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CPH:DOX reveals the full programme of its Inter:Active exhibition running March 25 to April 3, 2022 that will showcase a curated selection of ten new projects. “This collection takes us on a deep dive into themes of violence and identity in society and the human influence on nature, giving audiences an embodied experience of some of today’s most pressing issues,” says Mark Atkin, exhibition curator and CPH:LAB Head of Studies.

The 23 films, 9 of which will be presented as world or international premieres, “mark the cinematographic year and reveal the landscape of contemporary non-fiction filmmaking,” says the festival. VdR expresses its support for Ukrainian artists and filmmakers and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian invasion. At the same time it underlines “its support for Russian artists and citizens who are currently expressing their resistance,” says the festival.

Initial highlights include a six-film homage to Heidi Specogna, and the new Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Award (valued at €2000). The festival also reveals the 8 nominees for the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022, worth €5000. The festival is set to run May 4-15 in Munich cinemas, 9-22 May within German homes.

Telling the story of the 2020 assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Daniel Roher’s doc opens the Movies that Matter Festival Friday 8 April. Earlier this year, 'Navalny' won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Movies that Matter 2022 will run April 8 - 16 April in the Dutch city of The Hague, online and in cities across the country.

International Echoes of the 25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will kick off March 8 in New York. Also, running March 7-12 is a special online event to support Ukraine. The selection, presented on DAFilms.com includes My Unknown Soldier by Ukrainian director Anna Kryvenko, Foundation Pit by Russian director Andrey Gryazev, and My Granny from Mars by Belarussian director Alexandr Mihalkovich.

Despite its story being based on a convoluted deception, there is something bizarrely innocent about the true story of Scotland’s ‘teenage’ trickster Brandon Lee. Presented with gentle allure this documentary/animation hybrid strikes just the rights chords as it balances teenage charm with genial irreverence.

The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk has set up a special 'Emergency Fund for Filmmakers’ who are suffering danger as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Over past days, significant financial contributions have been pledged by Germany’s key national and regional film funding bodies (€100K), with other contributions coming from French multimedia author society LaScam* and individual donors.  

Ukrainian filmmakers, who remain in a country under bombardment from Russian artillery, continue to articulate their desire for a boycott of Russian cinema. “Do you want to stop Russian aggression? You should stop its culture from influencing your minds,” says Darya Bassel, head of Industry at Docudays. The following statements were co-ordinated and forwarded by Ukrainian Denis Ivanov, who produced Sergei Loznitsa’s Donbass and Oleg Sentsov’s Rhino.

Filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was unlawfully imprisoned in Russia for five years following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, released a statement March 3 directed to the international film community which asks for support for a boycott of “Russian cinematography in all [its] dimensions… as requested by the Ukrainian Film Academy.”

“I’m asking for support of our boycott of Russian cinema at all international film events and all international organizations until [the] Russian government will end up in [the] Hague,” writes Denis Ivanov, producer of Sergei Loznitsa’s Donbass and Oleg Sentsov’s Rhino. “No more ‘business as usual’ with Putin’s Russia.”