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Fourteen new European projects will be presented October 29–31 during the 29th Ji.hlava IDFF. These join the previously announced projects from Croatia, this year's Ji.hlava Industry guest country. The Forum projects from East & Southeast Asia and the United States will be unveiled soon. This year’s Ji.hlava IDFF will run October 24 to November 2.

In the heart of the West Bank, Manar and Milad, a couple bound by a shared dream to break the cycle of violence that has impacted generations of Palestinian lives, founded the House of Hope – an elementary school that embraces non-violence, and supports children in healing from trauma caused by decades-long occupation. “We began this film way before the most recent escalations,” Dutch producer Ruby Deelen (100%) tells BDE. “At that time, the feedback from the industry (broadcasters and others) was that there was little appetite for stories from this region. That perception has changed dramatically since.”

Netherlands-based Chinese filmmaker Louis Hothothot, who opened IDFA 2021 with his Four Journeys, presented his new feature project Big Dreams at NLWave25. The film concerns a beautiful, plus-size American actress living in Beijing, who longs to be seen, and wants both acclaim and love. “Behind her extreme openness, there is over self-protection. Behind her braveness, there is rebellion. Behind her strong desire to be seen, there are toxic self-doubts,” Hothothot told the NLWave25 professional audience.

“Born and raised in the Netherlands as the child of Palestinian parents from a homeland under occupation, I am torn between two worlds and carry with me traumas passed down from generation to generation,” filmmaker Sakir Khader says of his debut feature project Through the Eye of the Falcon, pitched at NLWave25 and produced by mint film office. “As the occupation in Palestine continues and the violence escalates, I have no choice but to capture the injustice through my lens.”

DOK Leipzig has unveiled the full DOK Industry Programme for the 68th festival edition (27 October - 2 November). The DOK Industry Programme “presents a range of formats and events that address timely industry topics, encourage creative exchange, and give filmmakers a platform to showcase their work and connect with peers and potential collaborators,” write organisers.

Menno Otten’s new work Still City is an ode to Amsterdam, told entirely through 125 years of archive. “Menno is, quite simply, a magician with archival material, able to find in the smallest glance or gesture a universal rhythm that binds people across decades,” producer Renko Douze tells Business Doc Europe. “This rare quality ensures that the film speaks to anyone who has ever felt the pulse of a city.”

Miriam Guttmann’s new film explores how a tragic and unnecessary death sparked a national reckoning on race, class justice and accountability. Sanda, the son of a Senegalese immigrant and a working-class Belgian mother, died during an elite fraternity initiation ceremony in Leuven, Belgium. “This is not a sensationalized crime story, but a deeply human narrative seen through the eyes of Sanda’s family, friends, and the legal and experts involved in the case, providing a unique, multifaceted perspective,” producer Monique Busman of Tomtit Film tells Business Doc Europe.

The International Competition brings together 12 films, including seven world premieres, three international premieres, one European premiere, and three debut works. The Portuguese Competition will feature 12 titles, including seven world premieres, one European premiere, and four national premieres. In total, the festival will present 211 films from 54 countries, including 93 feature films and 118 short films. Doclisboa 2025 will take place from October 16 to 26.

The Best Documentary Project was handed to Sense and Sensibility (Hanna Nordenswan), receiving €3000 from the City of Helsinki. The Best F-Weird Project was named as Boobs (Milla Puolakanaho, Juha Ilmari Laine). This year, FFA featured 44 projects in total, with five fiction films in progress and nine in development, nine documentary projects, six series as well as the 10 unique F-Weird projects across genres and formats. The Nordic Selection showcased five projects from all Nordic countries. The 14th FFA closes September 26.

“In Your Shadow is vital because it makes visible something that exists in so many families and societies: the silence that grows around trauma,” Dutch producer Renko Douze tells BDE of Thabi Mooi & Tom Fassaert’s work-in-progress, In Your Shadow. In the feature doc, after thirty years of silence, filmmaker Thabi takes her father on a journey to confront his past as a soldier in the South African liberation struggle.