News

The first 2023 Ex Oriente Film workshop, a 3-part film training programme for doccers from CEE, takes place June 17-21 at Sunny Side. This year 12 feature and, for the first time, 5 doc series projects are selected. “Sharing experts and mentors and opening Ex Oriente sessions to SSD attendees also contribute to building bridges between participants from Central and Eastern Europe and the international documentary community," says Sunny Side’s Mathieu Béjot.

Eight Chilean doc companies have sailed in for Sunny Side 2023. These include Bioesférica Filmes whose Diary of an Infiltrator is presented in the June 22 History Pitch session. “For years, there has been considerable interest from Sunny Side of the Doc in fostering a more robust presence for Chile; abroad, there is a high value placed on our productions,” says Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc.

The Grand Jury Award for the International Competition went to In the Rearview by Maciek Hamela (Poland, France, Ukraine) while the top prize in International First Feature Competition went to Q by Jude Chehab (USA, Lebanon, 2023). All winners including Industry Awards: The Whickers Pitch, Channel 4 First Cut Pitch, BBC Storyville Development Pitch, The Podcast Pitch…

Paradiddle Pictures announces dates and deadlines for its Autumn season of documentary workshops that look to cover all bases within project development, production and post-production. DocCelerator also provides an on-demand programme designed to meet the requirements of local, regional or national film organisations.

The new sector-wide body for the UK’s independent doc film industry will be unveiled at Sheffield DocFest on Saturday June 17. The organisation’s remit is to “to represent the UK’s independent documentary community, facilitate transparent communication within the sector and take effective, coordinated action to address the key issues facing the sector.”

After being diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, filmmaker Kit Vincent sets about enlisting his family on an intimate and darkly humorous journey that he hopes will help them come to terms with his illness. Unsurprisingly, this cinematic journey is more complex, emotional and engagingly offbeat than he might have first intended, and his plan to point the camera anywhere but at himself proves temporary before realising that only he, himself, can be the centre of the film’s story.

As a visceral and immersive piece of front-line war coverage, Ukrainian filmmaker and journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s film 20 Days in Mariupol presents a savage and often desperately bleak portrait of a city under siege, and reflects on the bravery of those struggling to survive within it.

A thoughtful and evocative tribute to the life – and talent – of British photographer Tish Murtha, Sheffield DocFest’s opening night film Tish, directed by Paul Sng, traces the life of this innately skilled and driven artist, and details her commitment to fighting for the communities such as the one she grew up in. The film celebrates a woman whose work deserves to stand alongside considerably more acclaimed practitioners of the craft.

The former Director of BFI London LFF and Interim CEO of Sheffield DocFest joins Rotterdam 21 June. “It is dear to my heart as the first international film festival I attended 25 years ago. It shaped my understanding of the interdependencies between cultural activity and industry development, and the importance of engaging a dedicated local audience while positioning a festival as vital for the international, independent film sector,” says Stewart.

Netflix announced June 13 the five filmmaking teams who will receive funding and professional support to make a short documentary on the theme of ‘Connection,’ as part of the second roll-out of of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund. Each team will now produce a short doc of 8-12 minutes with a budget of £30,000 that will be released on Netflix’s YouTube channel in the New Year.