Category Archives: Film Festivals

Festival:
The 61st DOK Leipzig

Dates:
October 29-November 4

About:
More than 80 new and recent nonfiction features screen at this long-running German festival.

The German competition includes several world premieres, including: Claudia Lehmann’s THE SYMPHONY OF UNCERTAINTY, an essay exploring particle physics, hypnotherapy, and industrial music; Katinka Zeuner’s BREATHING LIFE INTO STONE, a portrait of a man who creates tombstones; Benjamin Rost’s NIGHTWANDERERS, a nocturnal look at German outsiders; Arjun Talwar and Bigna Tomschin’s A DONKEY CALLED GERONIMO, about the residents of a small Baltic Sea island; and Pablo Ben Yakov’s LORD OF THE TOYS, which follows a group of young professional YouTubers in Dresden.

Among the offerings in the International Competition are: Othmar Schmiderer’s THE DAYS AND THE YEAR, following an Austrian organic farm for a year; Danae Elon’s A SISTER’S SONG, in which Marina tries to convince her sister Tatiana to leave the religious order that has separated them; Hester Overmars’ THE PRINCIPAL WIFE, following a woman’s quest to find answers about her mother, the wife of a notorious leader of a sect; Digna Sinke’s KEEPING & SAVING – OR HOW TO LIVE, in which the director explores the compulsion to collect; and Alina Gorlova’s NO OBVIOUS SIGNS, a profile of a Ukrainian woman reckoning with PTSD.

World premieres in the Next Masters competition include: Aistė Žegulytė’s ANIMUS ANIMALIS (A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE, ANIMALS AND THINGS), which looks at the presentation of dead animals as objects; Ricardo Calil’s CINEMA MOROCCO, about a theatre workshop in a long-abandoned movie palace; Guillermo Quintero’s HOMO BOTANICUS, an exploration of a Colombian tropical forest; Ahmad Jalili Jahromi’s SENTENCED TO DEATH, a profile of female criminals in Iran; and Jaśmina Wójcik’s SYMPHONY OF THE URSUS FACTORY, in which old employees of a Polish factory re-enact their former roles in the now derelict building.

Several titles make their debut in the International Programme, including: Elke Sasse’s THE WAR ON MY PHONE, which demonstrates how Syrian refugees have used technology to track the ongoing conflict; Rosine Mbakam’s CHEZ JOLIE COIFFURE, set in an African hairdresser’s in Brussels; Valentina Primavera’s UNA PRIMAVERA, which follows the filmmaker’s mother as she separates from her husband of 40 years; Albin Biblom’s CURIOSITY AND CONTROL, exploring the way the animals are presented in museums and zoos; Bettina Borgfeld’s THE PRICE OF PARADISE, about what happened to the last feudal spot in Europe; Alice Riff’s ELECTIONS, which follows the high school elections in a São Paulo high school; Boris Missirkov and Georgi Bogdanov’s PALACE FOR THE PEOPLE, an exploration of five iconic socialist era buildings; Fanny Bräuning’s THE JOURNEY – A STORY OF LOVE, which follows the filmmaker’s elderly and infirm parents as they tour Europe.

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
True Love, a new section exploring love and romance in its myriad forms: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
In the System, a new strand offering inside looks at institutions: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
Portraits, revealing profiles of fascinating individuals: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
Photography on Film, putting the spotlight on photographers and their work: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
Series Showcase, a new focus on episodic content: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
International Perspectives, a look at stories from around the globe: Continue reading →

Festival:
The 22nd Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival

Dates:
October 25-30

About:
More than 100 new and recent nonfiction features are presented in this Czech event.

Among the world premieres in the main competition, Opus Bonum, are: Alexandra Kandy Longuet’s VACANY, an observational study of an American motel; Jorge Pelicano’s UNTIL PORN DO US PART, about a religious woman trying to come to terms with her son’s gay porn career; Sanaz Azari’s BACKSTAGE ACTION, which focuses on film extras; NSD Mike Hoolboom’s AFTERMATH, an experimental portrait of four artists.

Filmmakers making their feature debut are spotlighted in the First Lights competition, with world premieres including: Dulce Ferreira Sanchez’s THE PARADISE, exploring Venezuela’s recent history through 15 years of the filmmaker’s home movies; Joaquín Maito’s OWNER’S PORTRAIT, an essay about animals, humans, and capitalism; Javier Bellido Valdivia’s CONNATURAL, profiling three generations of women and their connection to mortality; and Cyprien Clément-Delmas and Igor Kosenko’s BOY OF WAR, about a naive teen eager to join the war in Ukraine.

Works from Central and Eastern European are the focus of the Between the Seas competition, with several world premieres, including: Hilal Baydarov’s BIRTHDAY, a portrait of the filmmaker’s lonely mother; Alexander Mihalkovich’s MY GRANNY FROM MARS, about an old Ukrainian woman living in Russian-occupied Crimea; Simon Mozgovyi’s THE WINTER GARDEN’S TALE, on a crumbling conservatory that has just lost its longtime gardener; and Eugene Golovanevsky’s HEAVY METAL, which follows construction workers as they tear down a high-rise.

National cinema making its debut in the Czech Joy competition includes: Pavel Jurda’s GOOD MR BENDA, a portrait of an athletics-minded grandfather; Martin Páv’s VOTE FOR KIBERA, a hopeful profile of the people of Nairobi’s biggest slum; Jana Boršková’s PASSENGERS, a longitudinal portrait of former residents of a children’s home; and Jiří Holba’s FERAL, about a Czech man living as a hermit in the Australian outback since the 1980s.

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
American Perspectives, which highlights stories from around the US: Continue reading →