DocsBarcelona 24

My Sextortion Diary may only be just over an hour in length, but it is a powerful and provocative real-life story, prescient in reflecting the unhappy reality facing those people who are forced to deal with the awful behaviour of unscrupulous hackers, and handled in moving matter-of-fact style by Spanish filmmaker Patricia Franquesa as she recounts the terrible ordeal she had to suffer.

“The geographical position of Barcelona makes us a connection point between Latin America, Europe, and the Mediterranean,” new Industry Head Èric Motjer tells BDE of the DocsBarcelona Industry programme (May 6-10), whose success is in finding “a balance between a selection of creatively challenging projects with co-production potential, and ensuring that the market is, at the same time, a space for analyzing and debating the future ahead.”

Do you remember when tech start-ups would find you a place for the night, or locate a taxi just a minute away, or deliver you a burger? Just to make the business of living that little bit easier. Well, now start-ups are dealing in death, enabling grieving folk to communicate with AI-generated versions of their deceased loved ones, via web chat or VR. “[People] don't believe in God anymore…but at the same time, they can't deal with the fact that death is finite,” co-director Moritz Riesewieck tells BDE. “And these tech companies have a big chance to fill this gap.”

UK viewers are likely to be deeply shocked by Our Land, Our Freedom, which competes in Main Competition at DocsBarcelona. It reveals the brutality with which British colonial soldiers treated freedom fighters during the Kenyan Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s. “We are only scratching the surface with this film. We would have loved to have gone much deeper…maybe if Netflix offers us a 10-part series, we will!” says co-director Meena Nanji.

Before doors open on the 27th DocsBarcelona (May 2 to 12), Business Doc Europe talks to Artistic Director Anna Petrus about the event that has become one of southern Europe’s must-attend doc fests. “The festival takes place during the first two weeks of May when Barcelona becomes the epicenter of documentary filmmakers and professionals from all over the world,” Petrus underlines.

The professional market of the Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival will take place May 6 to 10 with John Wilson, Albert Serra, Efthymia Zymvragaki and Estephan Wagner among the main guests. Every year DocsBarcelona gathers approximately 600 professionals who attend conferences, pitch sessions, speed meetings and other activities.

The Docs&Pearls Official Section, featuring 15 films, also addresses other contemporary debates such as the dangers of the digital world and the empowerment of women. “This year's Docs will be full of discoveries and doors that open to invite us to walk along paths not yet explored, full of questions and tools to unlearn and relearn different ways of thinking and being in the world," comments Artistic Director, Anna Petrus.

Additionally, HBO Max, ARTE, RAI, POV and Al-Jazeera are among the funders that will participate in the Barcelona market, which will take place 6 to 10 May. "DocsBarcelona Industry wants to be a space for critical debate, safe and with an eye on the future. More than ever, we need creators and producers to bring new perspectives and contribute to the critical and artistic spirit through film," says Head of Industry, Èric Motjer.

The Russian auteur will attend the Catalan docfest with Architecton, the final part of his ‘planet’ trilogy after ¡Vivan las antípodas! (2011) and Aquarela (2018). “The festival has always accompanied the films of Victor Kossakovsky, who returns with a sensorially shocking film that questions the use that human beings make of natural resources to build and, unfortunately, also to destroy," comments Anna Petrus, Artistic Director of DocsBarcelona.

Ten film professionals will award the Docs&Pearls, Docs&Cat and DOC-U prizes at DocsBarcelona 2024. The 27th edition of the Catalan festival will run 2-12 May, while DocsBarcelona Industry is set for 6-10 May. Agent of Happiness, by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, will open the festival on May 2.