The Institute of Doc Film has revealed the seven guest tutors who will be joining lead tutors Mikael Opstrup (documentary expert), Iikka Vehkalahti (producer and consultant), Ivana Pauerová Miloševič (director and script editor) and Filip Remunda (director and producer) for the final workshiop of Ex Oriente 2020/21.
Ex Oriente Film is a training programme focused on development and funding of creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe.
The March 2021 guest experts are:
Alexander Nanau, director of Collective, which won the European Film Award for the Best Documentary and is shortlisted for Academy Awards both in both Best International Feature and Best Documentary Feature categories.
Maya Daisy Hawke, film editor, creator of the social media video novels: Currency of Despair (2014), Box of Birds (2016) and Unfated Yet (2020) presented by Sundance DFP and LACMA. She is the co-director of Little Ethiopia, a live documentary, performed at the Sundance FF, Museum of the Moving Image in NYC, and in London at ICA Frames of Representation (2017-19).
Fraser Bensted, Trailer editor and marketing expert. Fraser began his career as a trailer editor fifteen years ago, rapidly becoming one of the most successful and respected in the field, winning a Golden Trailer Award for his international trailer for Billy Elliot. He has overseen successful and creatively original campaigns for a wide range of acclaimed films, including Slumdog Millionaire, Searching for Sugar Man, Hunger and They Call Me Babu.
Ruth Reid, producer with projects selected for over a hundred film festivals globally and pitched internationally at high profile markets including IDFA, Visions du Reel and Nordisk Panorama; received multiple nominations, including BAFTA and EFA shortlisted, and winning awards including Tribeca Best Documentary. Titles include: Merry Christmas Yiwu (2020 dir. Mladen Kovacevic), Scheme Birds (2019 dirs. Ellen Fiske & Ellinor Hallin) and Workers! (2018, dir. Petra Bauer).
Maëlle Guenegues, sales agent who joined Catherine Le Clef in 2009 to set up CAT&Docs. dedicated to the promotion & distribution of handpicked documentaries, in all media around the world: pertinent and impertinent docs on topical questions and timeless subjects; docs that are carefully researched, audacious, question the world and propose new ways of looking at it.
Arash T. Riahi, director and producer. His first fiction film For a Moment, Freedom was Austria’s candidate for the Academy Awards in 2010. Since 2010, he also works as a dramatic advisor for the Creative Europe script-development programmes SOURCES 2, Nipkow and Berlinale Talents. He teaches at the Vienna Film School and the Filmacademy, and has held lectures at the Scottish Documentary Institute, Goethe Institute Dublin, ZKM Karlsruhe, etc.
Anja Salomonowitz, director, editor and script writer. Anja Salomonowitz developed a film language for her films that combines documentary film, feature film and thesis. In the process, real human experiences are condensed through artistic alienation. Her films have received international acclaim, numerous film awards and have been included in relevant documentary film literature. Her latest film is This Movie Is a Gift (2019) about the artist Daniel Spoerri.
The Ex Oriente 2020/21 projects are:
Baby in the Woods. Dir. Ioana Grigore. Prod. Marcian Lazar. Romania
Leo is an 82-year-old hero, who shares his existence between the USSR, where he was banished from in his youth, England, where he spent the rest of his life, and the USA, where his brother escaped to.
Blix. Dir. Greta Stocklassa. Prod. Radovan Síbrt. Czech Republic, Sweden
At the end of his life, Hans Blix is reviewing his life decisions. Is this inconspicuous man – who strived for appeasement all his life – responsible for genocide, wars and millions of lives wasted?
Dniester – The Irreversible Flow of Life. Dir. Iurie Tocmas. Prod. Ieva Goba. Moldova, Latvia
From its source to the sea we travel along the Dniester – framing the continuous relationship between man and the river. When did the river of our sunny childhood transform into a storm that we have to overcome?
Happily (un)Faithful. Dir. Diana Fabiánová. Prod. Silvia Panáková. Slovakia
A romantic road movie about whether it is possible to have a happy, monogamous relationship or is “eternal love” only our illusion? A documentary search questioning functionality of common patterns of cohabitation.
I Want It All. Dir. Katarzyna Wiśniowska. Prod. Tomasz Morawski. Poland
Despite being only 11 years old, Yara is about to take over her mother’s impressive boxing legacy.
Kix – A Story of a Street Kid. Dir. Balint Révész and Dávid Mikulán. Prod. Viki Réka-Kiss. Hungary
KIX is a story about a troubled street boy, Sanyi, as he grows from 8 to 18, from kid stuff to near adulthood. Over a decade he turns from a young mischief into a public enemy.
Lagoons. A Battle for Paradise. Dir. Serhiy Lysenko. Prod. Anna Kapustina. Ukraine
During one year, the wheel of wildlife at Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park in Ukraine comes full circle, as people who want to live as a part of the Nature fight those who only want to use it.
Marriage on Paper. Dir. Renata Lučić. Prod. Tamara Babun. Croatia
Marko, Tomislav and Joso are three best friends in their 50s, living in a small Slavonian village, whose wives found love in Germany after years of work and decided to move to Germany, abandoning them.
Mastery Dir. Kateřina Turečková. Prod. Vít Janeček. Czech Republic
Effective manipulation goes unperceived by its victims and is often not consciously realized by the perpetrator. A cinematic essay about influence beyond ordinary visibility and foreseeable consequences.
Nice Ladies. Dir. Mariia Ponomarova. Prod. Rogier Kramer. Ukraine, Netherlands
The ‘Nice Ladies’ group of elderly cheerleaders from Eastern Ukraine is preparing for the European championship. What would it take to compete against their younger competitors in the category ’25+’?
Once Upon a Family. Dir. Sead Sabotic. Prod. Bojana Radulovic. Montenegro
While observing the lives of psychophysically ill people, the film raises the issue of normality in the institution where the characters grew up, found a home and love, and where they everyday give birth to their lives.
Smiling Georgia. Dir. Luka Beradze. Prod. Nino Chichua. Georgia
Elderly villagers of the village called No Name are left toothless after a failed pre-election campaign names Smiling Georgia. It soon becomes clear that teeth are least of their worries as they face harsh social conditions in rural Georgia.
