Nine projects took part in this year’s edition of DocsBarcelona’s Artistic Consultancies. It was a pleasure to meet the filmmakers, who came from all over the world: Ukraine, Portugal, India, Italy, France, Azerbaijan, Chile, Uruguay, Montenegro, Colombia, Argentina, Spain! Stories about Life and Love, Pain and Joy, Observation, Construction – rough cuts, early cut, close to post production. What a wonderful world documentaries depict, it’s all out there, go and get it, show, interpret, make it personal.

Conversation. Dialogue. Constructive criticism. Suggestions for improvement. 80 minutes.

It is my impression that the makers all took something to be useful for their further work in the editing room. Thanks to the tutors who turned up well prepared and ready to ask questions and say what they found strong and what was weak.

Thanks so much to the tutors Emma Davie, Cecilia Lidin, Robert Goodman, Montse Bartui and Pol Roig. An extra applause to the latter, who was the master of technique at the location, where 8 of the projects were presented. With zoom images of makers, who could not be present and with makers sitting in sofas responding to the tutors on screen – the three first mentioned. Bartui and Roig being in Barcelona.

I chose a photo from the project “Silence is the Enemy of the Sea” with Evgeny Rodin and Dina Karaman as directors of a film shot in Azerbaijan. Pol Roig was the tutor. Description from catalogue:

Muffled music seeps in through the thick white fog. Inside, people on the iron beds begin to stir awake under their snug wraps. The barred windows of their rooms face the vast, grumbling sea. The on-site radio plays songs in different languages—some are about the Great Mother Sea, in others the sea is a ruthless killer. Wake-up, meal, leisure, and nap time calls are made in Morse code. After meals, the residents lounge in the vast halls on sofas and carpets. They drift away to imaginary seas, ignoring the real one before them…

I did the selection of the projects. The organisation of the session was done perfectly by Claudia Valero. Thank you to all of you.

… and goes until May 18. The opening film is “RIEFENSTAHL” by Andres Veiel, a film that premiered at the festival in Venice and goes all over, of course, praised by critics. I will not be in Barcelona for the screening (only one) but the film is in cinema (Grand Theatre) here in Copenhagen and I will watch it before going to the festival on Monday the 12th, where the Industry section will start, more about that below.

Opening the website of the festival, six of the films from the “Official Competition” are listed: The extraordinary “9 Month Contract” (PHOTO) by Georgian Ketevan Vashagashvili that I recommend warmly, the nice content-wise predictable “Facing War” by Norwegian Tommy Gulliksen, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” by David Borenstein and Pasha Talankin, the latter the protagonist of a well-made personal documentation of a brave teacher, who could not endure to be a propagandist, Danish Robin Petré with “Only on Earth” that I have not seen but the other day I met Frank Paulsen, now former film consultant at Danish Film Institute, claimed that Petré is THE documentary director in Denmark right now, and two more that I have not heard about, Iranian Mohammadreza Eyni’s “Cutting Through Rocks” and María Mauti’s “Miralles” – “Enric Miralles is considered an essential figure in contemporary architecture”, the site says.

The Industry section starts on Monday the 12th, you can read all about it on the website – there are Public Pitch, Speed Pitch, Rough Cut pitch, thematic discussions AND “Artistic Consultancies”, which are not public, but let me tell you about it as I am the one in charge:

9 rough cut projects have been chosen to meet experienced knowledgeable tutors. The projects come from all over world and the filmmakers will be present in Barcelona AND/OR online to meet their tutor for an 80 minute long conversation, that first of all has a focus on content and storytelling. I can assure you that the tutors, handpicked by me, are prepared for their job and will come up with inspirational comments. I say so as they – the tutors – have tried it before. They are Scottish Emma Davie, Danish Cecilia Lidin, American/Danish Robert Goodman and Montse Bartui and Pol Roig, both based in Barcelona. The latter, Pol Roig, film director and former artistic director of the festival will be present in the background together with me during the sessions, ready to step in if needed.

After each session I will post a screenshot of the participants on FB,

Enjoy the festival.

Years ago I was the mentor for a film from Belarus. It takes time – and it should – to make documentaries that follow a young person, who is dealing with very hard family conditions like Katya does. She is a welder, a young woman in a world primarily for men. She had a tough childhood due to her mother’s drinking and now the story repeats itself as the mother – still drinking – has given birth to a small girl, Amina, who goes through the same social mess and lack of care as Katya – who wants to do all she can to avoid Amina to be taken to an orphanage as she – Katya – was.

I remember the many online meetings with Anastasiya, where my first question to her was: How is Katya, can she manage to have a life like that, moving from the countryside to live with her mother and Amina. Taking care of the small girl. Does she have a chance to get custody over Amina or are the odds against her: young age, small domicile, single, low income…

From the very start I was emotionally drawn to the story, wanted that all should be good. Looking at the young girl and her face often caught in pain but also with smiles, when her male welders praise her warmly.

I will not reveal where the film goes, just say that Anastasiya has made an impressive documentary with Kasia Boniecka as editor and I am happy to hear that the film – after a pitch at IDFA – has found co-producers in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. And that the film will have its premiere at a Doc Fest in the UK. I can not be more specific as the program of the festival is not out yet. It will also be at the Shanghai International Film Festival. And with the mentioned three co production countries mentioned, one can hope that the film will meet an EU audience. Due to limitations it will not be possible for Belarussian Anastasiya to get a visa in time, if possible at all. A pity she can not be for the premiere in the country of Ken Loach with her strong social and humanistic work.

I have known Heino Deckert for decades. I have a big respect for his contribution to current documentaries that have traveled the world. He has taken risks being the producer of demanding directors like Victor Kossakovsky and Sergei Loznitza, and he has always fought to bring documentaries to cinemas, to the big screen. He has for years been so-called group leader for the training program Eurodoc, that has developed the skills of many emerging documentary talents. He has always had both feet on the ground, never snobbish and not afraid to go against broadcasters with strong Ego´s. We have very often discussed football and way back we watched a match together after a workshop in Belfast. His team – was it Werder Bremen? – lost, Barcelona won.

It is in Barcelona at the DocsBarcelona Heino Deckert in some days will receive an Honorary Award, so well deserved.

I have picked some facts from the internet about the prize winner:

Heino Deckert is producer and managing director of ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion based in Leipzig and Berlin and holds a share in Blinker Filmproduktion based in Cologne as well as running Deckert Distribution, a distribution company for documentaries

He was born on June 23rd 1959. He has studied law in Berlin and was a student at the German Film and TV Academy Berlin (DFFB). Upon graduating in 1991 he founded the production company ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion.

In 1995 Deckert founded d.net, an informal union of six European colleagues joining forces to exchange ideas and initiatives. Since the establishing of d.net the producers finished more than 30 internationally coproductions together and became a significant player on the international filmmarket. Heino Deckert meanwhile produced more than 70 award-winning documentaries. They have been premiered at renowned international Festivals such as Berlinale, Venice, Rotterdam, Visions du Réel in Nyon, Cinema du Réel in Paris, IDFA Amsterdam and DOK Leipzig. In 2010 the documentary “Rabbit á la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka got nominated for the Academy Awards. In the same year “Close to Heaven” by Titus Faschina had its premiere at the international competition at Doc Leipzig. The following year “Bad Weather” by Giovanni Giommi was screened in the international competitions of Doc Leipzig and IDFA and was nominated for the Joris Ivens Award. In 2011, the new film of Victor Kossakowsky “Vivan Las Antipodas” had its premiere as second opening film of the Venice Film Festival 2011 and was nominated for the European Film Prize. Also in 2012 “Condition” by Thomas Heise had its premiere at Berlinale.

The catalogue of Deckert Distribution includes titles like: Chavez – Inside the Coup, The Three Rooms of Melancholia, Citizen Havel, Recipes for Disaster. In 2005 Heino Deckert founded ma.ja.de. fiction and produced his first fiction film in 2006 with documentary filmmakers Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth. At its world premiere at the 2006 Venice Film Festival “Khadak” was awarded the “Lion of the Future” for the best feature film debut. “Altiplano” the second promising feature film project by the two filmmakers was premiered at the 48. Semaine de la Critique in Cannes 2009. “My Joy” by Sergei Loznitsa was chosen for the Cannes competition and celebrated its premiere in May 2010. Furthermore, the film was in 2010 on the shortlist for the European Film Awards. “My Joy” received major awards at international festivals. He was the chairman of the European Documentary Network (EDN) from 2006-2008.

… and he was the producer of Kossakovsky´s “Architecton” that goes around to cinemas, including Spain, I understand.

At the festival in Barcelona, two of his films will be shown: “Rabbit à la Berlin” by Polish Konopka AND the last film of Thomas Heise, “Heimat ist ein Raum aus Zeit”, let me quote from this site:

“…There is so much to (re)discover, so many cinematic decisions that are far from main-stream documentary storytelling.With the whole overall ambition, to take the viewer through the history of a family, through generations from the beginning of the 20th century till today. What an ambition and what an original and succesful result! Like a written biography it is a film in 5 chapters, indeed a piece of literature in itself as much as it is an aesthetically balanced visual interpretation with the voice of the director reading letters, diaries, presenting documents, and let me not forget the muted tone, never pushy, never overwhelming, but always there in the background together with the eloquent voiceover…”

Thomas Heise passed way in 2024, far too early. His film to be shown at DocsBarcelona is definitely one of the highlights of this year’s edtion.