Festival

What is it that makes a festival nice to visit? The atmosphere of course, which is about the venue and the people hosting you. The information given to you about the programme – website, catalogue, introduction of visiting directors –…

This is the start: A monkey looking into your eyes, an orangutan’s gaze into the camera. At US, those who are outside the glass. Or just looking into nothing. No sound, or very soft sound from the streets around the…

”Kill the Referee” is a film of Belgian and Swiss nationality, directed by Yves Hiant, a film for football fans like this blog writer – as loyal readers and friends have noticed. And it is amazing because of its unique…

Opening film at the festival: ”The Fortress” (PHOTO) by Swiss director Fernand Melgar, who was not present at the screening as his documentary was released in theatres in Japan. The story, a real European one, I would say, at least…

It is a very good move that the Jan Vrijman Fund supported films are to be seen at idfa. It is very often among these low budget documentaries that you find films that are made out of necessity and heart.…

The European Film Academy proudly announces that the award EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2009 – Prix ARTE goes to the film THE SOUND OF INSECTS – Record of a Mummy by Peter Liechti, Switzerland. The incredible story of how the…

Sounds enigmatic the title of this blog text. It refers to a new initiative of the Institute of Documentary Film in Prague, often mentioned on this site. Organised together with the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival the East Silver ”…

A couple of months ago this was posted on filmkommentaren.dk: The city of Kazan in Tatarstan in Russia, around 800 km East of Moscow, hosts the 4th International festival of Muslim Cinema, ”Golden Minbar”, taking place September 30 to October…

… and the still young documentary festival in Copenhagen announces some audience attractions for its coming festival, November 6-15: We are now in the final stages of programming for CPH:DOX 2009, and we will regularly be announcing selected titles and…

It might interest our DANISH READERS that something very interesting for documentarians takes place on the other side of Copenhagen. Cross the bridge and you are there. This is what it is about: MDOX (22 – 25. October) is the…

”Kill the Referee” is one of the films that are included in the ”foot doc” section of the coming DOCLisboa (October 15.25). It is new, made by Yves Hinant, a Belgian/Swiss coproduction, 75 mins. long. 7 other films are there…

You might not know it but Jihlava is in Czech Republic and hosts an international documentary festival (October 27-November 1) with an always interesting innovative selection of films, and a huge industry programme – a pitching session East European Forum,…

The biggest of them all takes place in Amsterdam (November 19-29). The programme is not yet announced, that will happen on October 15, but here is a press release that again is an evidence of the growth of the political…

Jetzt online, it says on the site of the DOKLeipzig festival that goes from the 26.10-1.11, and it is an overwhelmingly rich programme that the classic festival offers its local audience and many visitors. Read all about it, site adress…

The festival introduced years ago the Generation DOK competition for young talents and it deserves credit for that. It is often there you find the innovative and original, and it brings a freshness to the festival and attracts a young…

In the festival world, at least at the big festivals like the one in Leipzig, the Panorama section always includes high quality international documentaries that either have been at other festivals, in competition, and therefore do not qualifym or did…

The IDF, Institute of Documentary Films, based in Prague is THE promoter of new Czech documentary films. This week the IDF was part of the team that organised Panel of New Czech Documentary Films. The following twelve directors and producers…

I had never heard about him before, Alvis Hermanis, even if the Latvian film team Inese Boka and Gints Grube wrote in their file that he was famous all over Europe. They did so when we met at Ex Oriente…

… so who were they, the people at the table who were supportive and constructively critical, well simply wanted to help and in many cases asked for meetings and to be kept updated on the development of the projects. If…

I can’t mention all projects that were pitched at the Baltic Sea Forum, and there is not enough space to highlight the many that did receive very positive feedback, but I will write about a couple – see above –…

It’s over, the 13th session of the Baltic Sea Forum, that started on the island of Bornholm in Denmark and now has its permanent place in Riga. It is very efficiently organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia that…

”The making of the documentary film Blood In the Mobile and the campaign and website bloodinthemobile.org is addressing the issue of illegal mining in Eastern Congo: Congolese children from the age of 5 to 15 are staying up to 72…

I am in Riga for the Baltic Sea Forum (BSF) for new documentary projects to be pitched this coming weekend.  The BSF, however, includes a hig quality film programme for the general public at the Cinema K. Suns in Riga.…

This clip from an article in Realscreen makes you think… is he right or wrong: “Filmmaker John Greyson is taking his boycott of Israel to the Toronto International Film Festival. Greyson, who withdrew his film Fig Trees (photo) from the…

It is a high quality film programme that the organisers of the coming Baltic Sea Forum offers its local Riga audience and the visiting filmmakers and tv editors. Under the title ”Revolution starts at Home” (and from September 2-6) you…

The national Danish film festival in Odense is over. Under the competent leadership of Cecilia Lidin a big competitive international programme of short fiction films supplemented the competition of new Danish short films and documentaries. The Grand Prix for the…

What a pleasant surprise and a well deserved prize from the Sarajevo Film Festival audience – to nominate ”Sevdah” by Marina Andree as the best film of the festival. I have previously introduced the film, that had its premiere in…

According to the newspaper The Guardian (August 13) a new documentary about football referees has been premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. Director is Yves Hinant and the film runs time-wise a bit less than a football match: 77 mins.…

The city of Kazan in Tatarstan in Russia, around 800 km East of Moscow, hosts the 4th International festival of Muslim Cinema, ”Golden Minbar”, taking place September 30 to October 4. 14 films have been selected for the documentary competition,…

The Danish Cinematheque, situated at the Film House in Copenhagen, launches from this month a new and very welcomed initiative: ”film of the month”, where a film – contrary to the normal 2-3 screenings – gets a Danish premiere and…

The beautiful city of Sarajevo hosts its festival August 12-20. Selected by competent film director, tutor and consultant Rada Sesic there is a strong competition programme for documentaries from (and about) the region. Among them a wonderful film, Sevdah (photo)…

The Russians respect film history. At least, this is what the organisers of the international documentary film festival Flahertiana do. October 15-21 they organise the 9th edition with the reference to Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) and with prizes that are named…

The 12th International 1001 Documentary Film Festival takes place in Istanbul December 4-11. But if you have a film to offer, you better hurry up with your application as the deadline is close. Your screeners and connected material should be…

Another (see below for Sundance Institute) very important supporter of the non-mainstream, non-anglosaxon documentary production and distribution is the idfa-associated Jan Vrijman Fund. Bravo for a new initiative from JVF: ”Starting the end of July, ten JVF films will tour…

Is it possible to make 11 short documentaries in two weeks? By film crew members from several European countries, from Spain and Bulgaria in the South to Latvia and Lithuania in the North. Young people who had never seen each…

I advocated for fun and the upcoming European filmmakers in Vilnius had fun as you can see in the film about the workshop, ”2 Weeks in 10 Minutes”, that is full of ideas and playfulness in storytelling. Time was limited…

In the best Lithuanian slow-pace, spiritual documentary tradition this is a film that puts total trust to the image. And to the fact that an old man and his horse living in the countryside is a story that includes sufficient…

Some festivals make a selection very early. YIDFF – that stands for Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival – does so. The festival that has a strong reputation for high quality selection, and that operates only every second year, yet including…

Beautiful name for a festival… this one in Armenia that started yesterday and goes on until July the 19th with an interesting documentary competition programme. Several films have been written about on filmkommentaren.dk, like ”Cash and Marry” by Atanas Georgiev,…

Selection has been done for the Nordisk Panorama documentary competition that takes place in Reykjavik September 25-30. 21 documentaries compete and several can be read about on this site: Ada Bligaard Søby’s Black Heart (photo), Anders Østergaard’s Burma VJ, Nanna…

On this site, not long ago, you could find a review of ”Cooking History” by Slovak director Peter Kerekes. During the last year you have had the chance to read several enthusiastic words about Slovak director Juraj Lehotsky’s ”Blind Loves”.…