IDFA Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire
At IDFA we believe in the value of life, and in the universal dream of a peaceful world. We respect the pain and the huge loss on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides of the on-going conflict. We stand by…
Filmkommentaren.dk
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Filmkommentaren.dk
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Articles/Reviews ENGLISH
Read MoreIDFA Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire
Olya Chernykh: A Picture To Remember
Hello Olya, how are you sweetheart? The voice of Babuschka Zorya from Donetsk, the hometown of Olya, who is now living in Kyiv with her father and mother. The film is built in a way that I as a viewer…
IDFA Opening Night
Earlier this evening, the 36th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) officially opened in the Royal Theater Carré with the world premiere of A Picture to Remember by Olga Chernykh. IDFA 2023 takes place from November 8 to 19 in more…
Mstyslav Chernov: 20 Days in Mariupol
This text is from the website of the film: “An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain…
DOCA Documentary Association Georgia
… was founded one year ago, November 2022. And has since then performed an avalanche of activities, first of all protesting against the Ministry of Culture and its Reorganization at Georgian National Film Center followed by demonstrations outside the Center…
Pedro Costa at Festival dei Popoli
Retrospective and masterclass with one of the absolute masters of Cinema today, Portuguese Pedro Costa, at the legendary Festival dei Popoli that starts in two days. The festival site has this introduction to Costa: “To go back on Pedro Costa’s…
Ostrochovsky, Pekarcik: Photophobia
… with the first names Ivan and Pavol are known by me for their “Velvet Terrorists”, that I called “an original, intelligent and humorous” film in a review from 2013 (). If you take away “Humorous” and use “poetic” instead,…
Veronika Lišková: The Visitors
Oh, what an intelligent film with many layers, was my thought after the 85 minutes in company with Zdenka and her family in Svalbard. Including not only the young Czech social anthropologist going to the Arctic with her family to…
Anneta Papathanasiou: Laughing in Afghanistan
There is quite an interview in this both entertaining and scary documentary: Mohammad Sadic Akif Mujahir, spokesman for the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and prevention of Vice, says that music is a satanic art… and reflects, rather he states…
Greek Documentary Association
… was built up in May 2013 “by professionals of all disciplines – directors, producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, editors … – with a common passion for Creative Documentary…” with the vision “From the start, we sought to support the Documentary as…
IDFA Opening film
The artistic director of IDFA Orwa Nyrabia announced yesterday what will be the opening film of the 2023 festival: A Picture to Remember. Here are the words about the film from IDFA’s website: Olga Chernykh spent her childhood in Donetsk…
IDFA Press Conference 2023
… was held yesterday afternoon with artistic director Orwa Nyrabia in the leading role after Head of New Media Kaspar Sonnen had introduced the DocLab: Phenomenal Friction. For more than an hour Nyrabia talked us through the 2023 program with…
DOKLeipzig Awards 2023
Last night the DOKLeipzig awards were distributed – and there were many. The festival has always been good at finding sponsors for the awards to their sections of long, short and animations films. Here is a copy paste of the…
DOKLeipzig Partnership Awards
There are so many awards to be handed out in Leipzig today that they had to be split into two ceremonies. Here is a copy paste of the press release about the first round of applauses, that happened this afternoon,…
Ramallah – Documentaries from Palestine
This text was written by Tue Steen Müller in 2010 after a stay in Ramallah meeting Palestinian filmmakers including those in Gaza, with whom we tutors from Western Europe met to select makers to come to Corfu in Greece to…
2012: Emma Davie, Scottish filmmaker and teacher at Edinburgh College of Art, and tutor at numerous workshops for filmmakers from Europe and elsewhere, was in Ramallah at the Storydoc/Ramallah.doc workshop. She has given us permission to re-post this beautiful text. When I asked her for permission, she said “Go Ahead, Words fail for what is happening but good to remember the historical context of this brutality.
THE FREEDOM TO SEE by Emma Davie It’s a bar in Ramallah called Beit Aneesh. Apparently named after an old lady that lived there. A laid back place with posters from the history of the struggle of the Palestinian people.…
ARTE “Generation Ukraine” at DOKLeipzig/ 2
I was there in my armchair with my computer to follow the DOK Industry Talk yesterday afternoon about Generation Ukraine, “a new initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries that explore…
DOKLeipzig: Panorama
”DOK Leipzig is opening a window on the world of Central and Eastern European cinema. The short and feature-length works presented here span the range from the socialist past through the times of upheaval to the present – personal, funny,…
Arndt Ginzel: White Angel – The End of Marinka
It makes no sense for me to make a review of this shocking documentary from Hell on Earth with heroes, who literally drive from house to house to help the population be evacuated, mostly old people, convincing is needed for…
Fisher Stevens: Beckham
I could not leave it, the four part series on David Beckham, a superstar in football history, a businessman, one part of a celebrity couple, married to Victoria, one of the Spice Girls, nicknamed Posh Spice. It’s a well made,…
FOCUS ON UKRAINE at CinÉast in Luxembourg
In Luxembourg, from October 5-22, the Central and Eastern European Film Festival puts a focus on Ukraine. This is a copy-paste of the text related to that: One of the key elements of the 2023 programme is the Focus on Ukraine –…
ARTE "Generation Ukraine" at DOKLeipzig
In this year’s edition, DOK Leipzig is presenting a DOK Industry Talk on Generation Ukraine, a new initiative by the ARTE Group aimed at supporting the Ukrainian filmmaking industry by co-producing 12 documentaries that explore Ukrainian reality in the throes…
Marc Isaacs: This Blessed Plot
In 2007 Marc Isaacs made ”All White in Barking”, in 2020 “The Filmmaker’s House” and now “This Blessed Plot”. You should know, when reading this article that I am a big admirer of Isaacs having seen, loved and written about…
CinéDoc Tbilisi Winners
In Batumi the CinéDoc Tbilisi performed their International Documentary Film Festival with a competition for Georgian long documentary films as well as short. Below you will find the jury motivations: BEST FILM FEATURE LENGTH COMPETITION: THE NORTHEASTERN WINDS – DIRECTED…
Nordisk Panorama Winners 2023
Winners – Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2023 MALMÖ, Sweden — Today, Nordisk Panorama Film Festival proudly presents the winners of our 34th edition. The Awards Gala took place 26 September in Malmö City Hall. Out of the 64 films selected to compete in…
Nordisk Panorama has announced its winners for the 30th edition of the festival. Here is a copy-paste of a well written and presented press release: Winners – Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2023 MALMÖ, Sweden — Today, Nordisk Panorama Film Festival proudly presents the…
Carl Olsson Conversation at M7
”Vintersaga” was shown the other day at the Magnificent7 Festival in Belgrade. Scandinavian (born in Sweden, educated and living in Denmark) Olsson had been in Belgrade in 2020 for the festival before with “Patrimonium” about the Danish aristocracy and their…
Luka Popadić: My Swiss Army
This text is written by Magnificent7 Festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic: This film was created from a unique and unexpected angle, from the experience of the author who is simultaneously a Serbian director and an officer of the Swiss…
Christopher Morris: A Year in the Field
This text is written by the festival directors of the Magnificent7 Festival in Belgrade: BAFTA awarded English author Christopher Morris makes one of the most unusual, artistically superior works of creative documentaries in this year. A film that invites you…
Carl Olsson: Vintersaga
This text is written by Magnificent7 Festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic: A magnificent visual poem by the young Scandinavian director Karl Olsson, the author of a unique style, that enchanted the audience at “The Magnificent Seven” in his exceptional…
Michael Graversen: Mr. Graversen
This text is written by Magnificent7 festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic: A stunning intrusion of the camera into “life not ready for filming”, brilliant cinéma vérité, a superb documentary that is created before the eyes of the viewers through…
Oeke Hoogendijk: Housewitz
One of the best European authors, Oeke Hoogendijk, whose three masterful films on art seen from unexpected and exciting angles we saw at “The Magnificent Seven”, this time turns to a very personal subject in a Kammerspiel style to create…
Melanie Liebheit and Gereon Wetzel: She Chef
This text is written by festival directors of the Magnificent7 Festival in Belgrade. Svetlana and Zoran Popovic: Germany, Austria 2022 105 minutes directed by: Melanie Liebheit and Gereon Wetzel Screened at the most important festivals, this enchanting documentary is a fantastic journey…
Magnificent7 Welcome to Belgrade
Riga, very early morning. Because of crutch – pain, waiting for a hip replacement – chair-assistance in the airport and help from co-tutor at the Baltic Sea Docs, editor Phil Jandaly, who was on his way to another workshop. One…
Magnificent7 Festival Belgrade
All Men Become Brothers It´s not easy. The selection of 7 films. For a good and a bad reason. The good is that today so many good documentaries are available in Belgrade. It was not like that 19 years ago,…
European Film Academy Shortlists 14 Documentaries
Press release of today: ”With 14 powerful feature-length documentary films the European Film Academy is presenting a strong Documentary Film Selection for the European Film Awards 2023. The Academy has revealed the titles today. A committee consisting of a diverse…
MakeDox Goodbye
I am sitting in the lobby of the Bushi Hotel, which, with all its corridors and many rooms, has been a nice escape spot from the heat outside after long workshop days, a few outdoor screenings, meals in the bazaar…
MakeDox: Main Program
It is a very competent and exciting selection the North (!) Macedonian festival in Skopje, edition number 14, offers its audience in 3 outdoor screening venues. Screenings start after the 9.15 calls from the minarets in the city. And the…
Aleksandar Reljic: Mamula All Inclusive
Mamula… never heard about it, and I was not the only one in the over-full cinema hall 2 in Cineplex at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Now I do thanks to the fine film…
Sarajevo FF CineLink Industry focus on Docs
CineLink Industry has steadily evolved over the years into a home and thriving hub for documentary professionals. This year’s 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will feature an extensive lineup of documentary-focused activities with a focus on captivating storytelling. From deeply personal…
Sarajevo FF Docu Talents from the East 2023
Docu Talents from the East – the closely watched presentation of the most remarkable documentary films in post-production from Central and Eastern Europe will take place on August 13 at Sarajevo FF. Eight new creative documentary projects will be presented as…
Sarajevo FF: Dealing With the Past
The Dealing with the Past programme is an additional platform for testimonies and stories that can serve as a base for developing film scripts, projects and films. The aim of the program is to initiate dialogue in the countries formed…
Sarajevo FF Documentary Competition/ 2
Rada Šešić, programmer of the Competition Programme – Documentary Film has selected 20 titles for this year’s edition. The selection features nine world premieres, one international, seven regional premieres and three B&H premieres. “This year I was delighted by…
Robert Kirchhoff: All Men Become Brothers
I am sure many of you remember the iconic moment from November 1989, when Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek stand on a balcony in the Wenceslas Square in Prague being welcomed enthusiastically by hundreds of thousands. It was the days of the Velvet…
Sarajevo FF Documentary Competition
COMPETITION PROGRAMME – DOCUMENTARY FILM 2023 HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM Award in the amount of €4,000, sponsored by the Government of Switzerland HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM Award in the amount of €2,000 HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD Award…
Documentary Association Georgia Protests
Georgia [June 15, 2023] Georgia’s Ministry of Culture Appoints Interim Director and Initiates Reorganization at Georgian National Film Center The Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) has recently undergone significant changes with the appointment of Mr. Koba Khubunaia as its interim…
Baltic Sea Docs 2023 Edition 27!
A copy paste from website of Baltic Sea Docs: We’re excited to announce the 20 film projects that have been selected for the 27th edition of Baltic Sea Docs in September! Many thanks to all submitters for sharing your work!…
Luka Beradze: Smiling Georgia
Georgia. Countryside. A village with the name No Name. In 2012 Misha (Mikheil) Saakashvili came to the village to promise – part of his televised presidential campaign for re-election – the villagers new teeth and smiles (!) instead of the…
Alecu Solomon: Arsenie. An Amazing Afterlife
I met Alecu Solomon in Bucharest not long ago and as someone, who has followed his films (almost) from when he started, always admiring him and them, my natural question was: What is your next work? He sent me a…
DocLisboa: Anastasia Lapsui & Markku Lehmuskallio
Doclisboa (that takes place 19-29.10) will present another momentous retrospective – with the support of the Finnish Film Foundation – dedicated to the cinema of Anastasia Lapsui and Markku Lehmuskallio: this is the first complete retrospective dedicated to the directors.…