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Heinz Emigholz’ multi-layered and meditative architectural essay Slaughterhouses of Modernity juxtaposes literal modernist slaughterhouses in Argentina from the 1930s with the newly built replica of the Berliner Schloss and the triumphant works of Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani. The question is: who or what is being slaughtered here?

On 11 October, Rome’s Cinema Barberini hosted a panel titled ‘Archives, Market and Free Access: Value, Cost and Social Use of Audiovisual Heritage,’ moderated by Marco Spagnoli, MIA’s Deputy Director and Head of Doc & Factual. Leading players from Italian outfits Doc/It, Istituto Luce, Fandango and Anica, as well as international trade body Focal International, took the floor.

An impressive student film, world premiering in DOK Leipzig’s German Competition, about the Mozambican contract workers in the GDR who were forced to return after German reunification, and the children they left behind. These include children like Sarah, who has been questioning her Afro-German identity and now is taking her own child to Mozambique for a family visit.

Constructed from home videos from the 1990s and early 2000s, Love Is Not An Orange, which world-premiered in Leipzig, paints a fascinating portrait of the impact independence had on Moldova, formerly part of the Soviet Union, a country that struggled to make the transition from communism to capitalism, and all seen through the prism of family relationships.

The Kraków Film Foundation is accepting submissions for the 63rd Kraków Film Festival, running 28 May - June 4 in Kraków and online throughout Poland 2 - 18 June 2023. “Festival selectors will also be scouring the world’s most important film festivals for more cinematic gems. We’re sure that we are going to delight viewers with an extremely diverse film program once again,” says fest director Krzysztof Gierat.

Shaunak Sen was awarded the Grierson Award 16 October during the festival’s prize-giving ceremony. The film, also a Sundance 2022 winner, concerns two brothers in pollution-ravaged Delhi who have created a sanctuary for the magnificent black kites which dominate the city’s skies. The Immersive Art and XR Competition top prize went to As Mine Exactly by Charlie Shackleton, a work that blends VR, performance and film.

Head of Industry Nadja Tennstedt fills in Business Doc Europe on what to expect this week during the 65th edition of DOK Leipzig. “We always strive to create a welcoming, efficient and relaxed space for our guests. Emerging talents and seasoned professionals alike come here to meet at eye-level, find collaborators for current projects, forge new connections, get inspired and immerse themselves in the festival and the documentary community.”

A Date in Minsk by Nikita Lavretski wins the City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film, while Alejandro Vasquez’s A Landscape Area Too Quiet For Me (pictured) wins the YouTube International Competition Jury Award. Best Portuguese Competition nods went to two films, The Visit and the Secret Garden by Irene M. Borrego and Vexations by Leonardo Mouramateus. All awards…

Over 2400 participants from 60 countries attended the Rome-based international audiovisual market which ran 11 to 15 October 2022 in the Palazzo Barberini and Cinema Barberini. The event generated million views on Twitter while MIA's facebook page followers grew by 27%, Linkedin by 23%. The event hosted more than 70 panels and events.

DOK Leipzig (17-23 October) is a festival for documentary…and for animated film. Ask artistic director Christoph Terhechte about his choice of opening film for the 65th edition and he suggests that the “animated” part of the proposition is sometimes overlooked. Hence the decision to go for Alain Ughetto’s animated feature No Dogs Or Italians Allowed in 2022.