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Ji.hlava IDFF asked alumni of its EMERGING PRODUCERS programme to select the films they most admire and which have, in part, defined their approach to the art of doc. Unsurprisingly, there were two documentaries in the top three, with Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil proving Top Doc. Third place went to Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing. But thereafter, fiction ruled, with docs accounting for a mere 19 of the top 88 films that received four or more nominations. Kindly read on…

Victor Kossakovsky’s Architecton and Mati Dopi’s Dahomey will compete, together with 18 fiction films, for Golden and Silver Bear awards during the 74th Berlinale (15-24 February 2024). Three documentaries are also selected for the festival’s Encounters section. These are Direct Action by Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell; Une Famille by Christine Angot, and Favoriten by Ruth Beckermann (with Ilkay Idiskut).

This year Italy is in the frame at the Biarritz-based Fipadoc, running 19-27 January. The festival opens with Giulia Giapponesi’s Bella Ciao, which precedes a programme of recent Italian docs, and a professional assessment of how to work with and within the Italian doc industry. Key competition programmes in Biarritz are for International, French, Music and Impact docs, and the 2000+ international delegates can enjoy a packed Industry programme of pitches, master-classes, talks and debates.

A leading figure in independent Chinese cinema, and contemporary cinema more broadly, Jia Zhang-Ke will present a masterclass while the festival will screen a retrospective of his films. “The 55th Visions du Réel (12-21 April) will be my first trip to Europe after these four years. I feel like embracing the world again, as excited as a child about to go on a long trip for the first time. I am heading to Nyon, for cinema that reveals the world as it really is."

Mstyslav Chernov’s doc is nominated in two categories, for Best Documentary and Best Film not in the English Language. Other nominees in the Best Doc category are American Symphony, Beyond Utopia, Still: A Michael J Fox Movie and Wham!. The 2024 Baftas will take place on 18 February at London's Southbank Centre.

With a focus on everything from fertility and 'ableism' to discrimination and trauma, CPH:DOX 2024 will engage in conversations about the body as a battleground. The festival also introduces a new cinema at the Kunsthal Charlottenborg festival centre, designed to be more inclusive for guests with disabilities. The 21st CPH:DOX runs March 13-24, 2024.

The elections for the Board of the European Film Academy have resulted in 8 new incoming members. The Board now comprises 16 members representing 15 regions, with one seat representing transnational populations in Europe, such as Sámi and Roma filmmakers. “The new board of the European Film Academy is the most representative board in our history,” says Chairman of the Board Mike Downey, who will stay in the role for another two years.

Eight films from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are nominated for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary at the 47th Gothenburg Film Festival. The winner receives post production services to the value of SEK 250,000 (approx. €23,000). Göteborg Film Festival runs from January 26 to February 4.

Hanka Kastelicová, VP and Executive Producer of Documentaries for HBO Max in Europe, talks to Business Doc Europe about the slate of docs she will be serving up in 2024. These include Tudor Giurgiu’s new doc Nasty – More Than Just Tennis, one of the first HBO titles set to premiere on the new Max streaming service across Europe in the spring of 2024.

Since its launch in 2010, dok.incubator’s core mission has been to transform good docs into exceptional docs. Run by a small team of six, the Prague-based programme consists of several rough-cut workshops aiming to strengthen the potential of promising non-fiction projects. “This mission is much more urgent now. As the space for creative documentaries gets narrower, I think we’ve to fight for our audience,” director Andrea Prenghyová tells BDE.