Interviews

The prolific Northern Irish docmaker profiles Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a woman whose brain underwent profound recalibration after she climbed the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland in 1949. There she encountered the mathematical "certainty” which would inspire and inform her later paintings. “When I first saw her pictures in the late 80s, I was drawn to them, as if by a tractor beam,” director Cousins tells BDE.

It’s a disturbing anomaly that, until recently, only six Black cyclists had competed in the Tour De France, the sport’s blue riband event. In his latest feature documentary This Is My Moment, Lieven Corthouts tells the story of the seventh, the Eritrean cycling prodigy Biniam Girmay (currently setting this year’s Tour ablaze with multiple stage wins). “I knew from the beginning he was good. I couldn’t imagine how good,” Corthouts tells BDE.

Irish multi-hyphenate Nick Kelly (director, screenwriter, pop star, activist, not to mention long distance cyclist) talks to Business Doc Europe about how he cycled from Ireland to Glastonbury carrying his tent and his guitar, to prove that the business of making art doesn’t have to kill the planet. Kelly’s saddle-bound feature doc world premieres July 12 at Galway Film Fleadh.

As Swedish artist Victoria Verseau examines her life more than a decade after the transition surgery she underwent in 2012, she also attempts to process the fragmented memories she has of her friend Meril who underwent similar surgery at the same time, but who died three years later. Verseau additionally follows Athena and Aamina, who are on their own journeys towards transition. “It’s a movie made by and about trans people, aiming for an honest portrayal of our lives,” says Verseau.

Not many films happen by accident. However, Ukrainian director (and soldier) Oleh Sentsov freely admits that his new project Real (world-premiering this week at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival) was not planned in advance. “It was everything that the go-pro shot that day,” he tells BDE of his film shot in the front-line trenches during the counter-offensive against the Russian invasion. “Usually, when you see videos from the war, they are edited. This is what makes Real different. It is just raw footage.”

Liz Gibbons will sit alongside fellow Beeb commissioners in La Rochelle on a panel named Meet the Execs (Tues 25 June 4pm), during which the BBC toppers will give Sunny Side delegates an insight into just how and why they greenlight films and programmes. The execs will also talk about their perspectives on co-production and acquisitions. Gibbons explains more to BDE.

Since his appointment as Head of Documentary at Screen Australia in January, Richard Huddleston has been relishing the opportunity to act as “chief cheerleader” for the sector. “It has been fascinating; it has been rewarding; it has been challenging. Above all, being head of documentary filmmaking at a national funding agency, it’s an absolute privilege,” he tells BDE.

It’s a decade now since Elizabeth Klinck, the renowned archive producer and copyright clearance specialist, approached Sunny Side of the Doc together with a small team of history producers to suggest that “history and archive” should be included as a key part of the festival alongside its other strands. This year, as she tells BDE, she will host two debates; on ‘Archives, AI and Ethics,’ and ‘Archives at Risk.’

ShareDoc founder Anne Marie Borsboom talks to Business Doc Europe about her QR code initiative that enables immediate financial engagement by audiences as soon as the credits roll. “We exist to amplify the social impact of documentaries for the protagonists/charities involved in the project,” she says. “We believe in guiding the audience towards immediate action while bridging the gap between the documentary industry and documentary lovers.”

“What makes us really unique is that we are the only pure market dedicated just to documentary,” underlines Sunny Side’s Mathieu Béjot ahead of the event’s 35th roll-out, the core of which is the presentation of 42 new projects across seven themed strands. “Part of our mission also is to make sure that there's renewal in the industry, and that you don't hear the same pitches from the same companies.” Sunny Side of the Doc 2024 runs June 24-27 in La Rochelle, France.