Doc Alliance (Also) Gives an Award
A press release came in this morning from Andrea Pruchová, Doc Alliance. As usual well written and precise in information. Easy to quote from. As a true fan of Doc Alliance I hurry to bring you the newest from the Prague based documentary promoter:
”Discovering new film talents has become an inherent part of the brand of the European Doc Alliance Selection Award. (The) seven key European documentary festivals (see below) have chosen seven remarkable films and filmmakers, one of whom will become the eighth holder of the award this year…
The financial contribution of 500 euro and the Doc Alliance Selection Award 2015; such is the reward waiting for the future eighth winner of the documentary award. Awarded since 2008 by CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity FF, Doclisboa, DOK Leipzig, FID Marseille, Jihlava IDFF and Visions du Réel, the award represents a key project of the Alliance (along with the documentary portal DAFilms.com) whose goals include collaboration between film festivals, support of quality documentary projects as well as looking for new solutions of their public presentation.
“Our main goal is primarily to promote quality documentary films rather than the brands of the individual festivals. Joining forces for the purpose of supporting new filmmakers and projects; that is where we see the sense of our common activities,” says project manager Nina Numankadić…
Each of the participating festivals has nominated one film that they consider worthy of notice. The selection of seven competition films focuses primarily on film debuts by emerging filmmakers whose work should definitely not be overlooked.
”The very fact that they have been nominated represents a great benefit to the filmmakers. All of the Doc Alliance festivals have agreed to screen three of the films nominated in the given year and to make the rest of the films accessible in their video library,” says Nina Numankadić…”
And the nominated films are:
Homeland (Iraq Year Zero); Abbas Fahdel (IQ, 2015, 334´) nominated by Visions du Réel (photo, the film was the winner of the 2015 festival)
Walking Under Water; Eliza Kubarska (UK/PL/DE, 2014, 90´) nominated by Docs Against Gravity FF
Stranded in Canton; Måns Månsson (SE/DK/CN, 2014, 72´) nominated by CPH:DOX
Illusion; Sofia Marques (PT, 2014, 115´) nominated by Doclisboa
I Am the People; Anna Roussillon (FR, 2014, 110´) nominated by Jihlava IDFF
Haunted; Liwaa Yazji (DE/SY, 2014, 113´) nominated by FID Marseille
All Things Ablaze; Oleksandr Techynskyi, Aleksey Solodunov, Dmitry Stoykov (UA, 2014, 90´) nominated by DOK Leipzig
Happy to say (!) that I have only seen the last one which is a strong visit to the turbulent times in Ukraine – much waits to be seen, especially I look forward to find 334 minutes for the film from Iraq, here is the catalogue text from Visions du Réel:
”Two years in the life of an Iraqi family, before and after the American intervention. This powerful collective novel gives life to a saga that flows as slowly as the river that crosses Baghdad. The tragedy and the dignity of the Iraqi people come to life on the screen in the most intense moments. A reference work for the understanding of the Middle East in the past and the present.”
