CPH:Roughcut Filmmakers Talk Ukraine, OnlyFans, Migrant Hunter in Bulgaria, Stav Shaffir, Herding Tradition Under Threat (EXCLUSIVE)

Yahoo

24-03-2025

The brand new CPH:Roughcut showcase, with five outstanding European documentary projects looking for distribution, sales and festival platforms, will be pitched Monday at Copenhagen's documentary financing and co-production event CPH:Forum.
The highly-curated slate encompasses a wide variety of themes, from the genesis and rise of far-right ideology, monetized online sexual content, the impact of war in Ukraine, violence against nature and women in Montenegro, to the downfall of the Labor Party and extremists' rise to power in Israel. All stories, told through fascinating portraits of individuals, are co-productions between two to four countries, spearheaded by top producers including Oscar-nominated Kirstine Barfod ('The Cave,' 'Black Snow') and Emilie Blezat ('Grace Jones – Bloodlight & Bambi'). Two of the titles in rough cut stage are earlier winners of the CPH:DOX Eurimages Development award: 'The Last Nomads' and 'Four Brothers.'
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Variety caught up with the five teams of filmmakers ahead of their pitches in Copenhagen.
'The Sinner' by multi-awarded director/producer Boris Despodov ('Corridor #8',' 'Twice Upon a Time in the West') is a thought-provoking film about former Bulgarian boxer-turned-vigilante and migrant hunter Petar Nizamov and his journey into the battle of good and evil during the rise of the far-right in Europe. In his attempt 'to interrogate the delicate, thin line between righteousness and sin, salvation and damnation, heroism and monstrosity,' Despodov has divided his work into five chapters: A Merchant, A Guardian, A Hunter, A Representative, and A Samaritan.
'This is an intimate portrait of a man steeped in his own mythology, but that portrait has many nuances and is not afraid to show both the good and bad aspects of his contradictory personality, as well as the complexity of the circumstances that shape a society on the margins of the EU,' says Despodov, who followed his protagonist for seven years. 'We have witnessed political topics being oversimplified for years, and opposing sides, in this case the far right, often dehumanized in an attempt to make a moral point. This is the insight into the genesis of a personality and how social and political circumstances influence the formation of a person on the far right,' he adds.
Key backers and partners to Despodov and his Blockbuster Arthouse outfit were Germany's Robert Bosch Foundation as well as co-producers Nina Frese from Germany's major arthouse banner Pandora Film, Milos Ljubomirovic from Serbia's Servia Film ('North Pole') and editor/producer Dragan von Petrovic.
Winner of the CPH:DOX Eurimages Development Award 2019, 'Four Brothers' (working title) is the anticipated sophomore documentary by Pieter-Jan De Pue after 'The Land of the Enlightened' for which he won best cinematography in Sundance 2016.
Here, the filmmaker has captured the impact of war on individuals and families, through the story of four orphan brothers originally from the Donetsk village of Mariinka in Eastern Ukraine, as they navigate the intricate emotions of loss and hope. With the younger brother living in America, and two others on opposite ends of the political spectrum, the film offers contrasting perspectives on the conflict in Ukraine, enriched by a testimony of female resilience through the voices of supporting characters Natasha and Angela.
'The outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion obviously had a great impact on all characters and the practical continuation of the filming,' says De Pue, who started shooting in 2017, three years after his first encounter with some of the brothers in Mariinka while working on the short film 'Girls and Honey' (Visions du Réel entry, 2017). De Pue, who helped evacuate one of the brothers to Belgium, says the constant during that chaotic time was the fighting, over an 11 year-stretch, of two of the brothers.
Bart Van Langendonck of Belgium's Savage Film is producing with Emilie Blezat and David Dusa, co-founders of Stockholm-based Dark Riviera, in co-production with Belgium's Naoko Films, the Netherlands' Submarine and Germany's Beetz Brothers, with co-financing from broadcasters SVT, NRK, DR, ZDF/Arte, VRT, VPRO, RTBF among others.
'Virtual Girfriends,' which dives into the unchartered world of the paid adult content platform OnlyFans, is Czech director Barbora Chalupová and producer Pavla Klimešová's latest urgent film about the internet and its impact on society, after their successful 'Caught in the Net,' about child abuse online, which premiered at CPH:DOX in 2020.
'Five years later, our new documentary film reveals a totally different internet landscape. Now, adult women are taking control, recognizing the financial potential of their bodies,' says Chalupová, who first came across OnlyFans during COVID 'when it experienced a massive surge both in demand and supply.'
The observational doc shot over one year, is an unfiltered portrait of three main protagonists: Rosalinda (25) and Tinix (30), found through a workshop for newcomers on OnlyFans, organized by established adult content creator Inked Dory (30). 'Through these characters, the film asks whether it is really that easy to succeed [on OnlyFans] and what's the cost,' explains Chalupová, who carefully crafted her work in full agreement with the protagonists and OnyFans, taking on board all ethical issues.
'Our main protagonists are well aware that the illusion of relationships, virtual sex, and intimacy can be monetized in the most efficient way ever. No pimps, no fear, clean, safe home-office style. Basically, fair-trade porn. But how does all of this change us and our approach to intimacy? And what impacts do these prepaid virtual relationships have on real ones? That's what I wanted to explore with our film,' says the filmmaker.
The Czech film produced by Helium Film with co-producer Super Film in Slovakia, will be delivered in April. 'Our goal [at CPH:Forum] is to connect with potential sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers, who recognize the film's relevance and want to help us bring it to a global audience,' says Klimešová.
Produced by Oscar-nominated Kirstine Barfod, 'The Alarmist' is a fly-on-the wall and archive-driven film turning on Stav Shaffir, the youngest woman ever elected to the Israeli Parliament. 'Through her story, the film offers insight into what caused the downfall of the left wing and the early legitimization of the extremists who are now in government in Israel,' reads the logline.
Cannes Critics' Week selected for his short film '2 Minutes,' filmmaker Jacob Tschernia, who initiated the project, says being a Dane was probably an asset when he first approached Shaffir and started filming her in 2019. 'Shaffir had a lot of affection for Scandinavia, where she had hitchhiked in her early 20s and was a huge fan of [the TV drama] 'Borgen.' She admires many things about Denmark, not least its welfare state,' says the director, who then asked Israeli filmmaker Tomer Slutzky (Bronca!' 'Jews by Choice') to join in. Both were inspired by Bennett Miller's 'Moneyball' as they wanted 'something with both an intimate and at times epic feel.'
'What we wanted to show in the film is how Stav Shaffir tried to address the way the media was largely treating the [far-right] Jewish Power Party like it was just another political party, and how it helped normalize them in the eyes of the public,' say the co-directors, adding: 'What is shocking is to see how fringe they [The Jewish Power Party] were politically, when we started following Shaffir, and how they ended up in some of the most powerful positions in Israel, controlling the police, the economy of the West Bank etc. That seemed far-fetched to imagine at the time.'
The film is produced by Denmark's Drive Studios and Barfod's U.S.-based Nordland Pictures, with backing from the Danish Film Institute, SVT and Jewish Story Partners.
Winner of the CPH:DOX Eurimages Development Award 2022, 'The Last Nomads' is set in the pristine mountains of Montenegro, where a semi-nomadic mother Gara and her daughter Nada defend their herding tradition and their land from becoming a NATO military training ground. The story of violence against women echoes the violence against nature.
For his doc feature debut, filmmaker Petar Glomazić, who himself has roots in the herding tradition from Montenegro, teamed up with award-winning Biljana Tutorov ('When Pigs Come').
'First, Petar came with the desire to make a film about the communities of the Sinjajevina mountain,' Tutorov tells Variety. It was meant to be an anthropological film documenting this ancient and rare form of transhumance, and the life in the shepherds' summer settlements in this incredible highland, which has been protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1977.'
'I was going to produce the film, but when the militarization of the pasturelands became a real threat, we both mobilized to help the community understand their rights, organize, and connect with various international organizations. At that time (in 2019) we met Gara and Nada and quickly connected with their personal story,' says Tutorov, who saw the potential to make 'a piece of cinema that went beyond activism' and agreed to co-direct with Glomazić.
'For me, this story encompassing everything I'm interested in: feminism, ecology, the psychological aspect, political context, philosophical dimensions, and an epic quality,' she says, adding: 'We couldn't help but connect their intimate drama to the context of patriarchy, which is largely responsible for the militarization of the world, the arms industry, and the perpetuation of violence against women. Unfortunately, both subjects are of great relevance at this very moment.'
Shot on-site for more than 200 days in an immersive filmmaking style, 'The Last Nomads' was edited by the filmmakers with a pedigree team, including British George Cragg (Oscar nominated 'Collective') and the Dardenne brothers' long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Dozo during development. The film is produced by Tutorov's Wake Up Films in Serbia, in co-production with Les Films de l'oeil sauvage in France, Ardor Films, Cvinger Film in Slovenia and Stenola Productions in Belgium. 'We still have a gap and a space for another strategic partner and financier to join and help us wrap the film,' says Tutorov.
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