Latest news with #CannesDocs
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Palestine Film Institute Calls for Decision-Makers to Amplify Palestinian Filmmakers' Voices at Cannes Docs Showcase
At today's Cannes Docs Palestine showcase, where four works in progress were pitched to industry delegates, spokespersons of the Palestine Film Institute (PFI) called for Cannes and key decision-makers to amplify the voice of Palestinian filmmakers, as the war in Gaza is causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. 'Cannes Docs provides a vital platform where Palestinian stories can present our true complex realities beyond headlines and transcend imposed boundaries,' IDFA-winning Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly ('Life is Beautiful,' 'Ambulance'), in charge of the PFI's Palestine Documentary Hub, told Variety. 'The powerful medium of documentary allows filmmakers to transform restriction into liberation at a moment when countering misrepresentation and reclaiming our narratives is more important than ever.' More from Variety Spike Lee Shades Trump at Cannes: 'I Don't Know How Much We Can Talk About American Values Considering Who Is President' 'Legally Blonde' Director Robert Luketic to Tackle Survival Thriller 'Resurface' (EXCLUSIVE) Denzel Washington Appears to Fight Back Against Pushy Cannes Photographer and Yells 'Stop!' During Tense Red Carpet Moment Added producer Mohanad Yaqubi, PFI public program consultant: 'The return of the Palestine Pavilion to Cannes [the first time being in 2018] at this time represents the strength of artistic persistence and the potential of creative voices that refuse to be silenced. It is extremely important that festivals with global influence, such as Cannes, hold space for Palestinian artists to be included in cinematic conversations during our struggle against attempted erasure in an ongoing genocide,' he stated. Taking center stage at the Marché du Film's Lerins 4, both Jabaly and Yaqubi warmly thanked Cannes Docs' organizers for their long-standing partnership. 'It's the 7th time that we've collaborated, and we are extremely thankful for Cannes Docs' unwavering support,' they stated. Pierre-Alexis Chevit, head of Cannes Docs, said: 'We've been having Palestinian Showcases of docs-in-progress since 2018, as it's always been very important for us to give visibility to stories from Palestine and the diaspora and help preserve all Palestinian narratives. Today, this obviously has an even greater importance and urgency than ever before,' he commented. The four documentaries from first-time filmmakers showcased today – 'Wolf Game' by Patricia El, 'My Rebel Heart' by Ida Kat Balslev, 'Sama' by Rabab Khamis and 'Asphalt' by Hamza Hamideh – were selected by an independent jury including Francesco Gai Via, Venice Film Festival programmer and industry expert, Arte France's experimental documentary expert Rasha Salti and Keisha Nicole Knight, founder of Solidarity Media Network. London-based producer and curator Elhum Shakerifar (Hakawati), Bafta-nominated for 'A Syrian Love Story,' said, 'The four projects selected for Cannes speak to different aspects of the Palestinian experience, with the potential to become bold, cinematic and important works that will resonate widely.' She also underlined the recent success of other doc works promoted by the PFI that gained acclaim and visibility: the Palestinian/Jordanian 'A State of Passion' by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi, selected for the Cairo, Geneva's Forum on Human Rights and Sheffield festivals among others, and 'The Palestine Comedy Club' by Alaa Aliabdallah (Palestine/U.K.) handled by First Hand Films, which was pitched at last year's Cannes Docs Palestine Showcase. All four films are backed by prominent producers and/or filmmakers, including 'From Ground Zero's' Palestinian producer Rashid Masharawi and 'Apolonia, Apolonia's' Danish producer Sidsel Lønvig Siersted. 'Asphalt,' (Hamza Hamideh, Jordan) The film is produced by Jordanian/Dutch seasoned producer and cinematographer Mahmoud Massad, a Sundance winner for the film 'Recycle.' 'Amid the escalating war in Gaza, 20-year-old Debs, a Palestinian refugee from the Baqa'a camp in Jordan, dreams of marrying his beloved. He is forced to postpone the wedding due to the death of his relatives in Gaza, one after another,' runs the logline. 'I chose to shoot my movie in the Baqa'a camp – perhaps the biggest in the world – because people see this place as a desolate ghetto, but I have family there. I wanted to give a different image of this place,' said the director. The film, in post-production, is due for release in 2026. 'My Rebel Heart,' (Ida Kat Balslev, Denmark, Palestine) Prominent Danish producer Sidsel Lønvig Siersted of Siersted Film, credited for the multi-awarded and smash hit 'Apolonia, Apolonia,' a double IDFA winner in 2022, and Sony Classics' 'Aquarela' among others, is driving this project in pre-production. Set in Gaza, the film follows young actress and activist Yara as she navigates the delicate balance between her artistic ambitions and the fight for Palestinian liberation. 'Yara fights for peace in the world and the right to become a Palestinian woman, actress, sister and daughter. But she sees limits from all fronts as she was born in Jaffa [Israel] and now lives in Ramallah [a Palestinian city in the West Bank]. 'With Israeli citizenship, she's being denied to be who she was supposed to be. Her contradictions represent the inner antagonist in the film,' said the rising filmmaking talent. 'In the film, we follow her struggle with her mum and sister, and their relationships form the emotional core. We see three generations of women facing a world that is constantly trying to redefine them. I want to honor this spirit and the courage it takes to follow your own voice, your own truth that brings us closer to a more human world,' she observed. Siersted said she aims to deliver the film in 2026. 'Sama,' (Rabab Khamis, Palestine, France) High-profile Palestinian producer Rashid Masharawi backs this project. His previous work includes this year's Oscar-short-listed 'From Ground Zero,' released in the US via Watermelon Pictures. The clip shown at Cannes Docs, introduced via a video link by Gaza-based Khamis, revealed a moving portrait of Sama (10), filmed in her daily chores, which range from collecting plastic and cardboard to selling fuel. The film team in Cannes said it will be shot mostly without dialogue, partly out of respect to the main protagonist who decided not to talk. The film's premiere is slated for September 2025. 'Wolf Game,' (Patricia El, Palestine, U.S., Spain) Spain/U.S.-based filmmaker and visual artist Patricia El's work has played at numerous festivals, with her 2023 virtual reality doc 'Remember This Place' premiering at the Venice Biennale. 'Wolf Game' is produced through her own label, The Office for Public Therapy Politics. Speaking to Variety, El said her intention with 'Wolf Game' is 'to show the infrastructures and flows of funds that enable the colonization of Palestinian land across the territory. We do this by showing three interweaving narratives: the story of a Palestinian shepherd boy who is the Main protagonist, a settler boy who becomes a shepherd in order to take over Palestinian land, and a crypto gamer who lives in Los Angeles and plays a crypto game called 'Wolf Game,' where players are encouraged to accumulate as much virtual land and sheep as possible, at the expense of other players in the game.' Delivery of the film is set for June 2026. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Baltic Doc Producers Trio to Track
Celebrated for its documentary filmmaking, especially for the 'Poetic New Wave' of the 1960s, the Baltics are pushing for larger visibility for today's talented directors and producers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 'There is a momentum with our Oscar for the animated film 'Flow' and documentaries can most certainly build on this trend,' said Dita Rietuma, head of the Latvian Film Baltics are making their debut at the Marché du Film's Cannes Docs, where three high-profile producers will attend the Co-Pro Social Club session May 17: Estonia's Marianna Kaat, Latvia's Uldis Cekulis and Lithuania's Ruta Adelė Jekentaitė. More from Variety 'Nouvelle Vague' Review: Richard Linklater's Movie About the Making of Godard's 'Breathless' Is an Enchanting Ode to the Rapture of Cinema Black Label Media on Teaming with Jennifer Lawrence and Launching 'Die, My Love' at Cannes: 'She's in a League of Her Own' Doha Film Institute Launches Ambitious International Festival for Indie Cinema With $300,000 in Prizes By spotlighting the Baltic countries for the first time, head of Cannes Docs Pierre-Alexis Chevit says his goal is to highlight 'the vibrant role of Baltic production companies in ambitious international co-productions of creative documentary films' and the long tradition of homegrown doc filmmakers exploring nonfiction aesthetics and forms 'in very bold and creative ways.' 'Last but not least, we're excited that Marianna Kaat, one of the three delegates, also acts as the main curator of the recently created documentary strand at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival!, 'Chevit adds. Marianna Kaat Kaat founded Baltic Film Production and is an authority in the Russian Central-European doc community. She directed acclaimed 'Pit No. 8' (2011), while her most recent work as a director-producer, 'The Last Relic,' premiered at Hot Docs in 2023. Sher co-produced 'Slave Island,' which won best Belgian doc at Docville, Leuven. In Cannes, Kaat will highlight 'We Will Not Fade Away,' currently in production, in which Cypriot-born war photographer Anton Zharov films entirely from within a Ukrainian military unit. Three co-productions are also in development: 'El Dorado,' co-produced with France and Greece, is a doc set in the mining town of Chiatura, Georgia, helmed by New-York-based Rati Oneli. 'God Is Tango,' helmed by Finland's Annika Grof, shows tango as a manifest for human connections in times of war; and 'The Prize of Glory,' by Kyrgystan's Ilgiz-Sherniiaz Tursunbek Uulu, follows a young rider and his aging father as they chase victory. Uldis Cekulis Uldis Cekulis launched VFS Film more than two decades ago. Cekulis has more than 50 films under his belt as producer or cinematographer, including four that entered the Oscar race: 'Ramin' and 'Bridges of Time' were Lithuanian entries in 2012 and 2019, respectively, and 'Ukrainian Sheriffs' was Ukraine's 2016 selection. His Italian-Latvian co-production 'The Rossellinis' premiered at the Venice Critics Week in 2020. The passionate filmmaker for whom documentaries are 'the best way to learn about the world and to get better as human beings', brings eight titles to Cannes. 'It's the first time in our history that we have so many projects, and it's pure coincidence,' he says. Headlining the slate are two co-productions just selected for competition at June's Sheffield DocFest: the Norwegian/Latvian/South Korean 'North South Man Woman' reunites Cekulis with 'Liberation Day''s Morten Traavik who co-directs with Sun Kim. Dogwoof handles sales. Meanwhile the Indian/Latvian/Finnish 'Redlight to Limelight' is the poetic debut of Bipulijit Basu. Other high-profile projects are 'The Blessed Ones' in which Ukraine's Andrii Lysetskyi turns his camera on a group of artists challenged by war in Ukraine, and the archive-based 'The Rossellini Method', by Italy's Raffaela Brunetti, Ilaria de Laurentiis and Andrea Paola Adelė Jekentaitė Ruta Adelė Jekentaitė of Baltic Prods. has over a decade of experience in the film industry. Her latest Lithuanian doc, 'Murmuring Hearts,' won Fipadoc's Young Europeans Award. Jekentaitėtakes three titles to Cannes that received Media Program slate support. 'Dolce Far Niente,' by Elena Kairyté and co-produced with Italy's Kiné Società Cooperativa, celebrates Italian poet and writer Tonino Guerra's legacy; 'Theories of Care,' by Rūta Kiaupaité, is an essay about a group of winemakers; and 'I Keep My Eyes on You' is an archive-based biopic about Canada-born filmmaker Zoe Dirse of Lithuanian-Latvian origin. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Broadcast Pro
17-02-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Palestine Film Institute calls for documentary submissions for Cannes Docs 2025
Filmmakers will present their projects to leading industry professionals, competing for a €10,000 prize and post-production assistance. The Palestine Film Institute (PFI) has opened submissions for its eighth annual participation at Cannes Docs at the Marché du Film 2025, taking place from May 13-21. This initiative provides a platform for Palestinian documentary filmmakers to showcase their works-in-progress to an international audience of industry professionals, decision-makers and festival programmers. Committed to supporting Palestinian documentary films on the global stage, PFI encourages filmmakers and producers to submit their projects before the March 1, 2025 deadline. Selected projects will benefit from strategic coaching by PFI industry consultants ahead of the Marché du Film. An independent international jury will review submissions, with the chosen teams receiving accreditation, an attendance stipend, and a chance to present their films in a 60-seat screening room at the event. The selected projects will also compete for the Cannes Docs award, which includes a €10,000 cash prize along with post-production support from industry partners. To apply, filmmakers must submit key project details, including Film title and logline; Synopsis and treatment; Director's statement; Selected scenes and three project stills; Post-production budget and financial plan; Director and producer bios, filmographies, and portraits; and Production company portfolio.
