ve entered Hobert’s mind and are dancing with her thoughts, associations and emotions…and what a privilege.