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Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Head on Power of Art to ‘Preserve Reality' With Truth, Democracy Under Threat
As the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival prepares to host its 27th edition, which runs March 6 – 16, festival director Orestis Andreadakis sees no shortage of threats to truth, freedom and the values on which the democratic order is based. 'Four months have passed since the [Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival], but it seems like we're already living in a completely different world — unfortunately, not a better one,' Andreadakis tells Variety. Likening the times to 'a historical documentary about the 1930s, screened backwards,' he describes world events as 'an educational documentary that taught us nothing. It is a testimony for the horror of fascism and totalitarianism that it seems we have forgotten,' he continues. 'It is a film record of a horrific historical reality that some are trying to repeat in the worst possible way.' More from Variety 'We Live Here,' About a Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site, Boarded by Syndicado Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'Adobe of Down,' About a Religious Community in Siberia, Picked Up by Taskovski Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Peter Miller's 'Marcella,' Sets May Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE) This year's festival begins hardly a fortnight after Russia's war in Ukraine marked its three-year anniversary, and as a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza seeking to put an end to that bloody conflict appears in jeopardy. In the U.S., President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on personal liberties and political norms in his first six weeks in office. Meanwhile, Europe's continued rightward turn was solidified by recent elections in Germany, where the far-right AfD party secured 20% of the popular vote. While widespread unrest and uncertainty could make the very notion of a documentary film festival seem quaint, however, Andreadakis insists such events underscore the importance of art as a 'bulwark' against the assaults on our fundamental principles 'as the value of truth is in danger of becoming irrelevant.' 'The art of documentary tries to preserve reality. This is the most important thing in our difficult times. To realize what is truth, what is reality,' he says. The films screening at this year's Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 'portray and unveil what we experience in our precarious times.' The festival kicks off March 6 with 'About a Hero' (pictured), director Piotr Winiewicz's AI-assisted documentary that takes aim at German auteur Werner Herzog — who has been loudly dismissive of artificial intelligence — by creating an artificial version of a Herzog film. The closing film, Shoshannah Stern's 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,' which arrives fresh off a well-received Sundance premiere, tells the story of the titular, trailblazing actor who in 1986 became the first deaf person to win an Oscar. Across the festival's three main competition sections and diverse programming strands, a total of 261 documentaries will be screened, including 72 world, 40 international and 11 European premieres. Among them are 71 feature and short films from the host nation, reflecting Andreadakis and the programming team's commitment to the Thessaloniki Doc Fest as a 'showcase of the Greek industry.' Highlights from the international competition, which sees 10 films vying for the Golden Alexander, include a trio of documentaries coming off Sundance premieres — 'Coexistence, My Ass!,' Amber Fares' portrait of Israeli activist and comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi; Jesse Short Bull and David France's 'Free Leonard Peltier,' about the Native American activist who spent nearly half a century in prison; and Gianluca Matarrese's 'GEN_,' about an unconventional doctor at a fertility clinic in Milan — as well as Juanjo Pereira's 'Under the Flags, the Sun,' which follows the discovery of an audiovisual archive documenting Paraguay's 35-year dictatorship, which debuted at the Berlin Film Festival. World premieres in the main competition include 'Sculpted Souls,' the latest documentary from veteran Greek filmmaker Stavros Psillakis, which follows a Swiss dentist who's spent nearly three decades treating lepers in Greece for free, and 'Child of Dust,' by Polish filmmaker Weronika Mliczewska, about the child of an American soldier left behind during the Vietnam War who seeks to reconnect with his father in the U.S. Other festival highlights include a screening of Steve Pink's 'The Last Republican,' which follows the efforts of former Republican politician Adam Kinzinger to bring Donald Trump to justice after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as a sidebar dedicated to the rise of artificial intelligence which includes a screening of Tilda Swinton's directorial debut, 'The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze.' An honorary Golden Alexander will be awarded to French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert, who will deliver a masterclass on March 8, and whose prolific career will be celebrated with a screening of films including BAFTA nominee 'To Be and To Have' and Berlin Golden Bear winner 'On the Adamant.' American documentary filmmaker and multi-hyphenate artist Lauren Greenfield will also be honored with a tribute to her award-winning body of work that includes Sundance prizewinner 'The Queen of Versailles' and her most recent project, the documentary series 'Social Studies.' Greenfield will deliver a masterclass on March 13. The festival's 27th edition begins just days removed from massive protests on the two-year anniversary of the Tempe railway disaster that claimed 57 lives, with hundreds of thousands of Greeks taking to the streets in what have been described as the country's largest protests since the fall of the military junta in 1974. The Tempe tragedy, which took place on the eve of the festival's 25th edition, prompted the organizers to cancel that year's opening ceremony amid an unprecedented national outpouring of anger and grief. Two years later, with memories of that tragic day still fresh, more protests are planned in Thessaloniki and across Greece, as the country seeks justice for the tragic loss of so many lives. Against that backdrop, this year's festival hopes to accomplish what so many documentary filmmakers set out to achieve: to bear witness, spark debate, speak truth to power, and provide some measure of comfort and community in tumultuous times. 'Thessaloniki is a city that carries memory and history. It's a place that knows about geopolitical tensions, and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival has always been a place of dialogue, of freedom, of culture,' says Andreadakis. 'This is the most important thing. Because art is one of the most powerful weapons of democracy.' The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival runs March 6 – 16. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thessaloniki's Industry Head on ‘Embracing' Change, Providing a Safe Harbor for Documentary Filmmakers in Turbulent Times
The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival's industry arm, Agora, which runs parallel to the fest's 27th edition from March 7 – 15, returns with a renewed sense of purpose for filmmakers devoted to a medium that feels more vital than ever. Taking place at a time when the very notion of truth is under threat, the event will gather documentary filmmakers, commissioners, funding bodies and other industry representatives to reckon not only with the existential crises facing the doc community, but the practical concerns for filmmakers faced with ongoing financing and distribution challenges. More from Variety 'We Live Here,' About a Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site, Boarded by Syndicado Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'Adobe of Down,' About a Religious Community in Siberia, Picked Up by Taskovski Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Peter Miller's 'Marcella,' Sets May Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE) In such turbulent times, industry events like Agora are all the more essential to the health of the documentary ecosystem, according to Thessaloniki industry head Angeliki Vergou. 'Markets are the core of the audiovisual industry. People attend them because they want to meet each other, they want to exchange [ideas],' Vergou tells Variety. 'This is the main purpose why we exist: so we can bring good projects together with good professionals, in order to create and promote good content.' Amid belt-tightening at public and private broadcasters, corporate retrenchment at major streaming platforms and shifting audience habits, documentary filmmakers must walk a tightrope to bring that content to the screen. Yet the Agora team has worked tirelessly through the years to keep pace with the industry's evolution. This year, for example, sees the introduction of the Agora XR Lab, a new program dedicated to XR and New Media projects in development that dovetails with Agora's overall mission to 'embrace technology and new realities of production,' according to Vergou. The old certainties of how documentary films are financed, produced and distributed have crumbled, ushering in a new reality to which many industry professionals are still struggling to adapt. 'When you hear it from everywhere, you know that there is a shift happening,' Vergou says. 'We need to figure out — and when I say 'we,' I mean the industry, the funds, the broadcasters, the sales agents — everyone needs to sit down together and try to figure out the way forward. Definitely, there needs to be experimentation about what works, what doesn't work. New ideas — we shouldn't be afraid of trying new things.' Highlighting Thessaloniki's commitment to bringing new cinematic voices and ideas to the forefront, this year's edition of the Pitching Forum and Docs in Progress — which include projects from Southeastern Europe, as well as the wider Mediterranean and Black Sea regions — aim to find a balance 'between up-and-coming festival titles but also [films that] strike a more commercial chord,' Vergou explains. Diversity, as ever, is key. 'We try to amplify diverse voices and of course shed light on topics that are very important right now, like human rights, identity — and, of course, the war that is inevitable all around us,' says Vergou. 'As well as love, romance, companionship.' She laughs. 'Trying to find the hope in all of that.' Fourteen projects from 15 nations — including two series, one documentary for kids and one animated documentary — will take part in this year's Pitching Forum. Among them are new films from Poland's Michał Marczak, a Sundance prizewinner for 'All These Sleepless Nights,' and Belgium's Volkan Üce, whose 'All-In' played at CPH:DOX and Hot Docs. Recent editions have helped launch critically acclaimed films including Greek filmmaker Elina Psykou's 'Stray Bodies' (pictured), a Thessaloniki and CPH:DOX premiere in 2024, and 'Blueberry Dreams,' by Georgia's Elene Mikaberidze, which also premiered in Copenhagen last year. Over at Docs in Progress, 10 projects from 12 countries have been selected to take part, along with four Greek documentaries chosen for the Agora Boost program dedicated to projects from the host nation. Among them are 'Future Tenses,' from veteran Greek filmmaker Christos Karakepelis, and French-Algerian newcomer Mia Bendrimia's 'Magma,' which won several prizes at Marrakech's Atlas Workshops. Recent Docs in Progress success stories include Portuguese director Paulo Carneiro's Cannes Directors' Fortnight premiere 'Savanna and the Mountain,' and 'Diaries From Lebanon,' by Lebanese filmmaker Myriam El Hajj, which premiered in the Berlinale's Panorama Dokumente sidebar. Thessaloniki's Agora has long looked to boost projects from countries where documentary filmmakers are at risk — among the line-up this year are projects from Ukraine, Palestine, Georgia, Turkey and Algeria — and the upcoming edition will see the launch of a new initiative, Doc Together, in partnership with DOK Leipzig, that's designed to address some of the critical challenges they face. The initiative, says Vergou, aims to support the growing number of filmmakers 'that cannot have access to funding due to political reasons, or because aspects of their identity [such as ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation] are targeted in their country.' That includes 'displaced or exiled filmmakers, as well as filmmakers working in peril in their own countries,' she says. Working in collaboration with DOK Leipzig, which will host the event's next chapter at its upcoming edition, the goal is to explore avenues for those filmmakers to access financing and other resources. This year's Agora is especially committed to fostering an environment that will allow the attending industry guests to thrive, both during the Thessaloniki event and when they return to their home countries. A session during the Agora Talks program, hosted in collaboration with #DocSafe, will look to further that initiative's goals to address unsafe practices and foster accountability in the documentary industry. Meanwhile, in the Warehouse complex that hosts Agora activities throughout the week, a 'decompression room' will be available to all participants — whether to take part in morning sessions with a holistic therapist to prepare for the day ahead, or to 'ground themselves after a day of meetings, pitching, networking,' says Vergou. 'Thessaloniki and Agora have always been a safe place to pitch, and to meet and network,' she adds. 'But with everything that's going on in the world, there is an extra need to feel safe and not exposed.' The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival takes place March 6 – 16. Best of Variety Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in March 2025
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vietnam War Doc ‘Child of Dust,' Produced by ‘The Stringer's' Bao Nguyen, Acquired by Rise and Shine Ahead of Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Berlin-based Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired international rights to Weronika Mliczewska's 'Child of Dust,' a documentary produced by 'The Stringer' director Bao Nguyen which has its world premiere in the main international competition of the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival. Mliczewska's sophomore feature follows Sang, one of countless children left behind by American soldiers after the Vietnam War. Stigmatized and abandoned, he spends a lifetime longing for the father he never had. When he unexpectedly locates his gravely ill father in the U.S., he's determined to meet him, even at the heavy cost of leaving his own family behind in Vietnam. More from Variety Thessaloniki's Industry Head on 'Embracing' Change, Providing a Safe Harbor for Documentary Filmmakers in Turbulent Times 'We Live Here,' About a Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site, Boarded by Syndicado Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'Adobe of Down,' About a Religious Community in Siberia, Picked Up by Taskovski Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) In an unfamiliar land, Sang's dream of belonging clashes with an unexpected reality, as he finds himself an outsider both in American society and within a family that never knew he existed. But in the search for his father, he discovers something even more profound — his own strength to break free from the past and redefine his future. 'Child of Dust' is written and directed by Mliczewska and produced by Mliczewska, Chi-Minh De Leo and Bao Nguyen, director of the buzzy Sundance premiere 'The Stringer,' which sparked controversy over its claims that the legendary Vietnam War photo of 'Napalm Girl' was deliberately credited to the wrong photographer. The film is also co-produced by Michał Sikora, Antonio Russo Merenda and Andrzej Łucjanek. Associate producers are Jim Stark, Brian Hjort, Paweł Ziemilski and Mateusz Wajda. In a director's statement provided to Variety, Mliczewska described the film's origins as 'deeply personal.' 'Eight years ago, while in Vietnam for another documentary, I encountered Amerasians — people whose lifelong search for identity had shaped their lives. Seeing how deeply emotional they still were about not finding their American fathers — even 50 years later — I realized this is not a story of the past, but of the present,' she wrote. 'Having traveled to over 90 countries and living abroad for years, I understand what it means to feel like an outsider — even in my own country. Sang's story resonated with me because, like him, I've been on a quest for identity and understanding,' she continued. 'Filming Sang's journey changed me. It unfolded across continents, during a global pandemic, as I was starting my own family. Like Sang, I learned that true home is found in the bonds we build. With a background in anthropology, I aim to give voice to those erased from history and show how even the deepest scars can lead to healing.' Describing 'Child of Dust' as 'truly amazing' and predicting a lengthy festival run after its Thessaloniki premiere, Rise and Shine festival manager Anja Dziersk said the film 'stands for a very universal longing for connection and belonging to a family,' one that underscores the Vietnamese saying that 'a child without a father is like a house without a roof.' Stefan Kloos, Rise and Shine's managing director, pointed to the estimated 300,000 children that U.S. soldiers had with Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War and said Mliczewska 'did a tremendous job in locating one of those left-behind children.' ''Child of Dust' achieves what distinguishes a good documentary from an outstanding one: It sheds light on this forgotten history, it reveals how the legacy of war continues to shape lives today — and on a universal level it speaks about the scars and traumas that every war leaves behind,' said Kloos. 'This film is a real gem for streamers and public television and so timely with the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam.' Mliczewska added: 'From the very beginning, Rise and Shine's enthusiasm for 'Child of Dust' stood out. I first met them in Prague at East Silver Market and later at the rough cut stage preview at where I instantly felt their genuine excitement for the film. They truly believe in it, and that connection means a lot to me. At the same time, they are highly professional, and as a boutique company, they can give full attention to the projects they choose. I trust their passion and expertise to bring this film to the audience it deserves.' 'Child of Dust' is produced by Ya Man Studio in co-production with Lonely Production, Ginestra Film, Clubhouse Films and FixaFilm, with the support of the Polish Film Institute, Telewizja Polska, Al Jazeera Documentary, the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Swedish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture within the National Recovery Plan, Creative Vouchers Initiative and the European Union's Next Generation E.U. initiative. The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival runs March 6 – 16. Best of Variety Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in March 2025
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thessaloniki's Industry Head on ‘Embracing' Change, Providing a Safe Harbor for Documentary Filmmakers in Turbulent Times
The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival's industry arm, Agora, which runs parallel to the fest's 27th edition from March 7 – 15, returns with a renewed sense of purpose for filmmakers devoted to a medium that feels more vital than ever. Taking place at a time when the very notion of truth is under threat, the event will gather documentary filmmakers, commissioners, funding bodies and other industry representatives to reckon not only with the existential crises facing the doc community, but the practical concerns for filmmakers faced with ongoing financing and distribution challenges. More from Variety 'We Live Here,' About a Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site, Boarded by Syndicado Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'Adobe of Down,' About a Religious Community in Siberia, Picked Up by Taskovski Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Peter Miller's 'Marcella,' Sets May Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE) In such turbulent times, industry events like Agora are all the more essential to the health of the documentary ecosystem, according to Thessaloniki industry head Angeliki Vergou. 'Markets are the core of the audiovisual industry. People attend them because they want to meet each other, they want to exchange [ideas],' Vergou tells Variety. 'This is the main purpose why we exist: so we can bring good projects together with good professionals, in order to create and promote good content.' Amid belt-tightening at public and private broadcasters, corporate retrenchment at major streaming platforms and shifting audience habits, documentary filmmakers must walk a tightrope to bring that content to the screen. Yet the Agora team has worked tirelessly through the years to keep pace with the industry's evolution. This year, for example, sees the introduction of the Agora XR Lab, a new program dedicated to XR and New Media projects in development that dovetails with Agora's overall mission to 'embrace technology and new realities of production,' according to Vergou. The old certainties of how documentary films are financed, produced and distributed have crumbled, ushering in a new reality to which many industry professionals are still struggling to adapt. 'When you hear it from everywhere, you know that there is a shift happening,' Vergou says. 'We need to figure out — and when I say 'we,' I mean the industry, the funds, the broadcasters, the sales agents — everyone needs to sit down together and try to figure out the way forward. Definitely, there needs to be experimentation about what works, what doesn't work. New ideas — we shouldn't be afraid of trying new things.' Highlighting Thessaloniki's commitment to bringing new cinematic voices and ideas to the forefront, this year's edition of the Pitching Forum and Docs in Progress — which include projects from Southeastern Europe, as well as the wider Mediterranean and Black Sea regions — aim to find a balance 'between up-and-coming festival titles but also [films that] strike a more commercial chord,' Vergou explains. Diversity, as ever, is key. 'We try to amplify diverse voices and of course shed light on topics that are very important right now, like human rights, identity — and, of course, the war that is inevitable all around us,' says Vergou. 'As well as love, romance, companionship.' She laughs. 'Trying to find the hope in all of that.' Fourteen projects from 15 nations — including two series, one documentary for kids and one animated documentary — will take part in this year's Pitching Forum. Among them are new films from Poland's Michał Marczak, a Sundance prizewinner for 'All These Sleepless Nights,' and Belgium's Volkan Üce, whose 'All-In' played at CPH:DOX and Hot Docs. Recent editions have helped launch critically acclaimed films including Greek filmmaker Elina Psykou's 'Stray Bodies' (pictured), a Thessaloniki and CPH:DOX premiere in 2024, and 'Blueberry Dreams,' by Georgia's Elene Mikaberidze, which also premiered in Copenhagen last year. Over at Docs in Progress, 10 projects from 12 countries have been selected to take part, along with four Greek documentaries chosen for the Agora Boost program dedicated to projects from the host nation. Among them are 'Future Tenses,' from veteran Greek filmmaker Christos Karakepelis, and French-Algerian newcomer Mia Bendrimia's 'Magma,' which won several prizes at Marrakech's Atlas Workshops. Recent Docs in Progress success stories include Portuguese director Paulo Carneiro's Cannes Directors' Fortnight premiere 'Savanna and the Mountain,' and 'Diaries From Lebanon,' by Lebanese filmmaker Myriam El Hajj, which premiered in the Berlinale's Panorama Dokumente sidebar. Thessaloniki's Agora has long looked to boost projects from countries where documentary filmmakers are at risk — among the line-up this year are projects from Ukraine, Palestine, Georgia, Turkey and Algeria — and the upcoming edition will see the launch of a new initiative, Doc Together, in partnership with DOK Leipzig, that's designed to address some of the critical challenges they face. The initiative, says Vergou, aims to support the growing number of filmmakers 'that cannot have access to funding due to political reasons, or because aspects of their identity [such as ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation] are targeted in their country.' That includes 'displaced or exiled filmmakers, as well as filmmakers working in peril in their own countries,' she says. Working in collaboration with DOK Leipzig, which will host the event's next chapter at its upcoming edition, the goal is to explore avenues for those filmmakers to access financing and other resources. This year's Agora is especially committed to fostering an environment that will allow the attending industry guests to thrive, both during the Thessaloniki event and when they return to their home countries. A session during the Agora Talks program, hosted in collaboration with #DocSafe, will look to further that initiative's goals to address unsafe practices and foster accountability in the documentary industry. Meanwhile, in the Warehouse complex that hosts Agora activities throughout the week, a 'decompression room' will be available to all participants — whether to take part in morning sessions with a holistic therapist to prepare for the day ahead, or to 'ground themselves after a day of meetings, pitching, networking,' says Vergou. 'Thessaloniki and Agora have always been a safe place to pitch, and to meet and network,' she adds. 'But with everything that's going on in the world, there is an extra need to feel safe and not exposed.' The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival takes place March 6 – 16. Best of Variety Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in March 2025
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘We Live Here,' About a Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site, Boarded by Syndicado Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Sales agent Syndicado has boarded Zhanana Kurmasheva's feature doc debut 'We Live Here,' ahead of its world premiere at CPH:DOX, where it will compete for the DOX:AWARD. 'We Live Here' follows three generations in the desolate Kazakh steppe, once a Soviet nuclear test site, as they confront the place's haunting legacy. More from Variety 'Adobe of Down,' About a Religious Community in Siberia, Picked Up by Taskovski Ahead of CPH:DOX Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Peter Miller's 'Marcella,' Sets May Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE) Documentary About Flaco, Owl Who Escaped Central Park Zoo, in Production at HBO Between 1949 and 1991, 456 nuclear tests left a legacy of radioactive contamination and suffering. As ecologists map uninhabitable areas, a nearby family struggles with the echoes of the past. Convinced their daughter's illness stems from radiation, they seek proof while she feels torn between love for her homeland and the sense of looming danger it still holds. Kurmasheva explains: 'My connection to this story is personal. My mother, born near the village of Kainar where nuclear tests left their mark, would warn me: 'Don't tell anyone where I'm from. Especially not any future suitors. People think we're sick.' This stigma follows the people of Semipalatinsk wherever they go. To this day, locals speak of the shame and fear tied to their origins. The world sees them as damaged, marked by the radiation that still haunts their homeland.' She adds: 'This film is about resilience: of the land and of the people. Their lives intertwine with the steppe in ways that are deeply human. Together, they navigate the aftermath of destruction, clinging to hope and dignity despite the scars they carry.' Kurmasheva participated in a number of international workshops and training programs, such as the East-West Talent Lab at goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in 2022. She is the laureate of the 2011 Kulaguer Award for her student documentary 'I Am 20 Years Old!' Her short documentary 'Zhenya' (2013) was showcased at film festivals in Moscow, New York, Yerevan, Sevastopol and Almaty. 'We Live Here' is produced by Banu Ramazanova. The film was supported by Kazakh Cinema: State Center for Support of National Cinema, the EFM Doc Toolbox program, Eurasia Doc (Doc Monde) Script Development Residency, Alternativa Development Lab, GZDOC (Top 10 Documentary Projects), and Tokyo Docs, where it won Best Pitch. Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in March 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
