DOCU TALENTS FROM THE EAST TO PRESENT 9 UPCOMING DOCUMENTARIES

Co-organized by the Jihlava IDFF, the Institute of Documentary Film and the Karlovy Vary IFF, Docu Talents from the East is an annual presentation of 9 outstanding documentary projects from Eastern Europe, scheduled for theatrical release over the next year. Showcasing new projects from Bosnia and Herzegovina/France, Czech Republic, Hungary/Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, this year's Docu Talents takes place July 7, 2009 as part of Karlovy Vary IFF's industry programme.

REELISOR DRAWS IN COMMISSIONING EDITORS

reelisor, a MEDIA-funded online networking platform for European documentary professionals, has opened a special section designed for commissioning editors. The new section aims to promote the exchange of information and projects and it will provide commissioning editors with direct access to the profile and filmography of reelisor members. Since 2008, reelisor has been developing new tools and services in order to enhance easy and efficient communication among the members of Europe's documentary community.

SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC: BIPS RESULTS

June 23 - 25, 2009, the BIPS (Best International Projects Showcase), theme-based pitch sessions organized by Sunny Side of the Doc for the first time, presented over 30 documentary projects that seek international partners. Sunny Side awarded EUR 2,000 for development to six projects, among them, Armenia's Donkeymentary: Through the Eyes of a Donkey (producer Vardan Hovhannisyan, Ex Oriente Film 2007), and Serbia's Run for Life (producer Mladen Matičević, Ex Oriente Film 2009). Congratulations!

LINCT TO BOOST CO-PRODUCTION EFFORTS BETWEEN INDIA AND EUROPE

ZeLIG together with Formedia (India) and Thomson Foundation (UK) promote under the MEDIA International preparatory action a new project called LINCT - Leveraging International Co-productions and Training to promote documentary co-productions between Europe and India, to create a network and cultural exchange between India and Europe. On LINCT's website (www.docnetworld.org), film professionals may register and participate in a series of online conferences, the first of which takes place July 2-3, 2009.

2009 KARLOVY VARY IFF DOCUMENTARY SELECTION

The 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that takes place July 3 - 11, 2009 will deliver the audience sixteen documentary films in competition, a diverse mix of international entries that offer stylization, essayist approach, invention as well as playfulness. After winning the 2006 Audience Award, Slovak director Marko Škop returns this year with Osadné [photo] that follows the journey of three local public figures to the European Parliament. Eight more Czech documentaries, mostly festival winners, will be presented out of competition.

JIHLAVA IDFF DEADLINE: JULY 10

The deadline for submitting new films (made in 2008/2009) for the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (October 27 - November 1, 2009) is fast approaching. Filmmakers are welcome to send their entries by July 10, 2009; in the case of rough cuts, they are encouraged to contact the festival organizers. The festival belongs among the key documentary events in Central and Eastern Europe, introducing more than 100 documentary and experimental films from around the world in four competition programmes.

PROJECTS AND FILMS UNDER EAST EUROPEAN STAND AT SUNNY SIDE

June 23 - 26, 2009, the Institute of Documentary Film invites visitors and guests to the East European Stand at the prestigious Sunny Side of the Doc market. Thanks to an agreement between IDF and SSD, this year East European producers are able to attend the event at a discounted price; three projects have been selected to take part in the inaugural SSD pitching session. All East European participants will also be able to consult their projects with international experts who will match each project with suitable partners.

OPEN LETTER FROM PRODUCERS OF BANANAS!*

A few days before its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 18-28), BANANAS!* - a co-production documentary film by Swedish director Fredrik Gertten that follows the developments in a landmark case involving Nicaraguan workers and the fruit giant Dole Food - finds itself in an unwanted spotlight. Objecting to the film, Dole Food has been taking legal and other steps to discourage the festival sponsors and stop the screening. The Institute of Documentary Film is joining EDN and other organizations that have expressed their support for the filmmakers.

DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS: 3RD SYMPOSIUM IN CRETE

July 3 - 5, 2009, Documentary Campus hosts its 3rd open training session - Documentaries: Secrets of Success - in Chania, Crete. Attended by key international CE's and experts, the three-day event will include presentations and discussions that will explore features and qualities that allow documentary films to rise above the average and achieve international success. The debates will be supplemented by screenings of The Yes Men Fix the World, Burma VJ, and Stranded. Registration deadline: June 29 - East European participants receive a 33% discount off the participation fee!

2009 EX ORIENTE FILM PICKS UP PACE WITH 2ND SESSION

June 15, the Institute of Documentary Film opens the second session of EX ORIENTE FILM, a year-long international workshop of creative East European documentary film. East European directors and producers who teamed up to develop the 14 selected projects will work with Czech and international experts in order to improve on the story development as well as the production and distribution strategy of their respective projects. (Photo: Erez Laufer, 1st Session, Ex Oriente Film).

EAST SILVER CARAVAN TRAVELS TO SILVERDOCS

The latest edition of Silverdocs (June 15 - 22, 2009) offers eight days packed with more than 100 documentary films from over sixty countries. Though outnumbered by documentaries from other parts of the world, several East European films promise to make a splash in the festival competition. In addition to its digital film library, the East Silver Caravan will present two of its titles - Bitch Academy [photo] and Cooking History - in competition; the other East European entries include the much-travelled René; Till It Hurts; Glass Trap; Poste Restante, and Another Planet.

SOLOMON TO EXPLORE ROMANIAN CAPITALISM IN NEW PROJECT

Director Alexandru Solomon and producer Ada Solomon are currently in production with their latest feature documentary project. Kapitalism - Our Secret Recipe will be a humourous take on Romanian capitalism 20 years after the fall of communism. Alexandru Solomon is the producer of Lonesome Springtime (photo, dir. Laura Capatana Juller), one of 14 documentary projects attending this year's Ex Oriente Film workshop.

TOMÁŠ ŠKRDLANT WINS PAVEL KOUTECKY AWARD

Monday, June 8, the jury of this year's Pavel Koutecky Award that is annually given to best achievement in Czech documentary film presented the trophy to director Tomáš Škrdlant for his film The Unwelcome that since the early 1990s follows the stories of several children who were abandoned by their parents. The other nominees included Czech Rapublic (Pavel Abrahám), František Kupka (Daniela Gébová), Gyumri (Jana Ševčíková), René (Helena Třeštíková), Seven Lights (Olga Sommerová), and Forgotten Transports to Poland (Lukáš Přibyl).

KAREL VACHEK: U.S. RETROSPECTIVES 2009

Throughout 2009, there will be a series of U.S. retrospectives of the films of Karel Vachek, one of the most original Czech filmmakers and winner of the 1990 Berlinale Golden Camera. Karel Vachek: Poet Provocateur, the first complete retrospective ever screened in the United States is held from May 31 to June 28 at the Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA, with Karel Vachek attending the screenings and discussions on June 21 and June 24. Following the screenings at PFA, Vachek's films will be presented at other institutions and festivals over the months to come.

KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL BESTOWS AWARDS

June 4, 2009, the Krakow FF presented awards to the best feature and short docs, as well as animation and fiction. In the Feature-length Documentary Competition, the Golden Horn Award went to Unmistaken Child [photo] by Israeli director Nati Baratz; Sergei the Healer by Finnish directors Juha Taskinen & Petteri Saario won the Silver Horn Award. In the International Competition, Pizza in Auschwitz took the Golden Dragon Award. We are especially proud to list the winners of the National Competition - the Golden Hobby-Horse Award went to Rabbit a la Berlin (Ex Oriente Film 2005) by Bartek Konopka, while Paweł Łoziński's Chemo (East European Forum 2007) received the Silver Hobby-Horse.

BALTIC SEA FORUM DEADLINE

The Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (September 2 - 9, 2009, Riga) is a pitching session and workshop combined with film screenings. Supporting East European documentary projects like the Institute of Documentary Film, the Forum focuses on projects produced in the Baltic and surrounding countries or productions with a subject related to the region. You can submit your documentary proposal until June 5, 2009.

KEREKES GARNERS SUPPORT FOR NEW PROJECT

Attending European Film Promotion's Producers on the Move in Cannes, Slovak director and producer Peter Kerekes found co-producers for his current documentary project on backup astronauts from the USA, Russia, Israel and the former Soviet bloc countries. Peter Kerekes' latest film Cooking History [photo] was awarded the Special Jury Prize at this year's Hot Docs; the director will also be among the tutors at the upcoming session of Ex Oriente Film (June 15 - 21).

JAN VRIJMAN FUND DEADLINE: JUNE 1

The deadline is fast approaching for IDFA's Jan Vrijman Fund. The fund supports filmmakers and festivals in developing countries that cannot access other types of broad support, such as the EU funding. Categories: Script and Project Development; Production and Post-production; Other Activities. Deadline: June 1, 2009.

POLAND PASSES NEW MEDIA LAW

May 22, the Polish parliament passed a media law on financing public media in Poland. The new law transforms the source of financing for Polish Television and Polish Radio from the income from license fees to a special public media fund. The government will also finance media projects, not institutions, in order to have a greater control over the distribution of funds.

EAST SILVER INTRODUCING SILVER EYE AWARD

East Silver, a key documentary market for producers and distributors from Central and Eastern Europe, is launching a new award. The Silver Eye Award for Best East European Documentary will go to the most remarkable feature and short documentary film included in the 2009 East Silver Market. Nominations will be selected from the 2009 East Silver titles; the jury will be announced in September. The inaugural award presentation will take place at the 13th Jihlava IDFF. [photo: Last Bus Stop, Hungary 2008]

KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL TO PRESENT 12 FEATURE DOCS

May 29 - June 4, 2009, for the 49th time Krakow opens its theatres to short documentary, fiction and animated films included in this year's festival. The International Competition includes 19 documentaries under 60 minutes; 12 feature documentaries will be presented in the Feature-length Competition. The East Silver Caravan will present two of its titles in the official programme, organize 5 industry screenings and offer 25 other docs in its digital video library. [photo: Sergei the Healer, dir. Juha Taskinen, Petteri Saario, Finland 2008]

COOKS AND RABBITS AWARDED AT HOT DOCS

May 8, 2009 Canada's Hot Docs handed out this year's festival awards. The Award for Best International Feature Documentary went to Simon El Habre's The One Man Village (photo). Peter Kerekes's Cooking History received Special Jury Prize (International Feature) along with $5000. Rabbit à la Berlin by Bartek Konopka was voted the Best Mid-Length Documentary and took home a $3000 cash prize.

HELENA TŘEŠTÍKOVÁ WINS MEDIA EUROPEAN TALENT PRIZE

Czech documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková has won the prestigious MEDIA European Talent Prize awarded annually to the highest scoring applicant who applies for MEDIA Single Project Development funding. Třeštíková's latest project Miracle After 35 Years has been selected as the best among the 345 European film projects submitted over the past year. The award that comes with EUR 25,000 cash prize will be presented May 15 at the Cannes IFF.

PLANETE DOC REVIEW HITS POLAND

The sixth Planete Doc Review opened in Warsaw May 8, 2009. Among some 140 documentary films selected for this year's lineup, it will screen several Central and East European documentaries by filmmakers who have attended training programmes or events organized by IDF (Ex Oriente Film, East European Forum, Docu Talents from the East). Cooking History, The Kites (photo), Our Street, and Blind Loves will be among the entries competing for the Millennium Award.

CASH & MARRY AMONG VISIONS DU RÉEL PRIZEWINNERS

Wednesday, April 29, jury members handed out awards to some of the most remarkable films at this year's Visions du Réel. The Grand Prix went to Canada's Encirclement - Neo-liberalism Ensnares Democracy by Richard Brouillette. In the Regards Neufs section, director Atanas Georgiev received an award for Cash & Marry that attended the 2006 Ex Oriente Film workshop.

DOCUMENTARY PLATFORMS MEET IN LEUVEN, BELGIUM

In addition to screening some 50 documentaries, DOCVILLE (May 2 - 9) co-organizes an industry meeting for selected organizations from smaller countries/regions. At the international seminar Documentary Platforms (May 7), Rostislav Aalto (Finnish Documentary Guild), Dewi Gregory (Wales.docs), Hana Rezková (Institute of Documentary Film) and Emiliano Monaco (Reykjavik Documentary Workshop) will discuss documentary landscape in their respective countries and issues faced by their organizations.

ROMANIA AND CAUCASUS LAUNCH NEW WORKSHOP

The Romanian Film Sector Association and the Independent Filmmakers' Association South Caucasus have initiated TrainEastFilm, a one-week residential workshop (September 20-26, 2009, Tbilisi) designed for 24 emerging directors, producers, CE's and media lawyers, etc. The training revolves around lectures, case studies and group sessions, covering various issues, ranging from project development and funding to marketing or intellectual property law. Deadline: May 31, 2009.

HOT DOCS NO. 16 TO WELCOME DOC INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCES

Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, returns April 30 – May 10, 2009, celebrating 16 years as an essential meeting place for the international documentary industry. The East Silver Caravan will also make its appearance, with 3 titles screened in the official programme and thirty more available in its video library. [photo: Robinsons of Mantsinsaari, dir. Victor Asliuk]

CZECH RAPUBLIC GRABS BEST DOC AWARD AT FINÁLE PLZEŇ

Pavel Abrahám's Czech Rapublic received the Golden Kingfisher Award for Best Documentary Film at Finále Plzeň that came to a close on Saturday. The documentary jury selected the winner (participant of the 2006 Ex Oriente Film) from 24 documentaries in competition; Special Mention went to Window an Eye of Heart, into an Eye Window of, a Soul by Dominik Krutský.

BREATHLESS DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN PRODUCTION

The five documentary projects included in the Czech-German project Breathless are currently in production. Czech director Jan Gogola [photo] is developing I Like My Boring Life while Karel Žalud works on The Phantom of Liberty II. Milltown, Montana (dir. Rainer Komers); Discovering the Slowness (dir. Anca Miruna Lazarescu), and Time's Up - An Experiment in Time Management (dir. Jan Peters a Marie-Catherine Theiler) are being developed on the German side. Breathless – Acceleration, Standstill and Dominance of the Moment is a two-year project organized and funded by Zipp – Czech-German Cultural Projects, Institute of Documentary Film and DOK Leipzig.

DOCUMENTARY TEA: JEAN-PIERRE REHM IN PRAGUE

April 24 - 25, the Institute of Documentary Film and FAMU jointly organize a lecture entitled Boundaries of Documentary Film and one-on-one consultations by renown French film theorist and FID Marseille director Jean-Pierre Rehm. The two-day event is designed for directors, producers, students as well as any documentary enthusiasts who may confirm participation at the lecture and sign up for an individual meeting by April 22, 2009.

EAST SILVER 2009 - CALL FOR ENTRIES

The 6th East Silver, a documentary market specialized in Eastern and Central European documentary film, is now open for submissions throughout the whole year. The call applies to completed documentaries and rough cuts made from 2008 to 2009, with English subtitles or English voiceover + trailer (optional) or catalogue stills.

VISIONS DU RÉEL CELEBRATES 40 YEARS WITH DOCUMENTARY FILM

The Festival will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of its founding from April 23 to 29, 2009 and the 15th anniversary of its revival under the name Visions du Réel. Among dozens of documentary films, the festival will also screen several documentaries that have been developed at Ex Oriente Film or presented at the East European Forum. Over 700 professionals will attend market screenings, co-production meetings and debates at the Doc Outlook international market. [photo: Rabbit à la Berlin, dir. Bartek Konopka]

EDN AWARD 2009 GOES TO NENAD PUHOVSKI AND ZAGREBDOX

EDN, European Documentary Network, is once again honouring an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture with The EDN Award. This year the award is presented to Nenad Puhovski and ZagrebDox. Initiated by Nenad Puhovski five years ago, ZagrebDox has turned into a large event that hosts a strong financing forum that assisted in the making of numerous successful documentaries, such as Corridor #8, The Caviar Connection or Cash & Marry.

THE EDN AWARD 2008 GOES TO INSTITUTE OF DOCUMENTARY FILM

The EDN Award 2008 is presented to Institute of Documentary Film - IDF, located in Prague. They receive the award for their enthusiastic and energetic work with establishing a central organisation and professional platform for the development and promotion of Central and Eastern European documentary. The award will be presented on Friday March 14 at 19:30 (Greek Time) at an award reception at the international documentary pitching session Docs in Thessaloniki.