The second session of the Ex Oriente Film workshop, the project-based training programme run by the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF), will take place 6 – 11 October 2023 in Germany for the first time, in collaboration with DOK Leipzig.
Director of DOK Industry at DOK Leipzig Nadja Tennstedt comments: “The Institute of Documentary Film has been a wonderful and trusted partner of DOK Industry for many years. We are continuously impressed by the high quality of projects selected for Ex Oriente. So, it brings us great joy to welcome the talented creative teams of documentary feature films and documentary series along with the knowledgeable and inspiring professionals who will be guiding and mentoring these teams.”
This year, a total of 12 creative documentary feature-length films and, for the first time, five documentary series projects are participating in intensive sessions, working closely with a panel of international experts and tutors. Among the tutors of the second session are VP and Executive Producer of Documentaries for HBO Europe Hanka Kastelicová, sales agent Manuela Buono (Slingshot Films), producer Erik Winker (CORSO Film) and documentary film editor and story consultant Yael Bitton.
During the second session, participating directors will further hone the visual style and narrative of their documentary feature films and series, while producers will develop a detailed financing strategy, dive into various aspects of international co-production and receive valuable guidance in navigating the landscape of European broadcasters. The director-producer teams will also start preparing for the workshop’s final session and gain insights into pitching and marketing.
As a three-module creative lab, the Ex Oriente Film workshop offers a comprehensive support for creative documentary projects in development and early production from Central and Eastern Europe. The third and final session of this year’s workshop will be held during the East Doc Platform in Prague in March 2024, in partnership with the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.
Ex Oriente 2023 Documentary Feature Film projects
- Acting Classes – director Sasha Shegai, producers Assel Yerzhanova (FilmFilmFilm) and Yevgeniya Moreva, Kazakhstan
- Armenia Phantom – director Tamara Stepanyan, producer Céline Loiseau (TS Productions), France/Armenia
- Becoming Roosi – director Margit Lillak, producer Margit Lillak (Tiny Desk Productions), co-producers Dirk Manthey (Dirk Manthey Film) and Hõbe Ilus (Tiny Desk Productions), Estonia/Germany
- Birdie – director Aneta Ptak, producer Małgorzata Staroń (Staron Film), Poland
- Do Magic – director Vera Lacková, producer Peter Drössler (Golden Girls Film), Austria/Slovakia
- How I Became a Hijacker – director Andrew Carter, producer Aleksandra Szczesna, Poland/Germany
- Keepers of the Ruins – director Mariia Shevchenko, producer Ella Shtyka (New Kyiv), Poland/Ukraine
- Letters – director Andrei Kutsila, producer Sofiia Zadorozhna, Poland/Belarus
- Lights – director Mila Teshaieva, producer Marcus Lenz, Germany/Ukraine
- Man Under the Ice – director Eva Tomanová, producers Michal Kráčmer (Analog Vision), Veronika Kührová (Analog Vision) and Kenan Aliyev, Czech Republic
- The Poor Cry Too – directors Viktorija Mickute and Ieva Balsiunaite, producer Dagne Vildziunaite (Just a Moment), Lithuania/Mexico
- What About Little Peter? – director Martin Trabalík, producer Jan Bodnar (GNOMON PRODUCTION S.R.O.), Czech Republic
Ex Oriente 2023 Documentary Series projects
- Exit Only – director Timo Novotny, producer Tereza Horská (Hypermarket Film), Czech Republic/Austria
- Tito. The West’s Favorite Dictator – director Bence Máté, producers Gunnar Dedio (Looks Filmproduktionen GmbH) and Regina Dr. Bouchehri (Looks Filmproduktionen GmbH), Germany/Austria/Croatia/Italy
- Unhero or a Falling Star – director Georgi Tenev, producer Martichka Bozhilova (Agitprop Ltd.), Bulgaria
- The Murderers of Anna Labancz – director Balázs Dudás, producer Balázs Dudás, Hungary
- She Is Not in the Business of Making Friends – director Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, producers Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan (Manifest Film) and Elena Martin (Manifest Film), Romania
