Berlin/EFM 2023

There have been previous documentaries about the Colombia Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group FARC-EP (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army), but director Joris Lachaise’s film takes an alternative view as it delves into the links between trans activists as they stand with disarmed FARC fighters at demos in Bogotá’s red-light district and in FARC camps in the mountains.

This year’s European Film Market focused on the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. One of the industry initiatives, the Baltic Doc Rough Cut Showcase, promotes new non-fiction feature projects nearing completion. The Estonian project Kelly - Someone Else’s Dreams was initially planned as a sports documentary revolving around the record-breaking freestyle skier before it turned into a much darker story…

“Kiss the future!” rock star Bono of band U2 shouted at the crowd during the historic concert in Sarajevo in 1997. The city was then emerging from siege and war. It was time, the Irishman was telling them, to look forward after the years of horror. Now, the story behind the concert, and how it happened, is told in the new feature doc directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain and written by Bill S Carter, who speak to Business Doc Europe.

The brand-new, four-part high-end documentary series Juan Carlos was presented February 20 as part of the EFM’s Up Next: Germany, a showcase of the country’s most interesting upcoming series projects. Produced by Emmy-nominated producer Christian Beetz (Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion, controlled by Munich-based conglomerate Leonine Studios), the series promises to explore the rise and fall of former Spanish King Juan Carlos I.

When D Smith (whose Kokomo City won two awards at Sundance last month) made her transition from male to female, she was startled by the hostility she encountered from her colleagues in the music industry. She was an award-winning producer and songwriter who had worked with some very big names, including Katy Perry and Lil Wayne - but all of a sudden, it was as if no-one wanted to know her, she tells Business Doc Europe.

Is the Klezmer Project a failed movie? Because, in essence, it doesn’t feature a lot of klezmer (Yiddish folk) bands. And it is definitely not a straightforward documentary on music or musicians. What it is, nevertheless, is a smart, funny, personal and at the same time universal document of an almost erased culture, an honest, analytical self-reflection on identity and traditions…and a tragic love story.

In an absorbing, challenging and beautifully shot film, a passionate tight-knit group of young Syrian women embark upon on a radical and perhaps controversial project, producing a play that details and exposes the culture of misogyny and sexual abuse that has been part of the everyday lives of women in their country for generations.

Before the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, five kids from Donbas were transported to the Himalayas, away from the conflict and the bombs and the ruins, and were briefly shown a glimpse of paradise. After they returned, full scale war broke out. “This film is about this last light of teenagers from this generation before the darkness swallows their dreams,” director Kovalenko tells BDE.

This was the core question and title of an EFM panel held at the Event Hall of Berlin’s Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation on February 18. The talk, hosted by the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) and moderated by Brigid O’Shea, saw the participation of IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia and IDA’s Director of Artist Programmes Abbey Sun.

Prolific Oscar-winning producer John Battsek talks to Business Doc Europe about why he was determined to document the life of the German tennis great. “I’m a massive sports fan and a huge tennis fan,” says Battsek. “Talking to Boris, I got a real sense of a life lived achieving incredible things; not least six majors, an Olympic Gold, coaching Novak and being a brilliant commentator.” The film is directed by Alex Gibney.