If you happen to be in Edinburgh today read what you should do to watch films, have a drink, eat some takeaway and go to tango nuevo… If you are not in Edinburgh, well enjoy the tone of this text (and all the film links) that reached filmkommentaren this morning, and be inspired to do your celebration of documentaries:

Make this Wednesday a total Documentary Day with the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Creative Scotland, and the Scottish Documentary Institute. Here’s how to navigate it: First, there’s this year’s Bridging the Gap premiere in Cameo 1 at 5pm. Check our website to learn more on our four latest Scottish short docs. Directors Chico Pereira (“Just like sex in public places”) and Paul Fegan (“Doo or die”) have just written new blog posts which include their trailers. EIFF tickets here.

Then, around 6.30pm, those of us with an EIFF delegate pass will migrate just down the road to the bar in the Traverse Theatre, where we’re inviting you to drinks and a chat. This, of course, is just a pit-stop for your way along the Grassmarket and up Victoria Street to the Liquid Room, where doors open at 7.30pm. You should probably grab some takeaway along the way, as it’ll be a long night… 

From 8pm, we’re delighted to welcome the brilliant Swedish New Tango Orquesta for a one-off concert in Scotland. They provided the score for our film Future My Love which has been creating quite a bit of buzz at EIFF. And their music isn’t just tango as you know it. For 90 minutes, they’ll be taking so-called tango nuevo to new levels, then followed by DJ Larry from 9.30pm (you may need to use the side entrance if you’re arriving late). Not to be missed! The Future My Love Tango Concert & Launch Party is free for EIFF passholders (and that’s not just delegates and press, also staff and volunteers…

http://www.scottishdocinstitute.com/

The innovative festival in Skopje is over and awards have been distributed. Apart from two of the films, frequent readers of filmkommentaren.dk will know the winning films very well from reviews and notes. Here you are, and below you get descriptions of the two last ones:

Best creative documentary in main selection-“ARGENTINIAN LESSON” (Wojciech Staron).

The award for ethical ideas- “CELL PHONE“(Nedzat Begovic)

The award for best presentation for human rights-“NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT” (Patricio Guzman).

Best newcomer documentary-“HE THINKS HE IS THE BEST”. Director: Maria Kuhlberg, Sweden, 2011, 75 mins. A documentary film which reflects the turbulent history of a family following its emigration to Italy. At the centre of the story is the conflict between two brothers which lasts for more than fifty years. The beginning of the film reveals that the brothers haven’t had contact for thirteen years.

Best documentary for kids and youth- “NICKY’S FAMILY”. Slovakia/Czech Republic, 2011, 96’. (Photo). Director: Matej Mináč. A visually magnificent, emotionally packed journey through the almost forgotten work of a humble man. The true new ‘Schindler’s List’, without the commercial aspect. The man is now over 100 years old; he managed to save so many young people’s lives without mentioning anything about it for 50 years. This film will make you believe in grand noble deeds again, as is the case with ‘Nicky’s family’ – thousands of young people inspired to get engaged in acts of good deeds around the world.

www.makedox.mk

June 26-29, la Rochelle, the 23rd edition of an event that used to be in Marseilles but now has moved to the Bay of the Bascay on the Atlantic Coast. Among professionals it has been stated that the Sheffield DocFest has put the Sunny Side into the shadow but if you look at the programme and the attendance, there is no sign of crisis for the classic international market in France.

There are introductions to broadcasters, a welcome to and presentation of Chinese documentarians, project presentations, 3D, sessions on webdoc and crowd funding, screenings, docu-games, ”arte france transmedia projects”, a case study of ”Senna” called ”How to make a Documentary Without a Camera”, many screenings most of them linked to the Chinese focus – and a 25 year celebration of the Marseilles-based production company Les Films du Tambour de Soie, congratulations to Alexandre Cornu and his team! Photo from new film project from the company: Tokyo Blue, pitched at the Edinburgh Pitch 2012.

And of course a video library for the many buyers who go to find documentaries for their tv stations. Attendance? Well, it is significant that EDN (European Documentary Network) which has been at the Sunny Side since it (the EDN) started its work in 1996, this year hosts a stand for 50 companies from all over Europe, the biggest number ever. 

http://www.sunnysideofthedoc.com/en/

Miff stands for Moscow International Film Festival that started its 34th edition last night, again with a strong documentary element. For the second year the MIFF has a documentary competition programme with 7 films plus a section with 18 long and shorter documentaries, most of them known for festival goers, including this traveller, who on that background can only praise the selection for its high quality.

In the competition programme you find Danish ”The Ambassador” (photo) by Mads Brügger, ”Searching for Sugarman” by Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish production directed by a first time feature director, ”Colors of Math” by Russian Ekaterina Eremenko with Pavel Kostomarov on camera, and the fascinating Czech ”Theatre Svoboda” about legendary stage designer Josef Svoboda, directed by Jakub Hejna.

In the ”Free Thought” programme of 18 films there are great films like ”Argentinean Lesson” by Polish Staron, Scorcese’s George Harrison-film, ”5 Broken Cameras”, ”Give Up Tomorrow”, ”Planet of Snail” and ”Vivan las Antipodas”.

http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/programs/?id=4157

”Make Docs Happen” on the catalogue and on the posters surrounding the theatre where the pitch of 11 projects from all over Europe – to a panel of 11 broadcasters and distributors – took place. And make docs happen is what the Scottish Documentary Institute (SDI) has done for years now, with enthusiasm and competence. The SDI introduces itself as a ”documentary research centre at Edinburgh College of Art specialised in documentary training, production and distribution, running annual programmes such as ”Bridging the Gap” (short documentaries) and Interdoc (feature documentaries) helping filmmakers and producers to develop their projects”.

Among the pitched projects were ”Borrowed Memories” by Maria Clara Escobar from Brazil, a promising personal story where the director wants her father to tell her what happened to him during the dictatorship, where he – a poet and playwright – was jailed and tortured for his political work. Also a film about father and daughter is ”Fatherland” by Sara Ishaq (photo), who has a Scottish mother and a yemenite father, who at a very early stage wanted to find a man for her (old, fat and bald according to the daughter’s memory), which he does not remember… The daughter goes to Yemen and other serious matters comes up, the revolution, that brings father and daughter to the streets and closer to each other. Easy to see that this film will be strong and with an international potential. The director has an Egyptian and a Syrian coproducer. An award for the best pitch was given to ”Chuck Norris vs Communism” by Ilinca Calugareanu, who brought a charming story to the panel about the illegal distribution of Western films, translated by Irina Nistor ”whose husky, high-pitched voice became known throughout Romania”.

The SDI also arranged a session with ”Docs in Progress” and has a premiere tonight of a film coproduced with Sweden, ”Future My Love”, directed by Maja Borg. This happens within the frames of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

www.futuremylove.com

www.scottishdocinstitute.com

It is the third edition, it takes place in Skopje, it goes on until June 22^nd, it is a festival with its own, original profile and a special communication strategy – subscribe to its free newsletter, from where the following text is taken:

“This Friday the Old Bazaar in Skopje smelled differently. Apart from the smell of barbecue, baklava and other delicious pastry, one could feel the strong odor of onion. Kurshumli an opened its archway and welcomed the audience at the third edition of the Creative Documentary Film Festival “MakeDox”.

It was only the first of the many nights to come that are celebrating the documentary film under the starry sky among impressive and historically significant stone walls. Starting from yesterday, Skopje will smell like onion. Because the onion stands for MakeDox. It is a structure without center but with an objective. And the objective is the new onion: the new life justifies the existence of the onion.”

“Under” this very inviting text the festival includes a high class programme, divided into categories like “Multilayered Onion” (main programme), “Spring Onion” (newcomers), “Balkan Onion”, “Kids on planet Onion”, “Sliced Onion” (short films) and a special focus on the work of Serbian director Zelimir Zilnik. To exemplify: In the main programme you will find “The Interrupters” by Steve James, “The Cell Phone” by Nedzat Begovic, “The Ambassador” by Mads Brugger, “Nostalgia for the Light” by Patricio Guzman and “Argentinian Lesson” (photo) by Wojciek Staron.

http://makedox.mk/en/

Emanuela Macchniz, student at Zelig School for Documentary, Television and New Media, placed in Bolzano Italy sent this report to filmkommentaren.dk:

Last April (25 – 30) the Association Ness El Fen organized for the seventh year the new documentary film festival “Doc à Tunis”. The festival offers every year the opportunity to discover the Tunisian documentary films, showing the life and the current problems of the country. The president of the association, Syhem Belkhodja, opened the screening with “Militantes …” directed by the Tunisian director Sonia Chamkhi, who brings us into a post-revolutionary Tunisia in full democratic transition, where Tunisian women are candidates for the Assembly Constituency facing the political arena for the first time.” The screening was attended by the women protagonists who expressed their reflections about their electoral defeat. It was a very emotional moment.

After the opening day many other Tunisian films were in the list: “Himen National” (photo) by Jamel Mokni which treats the delicate subject of hymen reconstruction surgery, a practice increasingly common in Tunisia. Another powerful film was showed “Separation” directed by Felthi Saidi. Her story is about a Tunisian father of a family of four children. He sailed from Libya towards Lampedusa, risking his life, but convinced that Europe has the means to realize his dreams. This film is a double vision of two realities, one of the immigrant in France, and one of the family in Tunisia.

There were many exciting moments during the festival. One was when the rapper Mohamed Amine Bouhrizi commonly called “Madou”, came into the theatre to attend the screening of a short film about himself, “Golden Man” made by Hsan Abdelghani, showing the district where he was born “la Kabbariyya”, a place of both pride and with an intimate environment, but also the cause of his rebellion and his desire to leave the country .

The festival presented also international films: 6 from Lebanon including “Sector Zero” directed by Nadim Mishlawi present after the screening, “5 Broken Cameras” by Emrad Burnat e Guy Davidi from Palestine and Israel, “Letters from Iran” by Manoun Loizeau, Iran, “Indignados” by Tony Gatlif, “Good bye Moubarak!” by Katia Jarjoura, “Tous brulés” by Leila Chaibi, “Le Thé ou l’élèctricité” by Jérome Le Maire, “Arabe et fier de l’etre” by Lila Salimi and many other. “Vivan las antipodas” by Victor Kossakovski ended the festival. There were free admission to the screenings, and the theaters were full every day.

With me I carry the memory of a theater full of women and men, who participated with such interest, taking with them also their children.

Emanuela Macchniz, student of documentary at Zelig, Bolzano.