DocsBarcelona 2017

So there they are the films selected for the 20th edition of DocsBarcelona. Listed in alphabetical order or in sections or according to screening hours and venue, it starts May 18 and ends May 28, with an extension of some screening days compared to previous years. It started being an industry event, years ago the festival was added. I have been ”part of the furniture” from the very beginning, first working for the industry and now for the festival selection. It’s been pure pleasure and I am looking forward to a long stay in Barcelona in a professional and warm festival atmosphere.

At the launch of the festival today festival director Joan Gonzalez informed about the opening film, Clare Weiskopf’s ”Amazona” (PHOTO), a film that has already been at several festivals but now returns to Barcelona, where it was presented, when it was a project and where it took part in the rough cut session that DocsBarcelona organises every year.

I have had the privilige of following the film at editing stage, from time to time. I have been worried about the final result – those worries are gone, the final version is excellent. To quote the catalogue text: ”A fascinating journey between mother and daughter through the Colombian Amazon, filled with conversations that fire sparks and leave us facing a moral dilemma around freedom and responsibility.”

I will later return to the films being shown at the festival in Barcelona, a pretty big portion of them have been reviewed on this site – no need to hide that I have been part of the selection team. BUT let me mention the three sections.

The biggest is the “Panorama” – This section shows the best documentaries of the current international scene. The films in this section compite for DocsBarcelona TV3 Award to the Best Documentary and the New Talent Award to the best film of debuting directors.

Then there is “Latitude” – A competitive section which includes a selection of the best documentaries made in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. DocsBarcelona Latitude Award is sponsored by Antaviana Films.

And “What the Doc!” – A competitive section that shows a selection of the most radical and innovative films of the current documentary scene. Like “Untitled” by Glawogger and Monika Willi, “Woman and the Glacier” by Audrius Stonys, “Brothers” by Wojciech Staron and “You have no Idea How Much I love You”.

http://www.docsbarcelona.com/en/docsbarcelona-2017/festival/programacio-2017/

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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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