Category Archives: EN

ARTE GREEK DAY, August 15, 2013

ARTE's GREEK DAY will be aired on August 15, 2013. This 24-hour TV special on Greece will be presented to German- and French-speaking audiences across Europe by the Greek journalist Dimitra Kouzi. Shooting was completed on Hydra and in Athens on June 2-5, 2013. The programme in detail.

Τhe Greek Documentary Association about closing down ERT

ALL TOGETHER WE WILL ATTEMPT TO ERASE THIS SHAME

The Greek Documentary Association – We the filmmakers, who through the public TV station, have been challenging, entertaining, or disturbing you with our documentaries by highlighting “the other side” of reality, condemn the sudden silencing of ERT based once again on «an act within legal context» which for all intents and purposes bypasses the parliamentary procedure.
This act has no historical precedent during a democracy in a time of peace! Such an act, furthermore, aligns itself with the general degradation of education and civilization, which has systematically been taking place in our country, devaluing the only investment that in the long term could lead to a better society.

With the closure of ERT, it is not only Greece that loses its voice, it is not only the employees of ERT that lose their jobs. It is:
. The thousands of Greek artists who are condemned to being “stifled” of free speech, or subordinated to client oriented relationships.
. The music ensembles that are silenced. The 3rd programme. The Greek emigrants that are isolated. The border areas of the country that are excluded.
.It is the creative documentary that has constituted an important part of the public television’s program, winning international awards and distinctions as well as co productions with important foreign channels.
. It is the millions of viewers or listeners whose only outlet for their information and entertainment will be the private channels, with all the consequences that this will have to our political and cultural life.

IT IS CIVILIZATION THAT SHRINKS

We, the creators of documentaries, united citizens and peoples, will fight for the immediate re opening of ERT, so that Greek creativity and culture reaches every house. We will fight the bill that the government announced as it continues and even strengthens the interference of the political parties and their control of public television. We will make propositions for necessary reforms in order for this voice to acquire its important educational, cultural and ethnic role, especially during these difficult times that we are traversing.

We are the only country in the world that has a black out on the public television screen and where the radio waves are silenced. Let’s fight, so that these media become the essential means, guardians and catalysts for the promotion of education and culture.

Τhe Greek Documentary Association

Sheffield 2013

MeetMarket Projects 2013 (June 12-16 2013)

In 2013 they have selected 63 unique projects involving 18 countries. The chosen projects covered the entire spectrum of factual media, crossing from TV to Cinema to Online, and everything over, above, between and beyond. These 63 projects where selected from the record total of 614 submissions received this year. They’re entertaining, innovative, clever and forward-thinking (so the festival). They make ideal partners for matchmaking with the best Decision Makers out there.

The Projects

#OP (Austria) - blue+green communication (Producer/Director - Friedrich Moser)

Approaching Futures (France) - Les Films d'Ici 2 (Producer - Virginie Guibbaud, Director - Xavier Marquis)

Aquarela (UK) - Aconite Productions (Producer - Aimara Reques, Director - Victor Kossakovsky)

Archive Fever (Israel) - Producer/Director - Karnit Mandel

Around the World in 80 Orgasms (UK) - Defacto Films (Producer - Paul Pauwels, Director - Emma George)

Art War (Germany) - HELDENFILM (Producer/Director - Marco Wilms)

BE BIG - Villian or Hero (Denmark) - Plus Pictures (Producer - Mette Heide, Director - Kaspar Astrup Schröder )

Birth of a Tiger (UK) - Century Films (Producer - James Gold, Director - Sam Benstead)

The Chimpanzee Complex (Netherlands) - Basalt Film (Producer - Simone van den Broek, Director - Marc Schmidt)

Chumbawamba: The Tubthumping One Hit Wonders (UK) - Dandy Films (Producer - Rachel Wexler, Director - Dunstan Bruce)

Churchill, A Giant in the Century (France) - ROCHE Productions 9Producer - Dominique Tibi, Director - David Korn-Brzoza)

Concerto (UK) - Seventh Art Productions (Producer/Director - Phil Grabsky)

Contact (Italy) - Ballandi Arts (Producer - Alessandro Carroli, Director - Gianluigi Attorre )

The Destruction of Memory (Australia) - Vast Productions (Producer - Joanna Buggy, Director - Tim Slade)

Dr Conti and Mr K (UK) - Met Film Production (Producer - Al Morrow, Director - Jerry Rothwell )

Europe for Sale (Italy) - GraffitiDoc (Producer - Enrica Capra, Director - Andreas Pichler)

Freightened (Spain) - Polar Star Films (Producer - Carles Brugueras, Director - Denis Delestrac)

The Grandmas Project (France) - Chaï Chaï Films (Producer - Laurence Bagot, Director - Jonas Pariente)

I draw the World (Netherlands) - Submarine (Producer - Femke Wolting, Director - Noud Holtman)

Ice Queens (Finland) - napafilms ltd (Producer - Liisa Juntunen, Director - Christy Garland)

THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF MIGUEL LITTIN (USA) - KA Snyder Productions (Producer - Kim A. Snyder, Director - Jeremiah Zagar)

In Search of Flynn (UK) - De La Warr Films (producer - Alex Gibney, Director - Julia Stovell)

Landscape of Life (UK) - BLTV LTD (Producer - Bettina Walter, Director - Ben Lewis)

The Leaderless Revolution (UK) - Hopscotch Films (Producer - John Archer, Director - Iain Scollay)

Light Fly, Fly High (Norway) -Fri Film AS (Producer/Director - Susann Oestigaard and Beathe Hofseth)

like ants for sugar (India) - Pickle Jar (Producer/Director - Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya)

Little Yellow Boots (Finland) - Millennium Film Ltd (Producer - Kristiina Pervilä-Andersson, Director - John Webster )

The Look of Silence (Denmark) - Final Cut for Real ApS (Producer - Signe Byrge Sørensen, Director - Joshua Oppenheimer)

MARATHON MAN (UK) - Rare Day (Producer - Peter Dale, Director - David Belton)

Marlon Brando (France) - Roche Productions (Producer - Dominique Tibi, Director - Philippe Kohly)

Miners Shot Down (South Africa) -Uhuru Productions (Producer- Brian Tilley, Director - Rehad Desai)

Moscow Tabloid (Ireland) - Cutstone Productions Limited (Director - Michael Doyle)

Neither God nor Master - a history of anarchism (France) -Temps noir (Producer - Tancrede Ramonet, Director - Patrick Barberis)

No Place for Children (UK) - Smoke & Apple Films (Producer - Bronwen Parker- Rhodes, Director - Katie Green)

No Regrets (Denmark) - Profile Pictures (Producer - Ditte Milsted, Director - Sun Hee Engelstoft)

Nothing to Envy (UK) - Mosaic Films (Producer - Carol Rodger, Director - Andy Glynne)

ORION - The Mask of Elvis (UK) - Glimmer Films (Producer/Director - Jeanie Finlay)

THE PHILIP K DICK EXPERIENCE (France) - Nova production (Producer - Thibaut de Corday, Director - Brice Roy)

Power and Impotence, a tragedy in 3 acts (France) - Black Moon (Director - Anna Recalde Miranda)

Putin is Back (France) - Les Films Grain de Sable (Producer - BEN JAMAA Sallah-Edine, Director - Jean-Michel Carré)

THE QUATRARO MYSTERY (Denmark) - sonntag pictures (Producer - sara stockmann, Director - Jeppe Rønde )

Raging Grannies (Norway) - Faction Film AS (Producer - Christian Falch, Director - Håvard Bustnes)

REACH FOR THE SKY (Belgium) - Visualantics (Producer - Gert Van Berckelaer, Director - Steven Dhoedt)

Rebel Rebel (Denmark) -Fridthjof Film (Producer - Jesper Jack, Director - Camilla Arlien-Søborg)

The Secret Flight (Denmark) - Fridthjof Film (Producer - Miriam Nørgaard, Director - Andreas Koefoed)

The Shadow World (USA) - Louverture Films (Producer - Joslyn Barnes, Director - Johan Grimonprez)

SHOOTER (USA) - Marshall Curry Productions (Producer/Director - Marshall Curry)

The Singing Hospice (UK) - SDI Productions Ltd (Producer - Sonja Henrici , Director - Amy Hardie)

Slum School - A documentary Musical (UK) - Century Films (Producer - Katie Bailiff, Director - Brian Hill)

Small Town Big Story (USA) - 10-Spot Syndicate (Producer - Tyler Measom, Director - Julian T. Pinder)

Swinging Addis (UK) - Mango Films (Producer - Christopher Pencakowski, Director - Henrique Goldman)

The Term (Estonia) - Marx Film (Producer - Maxim Tuula, Director - Pavel Kostomarov)

Thomas Quick: The Making of a Serial Killer (UK) - Century Films (Producer - Katie Bailiff, Director - Brian Hill )

TO HAVE AND TO HAVE NOT (Italy) - VisitorQ (Producer - Cristina Rajola, Director - Vincenzo De Cecco)

Two Children of the Red Mosque (USA) - Changeworx (Producer - Jonathan Goodman Levitt, Director - Hemal Trivedi)

Waiting for Giraffes (Netherlands) - Volya Films (Producers - Denis Vaslin & Fleur Knopperts, Director - Marco de Stefanis)

WE NEVER SLEEP (UK) - Duffel Films (Director - Michelle Fox)

What Do We Want? (UK) - Spanner Films Ltd (Producer - Lizzie Gillett, Director - Franny Armstrong)

Who's Gonna Love Me Now? (Israel) -Heymann Brothers Films (Producer - Barak Heymann, Director - Tomer Heymann)

WOMAN OF THE YEAR – STAR OF THE CENTURY - The great Katharine Hepburn (Germany) - FLORIANFILM GmbH (Producer - André Schäfer, Director - Rieke Brendel)

The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev (Israel) - Noam Pinchas and Tal Barda (Co-Director and Co-Producer)

Zapped (France) - Les Films du Poisson (Producer - Estelle Fialon, Director - Thorsten Schütte

Discover DISCOVERIES, the Balkan documentary development seminar!

The Balkan Documentary Center offers the 4th edition of DISCOVERIES, a production tailor-made development seminar in three parts. Discoveries is made only for professionals (filmmakers and producers) from the Balkans, or the rest of Europe willing to co-produce within the region, or filmmakers from Europe with a topic related to the Balkan area.

They select only 7 projects and each applicant has to pay a 1000 euro fee. This makes the Balkan Documentary Center, one of the cheapest if not the cheapest seminar of its kind. They also cover the cost of the stay and the food!

The sessions are being held in three different parts of Europe. One is always Sophia (1st part Mai 2013) and the other 2 sessions variety. This year they are in Kosovo, during the DocFest in Prizrem, and after that in Leipzig at the DOK Leipzig. In Kosovo the projects participate in a Pitching Forum. Three of the projects make it to the big official DOK Leipzig Pitching Forum.

The best pitch receives a price. Last year a Greek project “They call them Jazz” by Marineta Kritikou won the first price.

The director of the Balkan Documentary Center is the Bulgarian producer of AGITPROP Martichka Bozhilova (Corriodor 8, Georgi and the Butterflies, The Mosquito Problem and other Stories, Paradize Hotel for HBO and Dad made dirty movies among others).

For more information click www.bdcwebsite.com

Meet in Bogota!

The 30th Bogota Film Festival (October 16th – 24th) opens its registration for the 2013 season.
These are the categories:
FILM (NEW DIRECTORS, SIDE BARS, RETROSPECTIVES), SOCIAL DOCUMENTARY, ART DOCUMENTARY, ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY, SHORT FILMS, FILMS FOR CHILDREN, SACRED FILMS, ANIMATION, VIDEO ART.
Register your movie now at
www.bogocine.com

Films to watch in Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013

TDF Poster
Films to watch in Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, starting March 15, 2013:

  • One Step Ahead, a film by Dimitris Athiridis on Yannis Boutaris, mayor of Thessaloniki (ERT/ARTE co-production)
  • To the Wolf, on two families of shepherds living in a mountainous region in the Peloponnese, by Aran Hughes and new-comer Christina Koutsospyrou, which also participated in this year’s Berlinale,
  • Little Land, by Nikos Dayandas, based on my original idea and research (ERT/ARTE Anemon co-production), filmed on location in the magical island of Ikaria
  • Hardships and Beauties, by Kimon Tsakiris, starring a farmer-cowboy in Messinia (ERT/ARTE co-production)
  • Hippie! Hippie! Matala! Matala!, a documentary on the 1960's hippie scene on Crete, with excellent archival material and a great sense of humour, produced by ERT with research and script by Maria Koufopoulou and directed by Yorgos Varelas
  • Democracy The Way of the Cross, by Markos Gastin
  • a film on the Greek anarchist poetess Katerina Gogou by Antonis Boskoitis Reinstating the Dark Side (also screened at Danaos Cinema in Athens until Wednesday March 20)
  • Salma, a girl in India, a film by Kim Longinotto, a great director of films on women,
  • Cassandra's Treasure, on the controversy surrounding the gold mine in Halkidiki, in northern Greece, by Yorgos Avgeropoulos,
  • the special tribute for the festival’s 15th anniversary (watch out for my special post to follow), and of course
  • the tribute to Chilean director Patricio Guzmán, with nine of his films. Unfortunately the director broke his leg and cannot attend - Patricio, get well soon!

Why Poverty? watch online !

The complete WHY POVERTY? series on youtube!

Pitching in Thessaloniki 2013

Docs in Thessaloniki consists of a five-day program, where 21 selected documentary projects will be developed, re-written and pitched.

These are the selected projects for 2013:
Agora / Produced by: Anastasia Skoubri, Small Planet Productions / Directed by: Yiorgos Avgeropoulos / Greece

April 28 (Every Face has a Name) / Produced by: Lennart Ström, Auto Images / Directed by: Magnus Gertten / Sweden

Baths People / Produced by: Laura D'amore & Giulio Pedretti, Donquixote & Jump Cut / Directed by: Stefania Bona & Francesca Scalisi / Italy

The Battle with Satan / Produced by: Ewa Zukowska, ZK Studio / Directed by: Konrad Szolajski / Poland

The Canta Dances / Produced by: Valerie Schult, Viewpoint Productions / Directed by: Maartje Nevejan / The Netherlands

The Chosen Ones / Produced by: Inna Sahakyan and Yulia Grigoryants, Bars Media / Directed by: Arman Yeritsyan / Armenia

Don't Grow old Waiting / Produced by: Monica Lazurean Gorgan, 4 Proof Film / Directed by: Mara Trifu / Romania

Gay Marriage - Chinese Style / Produced by: Iris Lammertsma, Jongens van de Wit / Directed by: Sophia Luvarà / The Netherlands

The Green Invasion / Produced by: Christina Rajola, Stamen Film / Directed by: Florencia Santucho / Italy

Hope on the Line / Produced and directed by: Alexandre Papanicolaou & Emilie Yannoukou, Persona Production / France

If You're Lucky, You Won't Need Us / Produced by: Margus Ounapuu, Film Tower Kuubis / Directed by: Jaak Kilmi / Estonia

Mlade Nade (The Young Hopefuls) / Produced by: Ana Radecic, Manevar d.o.o. / Directed by: Tomislav Fike / Croatia

Nermina's World / Produced by: Flavia Oertwig, Intrigo Internazionale / Directed by: Vittoria Fiumi / Italy

The Other Side of Paradise: Goma / Produced by: Harmen Jalvingh, Bonanza Films / Directed by: Joris Postema / The Netherlands

Playing with Fire / Produced by: Photini Economopoulou, Modiano S.A. / Directed by: Anneta Papathanassiou / Greece

Positive Negative / Produced and directed by: Tomer Heymann & Barak Heymann, Heymann Brothers Films / Israel

Prayer Books and Prada / Produced by: Mariana Keller & Michal Fattal, ThreeYellowDots / Directed by: Mariana Keller / France

Raging Grannies / Produced by: Christian Falch, Faction Film / Directed by: Haavard Bustnes / Norway

We're going the same way / Produced and directed by: Pieter-Jan Van Damme / Belgium

Be an observer at “Docs in Thessaloniki 2013”

March 20-24, 2013 in Thessaloniki, Greece

Docs in Thessaloniki is an international pitching forum and workshop organized by EDN in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival-Images of the 21st Century.
I have been an observer myself many times at Docs in Thessaloniki.
It's really a great experience and I warmly recommend it!

Docs in Thessaloniki consists of a five-day program, where 21 selected documentary projects will be developed, re-written and pitched.
The first three days are focusing on development.
The participating project teams work on their projects’ structure, style and focus of the content as well as the presentation and pitching techniques.
The 21 projects are divided in 3 or 4 small groups under guidance from international experts and through highly informative seminar sessions. At the end of the workshop each project is re-written and presented to the participating financiers in a 2-page presentation.

During these 5 days before the pitching of the weekend the seminar prepares everybody with a project how to make a better pitch. Many times you see trailers being changed, and the synopsis and pictures of them reshaped so that they reach the financiers. And it makes a difference!
You watch the progress of the treatments during these 5 days and you can literally see the projects develop and get in shape for the pitching following. You hear the feedback from other people, other cultures, and mentalities and its wonderful for the networking, one of the most important things in that business. Here you will develop, pitch your project and network with European colleagues and financiers in a relaxed and constructive atmosphere.

During these 5 days there are also interesting guests' talks about distribution, festivals, the art of pitching and other issues that are important for filmmakers and producers.

It's a hard-core pitching training and it's really worth watching it and participating, especially without a project because then you can really absorb and enjoy the seminar.
You can only win by being an observer.

When participating as an observer you will take part in all sessions on equal terms with the pitching participants. Only exception is not having a concrete project developed and pitched. Observer participation fee is 200 Euro. To apply for an observer seat please send a short motivation for your participation to Hanne Skjødt.

In addition to the five-day pitching-session programme, the participation fee includes all lunches and coffee breaks, dinner on the first evening and a festival pass for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

Documentary Partially Shot on iPhone Wins Oscar

Sunday February 24, 2013 by Husain Sumra
"Searching for Sugar Man" won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th annual Academy Awards, making it the first time a film that was partially shot with an iPhone has won the prestigious award.

Director Malik Bendjelloul said that he had run out of money while making the movie and had to film his remaining shots with his iPhone and the 8mm Vintage Camera app. The iPhone and app's performance were so impressive to Bendjelloul that he re-shot footage playing on his laptop screen with the app.

This isn't the first time directors have used iPhones to shoot films, but it's an important milestone that shows that footage shot with phones and apps are good enough to be recognized at the highest level and not distract from the overall quality of the film.