CPH:FORUM - Pitch Awards, take-aways and attendees positive feedback

“We are the street fighters for values and narrative is our front line. The stakes are high for works to be made and seen,” said the former Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson on Tuesday, on the opening of CPH:FORUM Pitches, one of the highlights of the doc industry showcase.

Jackson was among the dynamic moderators with Doc Society’s Jess Search, and filmmaker Milisuthndo Bongela who took turns to introduce the 70 filmmakers from 25 countries, and carefully selected panel of decision-makers, invited to give their quick feedback on each project between March 21-23 in Copenhagen.

The large number of US representatives that took centre stage -including Netflix, one of the main sponsors, Participant Media, Sandbox Films, A24, CAA, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Sundance Institute- gave an indication of the attractiveness of CPH:DOX to heavyweight players, and its shift from a small experimental Nordic doc venue to a leading international event, complementary to IDFA. In terms of industry attendance, figures were up 65% from pre-pandemic times according to the festival.

“Yes some American friends of CPH:DOX have told us that ours is the best American doc festival outside North America,” CPH:DOX head of Industry & training Tereza Simikova, told us. “We send invites to international players and people choose to come or not. With many key European decision-markers, we are privileged to have attracted many US companies -including our partner Netflix. That said, our goal is to create a bridge between global industry people - notably between North America and Europe, to champion documentary films and filmmakers,” she reiterated.

The awe-inspiring documentary works bridging film, visual art, science, investigative journalism, were praised by several attendees, such as Johanna von Hessen from French organisation Unifrance, who was part of the French delegation. “This is my second time at CPH:FORUM which is now a must-attend event for French doc producers and financiers. It’s a major doc festival and market, with the atmosphere of a small and cosy showcase, which makes it particularly appealing,” she noted.

French filmmaker Myriam Weil who was also part of the French delegation, praised the “very international format” of CPH:DOX and CPH:FORUM. She felt the round tables with the 10 international delegations were very well organised. “We could meet 15 different producers at the same time - it was super-efficient,” she said.

Commenting on projects pitched, Norway’s Bente Roalsvig of Oslo-based non-profit organisation Fritt Ord who had invested in two titles - Norwegian films Almost Human by Ola Waagen and The Lions at the River Tigris by Zaradasht Ahmed said: “there was a great variety of titles and it was fascinating to preview projects that will drive tomorrow’s conversations.”

“The CPH:DOX team is also very good at innovating and pushing forward new artistic trends or regions, such as Eastern Europe, and Ukraine this year. It is quintessential to have first-hand reports from people on the ground,” she underscored.

Discussing the very curated pitch programme, which often regrouped films per theme - such as humans and animals, transgender issues, the impact of war, science and our body, civil society shaping public discourse, Simikova said: “We believe this is helping to create the narrative and word of mouth. It is like seeing a film across three days, where some themes come back in the dramaturgy from different perspectives and enrich the full experience.”

The head of industry said the hands-on approach of her selection committee, which involves helping filmmakers/producers prepare the material and dramaturgy before the pitch, spills into the programming itself of the pitches. “Once we have done the selection, we start building strands. We firmly believe this creates a sense of excitement and a hype. And the more excited the people get, the better it is, as CPH:DOX is a marketplace,” she insisted.

The focus on Ukraine across the full festival and industry event was for Simikova a necessity, as “Ukraine is where the future of Europe is being fought”. “We aren’t there physically; some people can support the fight [against Russian aggression] through resources, but we provide a platform for art to be made,” she said.

Commenting on next year’s edition, the Czech-born Simikova said she won’t be at the festival in her current position. “It’s been five fantastic years for me at CPH:DOX, but I’m now looking forward to getting my hands ‘dirty’ on production.“

Looking at what has been achieved during her tenure, she said the festival was able to deepen its partnerships with key partners such as Eurimages and will continue to focus on its three main strands- art, science and society.

Simikova also said that after Covid, the documentary industry has “turned more mainstream and narrower in themes”. “This is linked to the spike of streamers’ activity and trauma in society, that has fuelled feelgood and even fluffy storytelling. But we want to resist this trend, and continue to show the value of diverse artistic works in the documentary space,” she said.

AWARD WINNERS
This year’s recipient of the coveted €20,000 Eurimages Co-production Development Award went to the Danish film Only on Earth by award-winning Robin Petré (From the Wild Sea), produced by Malene Flindt Pedersen and Signe Skov Thomsen for Hansen & Pedersen. The film was co-produced by Spain’s Polar Star Films, with support from the Danish Film Institute and Creative Europe.

The project depicts a journey deep into one of Europe’s hottest fire zones, Galicia in Spain, where wild horses roam the mountains under the watch of local cowboys. These horses that are essential for fire prevention, strive for survival, in the clash between humans and nature.

“The Eurimages co-production development award goes to a visually stunning project that brought us to a place where nature is burning, climate change is evident, but hope is to be found between humans and animals,’ said the Eurimages jury including Screen Ireland’s Emma Scott, Danish producer Rikke Tambo Andersen, and German producer and distributor Heino Deckert.

Two Ukrainian films received major awards:

• Red Zone by Iryna Tsilyk produced by Ukraine’s Darya Bassel for Moon Man received the €20,000 Special Eurimages Development Award. The animation docu project reflects on what it means to be a woman in war time. “It is my attempt to reflect on changes - within myself and those around me,” said the filmmaker, who has used humoristic touches to describe everyday life during war.
• Cuba & Alaska by Iryna Tsilyk produced by 3Brave Productions, Ukraine with France’s Yuzu Productions, received the inaugural Unifrance Doc Award, rewarding a minority French co-production. The film follows the two paramedic Ukrainian women Cuba and Alaska, responsible for saving lives on the front-line, with much humour and hope for the future.

Nordic Promising docs
Besides Only on Earth, eight high quality Nordic docs were officially pitched:

• Almost Human (Norway/Denmark)
  Directed by Ola Waagen (Secret Lives of Pigs), produced by Norway’s Von Mørner and Denmark’s Wingman Media.
  The film investigates the celebrity chimpanzee Ola, what happened to him and explores how it is to be an animal ruled by humans, through actors’ enactments.
• Once Upon a Time in a Forest (Finland)
  Directed and produced by Virpi Suutari (Aalto) for Euphoria Film. Coming of age film about a group of activists, fighting for the new ‘Forest Rebellion’ movement and falling in love.
• Opening Night (Sweden)
  Directed and produced by the brothers John Skoog (Ridge) and Aaron Skoog, in co-production with Ruben Östlund’s outfit Plattform Produktion. The film is about the entertainment team working behind the scenes during an NBA game in the US.
• Our Love (Finland/Denmark/Germany)
  Co-directed by Always Amber’s Hanna Reinikainen and Lia Hietala. Produced by Sweden’s STORY, in co-production with Norway’s Napafilm and Germany’s Fünferfilm. Deals with a group of teens, whose friendship is wrecked by a sexual assault.
• The Lions at the River Tigris (Norway)
  Directed by Zaradasht Ahmed (Nowhere to Hide), produced by Thorvald Nilsen. Hopeful portrayal of a group of inhabitants in Mosul, Northern Iraq, as they try to rebuild their city, destroyed by three years of ISIS occupation.
• The Menopause Mystery (Denmark)
  Directed by Louise Unmack Kjeldsen (Fat Front), produced by Denmark’s Hansen & Pedersen. Scientific investigation into menopause and its neurological effects on women.
  

• Truth.com (Finland, Bulgaria)
  Directed by Tonislav Hristov (The Good Driver), produced by Making Movies, in co-production with Soul Food, Bulgaria. The film follows a Bulgarian investigative journalist who takes on fake news and Russian trolls in the Balkans.
• Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other (UK/Denmark)
  Co-directed by filmmaking couple Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet. Produced by Manon & Jacob Ltd, in co-production with Denmark’s Final Cut for Real. Intimate portrayal of an ageing couple - a world famous photographer and his wife, an unrecognised artist, who strive for equanimity, while facing their mortality.