Best of DAFilms 2020

The https://dafilms.com/ is an excellent vod for documentary lovers. Not only bringing new documentaries to their subscribers but also giving us a chance to go back in film history to pick important works. The seven members of DocAlliance, all of them festivals, deserve much credit for standing behind the vod, they are CPH:DOX, Doclisboa, Docs Against Gravity FF, DOK Leipzig, FIDMarseille, Ji.hlava IDFF, Visions du Réel. DAFilms celebrate its 15th year and have made a… “special program “Best of DAFilms” is created by the DAFilms viewers themselves according to what they watched and searched for the most this year. The year’s most highly rated films will be complemented by significant new releases handpicked from the catalogue by DAFilms curators as well as personalised recommendations for exceptional titles that you don’t want to miss. Among twenty select films include No Home Movie by Chantal Akerman and Walden by Jonas Mekas. The works of both these filmmaking celebrities were presented as part of two rare retrospective programs in 2020.”

“2020 has been an exceptional year for the film industry in every way imaginable, from new productions and festivals to online distribution. Although this stress test brought upon the cultural sector by the pandemic continues, we still had the chance to see a lot of prominent titles and present retrospective programs in homage to several filmmakers. Among the most successful of them were screenings of films by Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa and Canadian director Peter Mettler. And thanks to online distribution, several short films such as All Inclusive and Shooting Crows have managed to pique audience interest,” says the program’s curator, Veronika Likov, weighing in on this year’s activity.

And here is the list, go to the website and then to the titles to watch, it’s pretty much cheap. Here is the list, I have highlighted those I would recommend you to watch. Make your own film festival:

The Border Fence (AT, 2018)– dir. Nikolaus Geyrhalter

El Mar La Mar (US, 2017) – dir. Joshua Bonetta, J. P. Sniadecki Exotica,

Erotica, Etc. (FR, 2015) – dir. Evangelia Kranioti

Bridges of Time (PHOTO) (LT, EE, LV 2018)– dir. Kristīne Briede, Audrius Stonys This

Movie Is a Gift (AT 2019) – dir. Anja Salomonowitz

Ama-San (PT, CH, JP 2016) – dir. Cludia Varejo

Baracoa (CH, ES, US 2019) – dir. Pablo Briones

Island of the Hungry Ghosts (UK, AU, DE 2018)– dir. Gabrielle Brady

Samuel in the Clouds (BE, NL 2016) – dir. Pieter Van Eecke

Before Summer Ends (CH, FR 2017) – dir. Maryam Goormaghtigh

Our Little Poland (PL 2019) – dir. Matěj Bobřk

Photographic Memory (US, FR 2011) – dir. Ross McElwee

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (CA, US 2016) – dir. Brett Story

Teach (RO 2019) – dir. Alex Brendea

Come Back Free (EE 2016) – dir. Ksenia Okhapkina

No Home Movie (BE, FR 2015) – dir. Chantal Akerman

Walden (US 1968) – dir. Jonas Mekas

Undertow Eyes (BR 2009) – dir. Petra Costa

All Inclusive (CH 2018) – dir. Corina Schwingruber Ilić

Shooting Crows (CH 2018) – dir. Christine Hrzeler

A Man Returned (UK, LB, NL, PS 2016) – dir. Mahdi Fleifel

Abiding (NL 2019) – dir. Ugo Petronin

https://dafilms.com/

 

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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