Interviews

Eight young people between the ages of 18 and 24, the self-named Troublemakers, seek to create a new form of sex education for presentation to their peers. The process is followed by the husband and wife team of Lucio Basadonne and is one that proves to be as revelatory for them as for the film’s subjects. Basadonne explains more to Business Doc Europe.

Elisa Mereghetti’s new documentary project follows Valentina Petrillo, a 48-year-old visually-impaired Paralympic athlete whose dream is to compete at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics as Italy’s first trans athlete in a women’s category. The film is co-produced by the Italian lobby and support organization Gruppo Trans. The director explains more to Business Doc Europe.

As one of the golden footballers of his generation Roni Kalderon had the world at his feet, playing for the mighty Ajax and impressing for the Israeli national team. But then he turned to the dark side, morphing into an international drug lord. He served time, and then he disappeared. Erez Laufer and Hilla Medalia tell BDE more about Kalderon’s life of two halves, and how they plan to document it.

NFB’s Anita Lee discusses the new doc project charting Chinese Jessea Lu’s attempt to free dive 100 metres in one breath. “It's going to be a combination of compelling, thrilling, but at the same time deeply psychological,” she says. “Having a young, Asian female in this male dominated sport as a lead protagonist really brings another layer to the storytelling.”

Documentary, more than any other medium, embraces, analyses and contextualises events in this world that we all inhabit. Which is why documentary is the perfect medium for Stonebreakers, Valerio Ciriaci’s project about the tearing down of historical monuments within a very contemporary US. Business Doc Europe chisels away at the director.

Drummers, like goalkeepers, are a totally different breed. They play by different rules, as evidenced by Topper Headon, who beat the sticks for The Clash in the first days of punk, and who is the subject of a new feature project by Lionel Guedj, who rocks (the casbah) with Business Doc Europe.

In his 6-part/3-part series Massimo Brega will follow in the footsteps of Odysseus along his epic journey back from the Trojan War. The director will traverse The Mediterranean, shedding new light both on the Greek hero and his chronicler Homer, ultimately looking to determine whether the epic voyage ever really took place. Producer Camilla Tartaglione of Italian production house Kepach weaves a tale for BDE.

Scottish director Martyn Robertson talks to Business Doc Europe about his new surfing documentary screening at London FF this week. The film isn’t just about a teenage prodigy tackling the breakers. It is, as importantly, a story “about love, about family, about growing up and parenting,” says the filmmaker.

Kind Hearts sets out to present a candid portrait of first love in all of its newness, inherent uncertainties and future life expectations. Co-director Gerard-Jan Claes explains more about what drove the him and partner Olivia Rochette towards the subject.

Manu Riche’s new documentary will deliver a lyrical cri du coeur about fossil fuels and their corrosive effect on the planet. “The film doesn't set out to describe the factual state of our world, nor present a numerical analysis. Instead, it explores how we got here, what caused us to reach this tipping point, the psychology and philosophy that underlie this debacle,” he says.