The Gift by Jasmina Cibic, selected for for CPH:FORUM
34 projects have been selected for the 2020 edition of CPH:DOX’s financing and co-production event, including new projects from the Oscar-nominated Laura Nix and Talal Derki, Berlinale winner Adina Pintilie, Sundance winners Jialing Zhang and Ra’anan Alexandrowicz and the Venice-winning team of Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosolowski.
A record-breaking 470+ projects were submitted for CPH:FORUM 2020, which takes place 24-26 March. Supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, the event facilitates the development and financing of creative and visually strong documentary films and has grown to become a major platform for the international documentary community.
Categories
CPH:FORUM will present the selected projects in five categories: FICTIONONFICTION, CINEMA, F:ACT, ART and (since 2019) SCIENCE, ensuring the widest range of voices, topics, cultures and styles of filmmaking as possible.
CPH:DOX will also present the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €15,000 for the event’s best project intended for co-production.
In 2020, CPH:FORUM moves to a bigger venue, when welcoming an increasing number of film professionals from all over the world.
Among this year’s selection are projects from established, award-winning directors and production companies as well as emerging talents tackling some of the pressing issues of today’s society and global politics.
The 34 selected projects are representing 17 different countries and a 50/50 gender representation, which is core to CPH:DOX’s overall policy.
Decision makers
The projects will be presented to highly acknowledged decision makers representing a.o. streaming platforms Disney+, Netflix and MUBI, broadcasters such as ARTE, ZDF, BBC, CNN, Nat Geo, POV and DR, movie studios Participant Media, Topic, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and philanthropic foundations such as Science Sandbox, Freedom of Speech Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.
Comments Katrine Kiilgaard, Head of Industry and Deputy Director of CPH:DOX: “CPH:FORUM is a curated market that reflects an overall vision. We take pride in supporting the continued existence of a variety of voices and aesthetic expressions as is presented at our festival, even as that becomes increasingly difficult in a European market with less public funding available and less courage to take risks. With our new ventures such as our Science strand, we aim to expand the boundaries and possibilities for documentary film and filmmakers and grow the role of art as an active voice in civil society.”
Adds Tereza Simikova, Head of CPH:FORUM: “I am very happy to note the growing interest in the CPH:FORUM, that translates into a steadily growing number of submissions, decision makers coming from all corners of the world to actively join the forum as well as national delegations from both sides of the Atlantic. Over the past five years, our platform has doubled its attendance resulting in almost 2,000 industry delegates last year. It’s a big responsibility and a huge pleasure to meet the expectations of so many people who are fighting for the documentary genre in all its forms and believe CPH:DOX is the place to be”.
6 Nordic work-in-progress projects
As part of CPH:FORUM, 6 work-in-progress projects from high-profile Nordic producers and directors have also been selected and will be presenting at the CPH:WIP event on Tuesday 24 March.
Upcoming, nearly finished films from established Nordic talents, such as Camilla Nielsson or Joonas Berghäll will be looking for gap financing or a launch pad for further distribution. The titles are curated in collaboration with the Nordic film institutes and reflect the festival’s commitment to strong documentaries from the Nordic region.
The full line-up for CPH:DOX will be announced on February 20. In addition to the Forum, the event also comprises CPH:MARKET, CPH:CONFERENCE and the talent development programme CPH:LAB. The festival takes place from March 18-29 in Copenhagen.
CPH:FORUM 2020 projects
Camerapeople of the 21st Century, dir. Kirsten Johnson, US
Compassion on Prescription, dir. Louise Detlefsen, Denmark
Confessions of a Good Samaritan, dir. Penny Lane, US
Death and the Maiden, dir. Adina Pintilie, Romania
Fathom, dir. Drew Xanthopoulos, US
Hana Korea, dir. Frederik Sølberg, Denmark, South Korea
Her, dir. Geeta Gandbhir, United Kingdom, US
Hunger Story, dir. Talal Derki, Heba Khaled, Germany
Girls & Gods, dir. Verena Soltiz, Inna Shevchenko, Austria, United Kingdom
If the Streets Were on Fire, dir. Alice Russell, United Kingdom
Interviewing an Animal in Its Own Language, dir. Duncan Marquiss, United Kingdom
Iron Butterflies, dir. Roman Lubiy, Ukraine, Canada
Leviathan Cycle, dir. Shezad Dawood, United Kingdom
Looking Back at Love, dir. Carl Javér, Sweden
Lost Diamond, dir. Andreas Rocksén, William Johansson Kalén, Sweden, Denmark
Nice Bright Colors, dir. Laura Nix, US
Patagonia Park, dir. Stephanie Spray, US
Red Gold, dir. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stepanian, United Kingdom
Stayers, dir. Julia Dahr, Julie Lunde Lillesæter, Norway
Testosterone: The Movie; Gender: The Series, dir. Kimberly Reed, US
That Sound High in the Air, dir. Srdjan Keča, Serbia, France, US
The Gift, dir. Jasmina Cibic, Austria, United Kingdom, France
The Hamlet Syndrome, dir. Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosołowski, Poland, Germany
The Last of the Seagulls, dir. Tonislav Hristov, Finland, Bulgaria
The Roulette Project, dir. Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Denmark, US
The Viewing Booth Project, dir. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, US
The Wake, dir. The Living and the Dead Ensemble, France, United Kingdom, Haiti
Tristan Forever, dir. Tobias Noelle, Switzerland, France
Untitled Chinese in Africa Project, dir. Jialing Zhang, US
Vivien Will Be Adult, dir. Eszter Hajdú, Hungary
Votes for Sale, dir. Niels Borchert Holm, Denmark
When a City Rises, dir. Amy Ip, Yuling Chow, Cathy Chu, Hong Kong SAR China, United Kingdom
Why We Fight, dir. Alain Platel, Belgium, Germany
XR This is an Emergency, dir. Maia Kenworthy, Elena Sánchez Bellott, United Kingdom
2020 CPH: Work in Progress projects
Democrats II, dir. Camilla Nielsson, Denmark, Norway, United States of America
Internet of Emotions / Reality Lost, dir. David Borenstein, Denmark, Sweden, Canada
School Shooters, dir. Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors, Denmark, Sweden, France
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, dir. Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri, Sweden, Denmark
The Red Ring, dir. Joonas Berghäll, Finland, Germany
Acts of Deception, dir. Ola Waagen, Norway
