News

2024 marks the 6th edition of Nebulae, DocLisboa’s industry and networking event. Marina Thomé (an established photographer and documentary filmmaker in her own right) is coordinator. As a former participant in the festival’s Arché development and mentorship programme, she has seen at first-hand how the festival can “open doors” for new projects. She coordinated Arché last year - and so knows the workings of the programme inside out. Thomé answers questioned posed by BDE.

Ten films were nominated for the main prize of €20,000, which was awarded at the close of the Berlin-based fest’s inaugural edition. "Searching for Amani (by Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko) is a multi-layered film that begins with journalistic investigations into the death of Simon Ali's father and then seamlessly transitions into a story that addresses culture, tradition, identity, and the climate crisis, which affects all of us – though some more directly than others,” said the jury.

Alys Tomlinson and Cécile Embleton’s highly cinematic documentary feature concerns a charismatic former heroin addict who has lived in an Orthodox monastery in Belarus for 20 years. The Short Film Award went to Rehab Nazzal for her documentary Vibrations from Gaza, about the resilience of deaf Palestinian children in Gaza as they live with Israel’s military attacks.

The Kyiv festival’s Documentary Competition, first held in 2020, includes ten international titles, including Adelina Borets’ Flowers of Ukraine and Ride the Line by Ihor Volochii, about two men who cycle along 1,500 km front line in Ukraine through liberated villages and towns. The Molodist Kyiv International FF runs October 26 to November 3.

On 17 October, Rome’s MIA hosted a keynote titled ‘Unveiling Truth and Inspiring Change,’ delivered by the Oscar-winning producer Odessa Rae of US-based Raefilm Studios. Rae spoke about two of her most acclaimed works: Daniel Roher’s Navalny, an Academy Award, Sundance and BAFTA winner, and Ibrahim Nash’at’s Hollywoodgate which premiered at Venice 2023 and is set to be a frontrunner during the upcoming awards season.

Over 2800 audiovisual professionals took part in the tenth edition of the Market, marking a 10% increase in attendance over 2023. “Thanks to its strong identity and credibility, MIA has now earned an important place in the agendas of international operators. It is a unique curatorial market, a strategic player in the co-production market and a fundamental engine for the financing, distribution and circulation of works and talents,” commented Gaia Tridente, MIA Director.

15 new European documentary projects will be presented at the 4th edition of New Visions Forum on October 30-31, held as part of the 28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The Forum will feature projects in development as well as in production and post-production, and will include documentary features, series, hybrid, experimental, and shorts. Ji.hlava IDFF runs October 25 to November 3.

On 16 October, MIA hosted a talk dedicated to Impact documentaries. During the event, the panellists shared their insights into crafting powerful stories that not only inform but also inspire action. The conversation saw the participation of, among others, France Télévisions Studio’s Head of Programmes Diego Buñuel, RAI filmmaker and journalist Giulia Innocenzi, Impact Partners VP of Production Kelsey Koenig, and Georg Tschurtschenthaler of German production outfit Gebrueder Beetz.

Morrison is an executive producer and media consultant with a distinguished career in documentaries and factual programme-making and a long-term commitment to diversity and talent development. Previously CEO and Creative Director at the independent production company, Nevision, where she won BAFTA, RTS and Grierson Awards, Morrison was a trustee of BAFTA for seven years and the second woman to be its Chair.

€577,000 in support given to five doc features and one doc series in FFF’s latest funding round. Recipients include Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag by Vesa Kuosmanen, which was recently pitched at Finnish Film Affair and the the minority co-pro series Out Love (Sweden/Finland) by Hannah Reinikainen and Lia Hietala. Total FFF support granted in October amounted to €704,000.