Within the framework of the One World human rights documentary festival, the biggest documentary event of its kind in the region will be held – the East Doc Platform (EDP) organized by the Institute of Documentary Film. The sixth year of the platform will welcome 400 film professionals, representatives of important world festivals and key personalities in the field of documentary film. Most events will be held between March 6 and March 12 in the Cervantes Institute (Na Rybníčku 6, Praha 2). The program in English will be open to the public, and there is no charge.
284 documentaries in preparation (development, production or post-production stages) have registered for East Doc Platform this year. Several dozens of projects have been selected therefrom to compete for 9 awards to be awarded at the end of the East European Forum and announced at the end of One World. The projects registered have demonstrated that the current documentaries try to analyse and reflect our times. This year’s theme for East Doc Platform is: “Present continues…“
Miriam Ryndová, Head of East Doc Platform, said on the theme: “Time is the co-creator of the base line in creative documentaries. The fact that documentary filmmakers capture an event and open it for other meanings in time has inspired us to call for slow-down and to open important moments for other reflections, as our present actions have an impact on our future, too.”
East European Forum to be held within EDP
The East European Forum is the biggest get-together of documentary makers from Central and Eastern Europe with leading European an US broadcasters, international producers, distributors, sales agents, film fund representatives, festival and press. Directors and independent producers offer their projects for co-production, future distribution and other forms of financial support and cooperation. The event includes workshops, presentations, panel discussions and inspiring lectures from renowned international tutors.
International films at East European Forum – selected items:
A film by Stafan Obin Bare-Handed talks of two men and their battle against Islamic State recruiters, fought day by day with bare hands…
An uptoday film, The Good Change, directed by Konrad Szolajski, concerns the problems of the current Polish politics. The story of two women with different ideologies illustrates the fate of their home country which remains a democratic state, or will it succumb to a populist dictatorship?
Alina Rudnitskaya’s documentary comedy Mercedes Principle takes the audience to see the lives and minds of two contemporary women, unveiling their paths in searching for a rich men.
The interesting projects amongst the Czech representatives include Lust For Life directed by Radovan Síbrt who tells the story of The Tap Tap members; a story of music, friendship, desires and dreams.
A music docu-fiction The Sound Is Innocent directed by Johana Švarcová maps the beginnings of electronic music in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and the post-war enthusiasm in Western and Eastern Europe from an unusual perspective of a Homo digitalis.
Satanic Girls by Bohdan Bláhovec tell the story of a girls’ band, Satanic Girls, whose members left the Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960’s to become celebrities in the Communist Chile.
A public presentation will be held on Saturday, March 11, | 9:30 am – 1:30 pm | at Divadlo Komedie. Directors and producers of 20 feature documentaries in development and production from Central and Eastern Europe will present their projects to more than 70 decision makers and potential partners from all over the world.
EDP will also present 7 projects focusing on the current sociological, environmental and political issues – as part of the Doc Tank
This year, Doc Tank will present 7 projects with an activist approach and social campaigning potential. The filmmakers selected for the Doc Tank will take part in an intensive, two-day workshop with lecturers, and a day reserved for individual meetings with international professionals, creative producers, commissioning editors, sales and festival representatives, transmedia and TVs, at the Project Market.
This year, the Doc Tank expects leading capacities of Media Studies at the universities all over the world, and MIT Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Miriam Ryndová told us more about this year’s news for the Doc Tank: “William Uricchio, Aranau Gifreau Castells and Sandra Gaudenzi are currently the most quoted doctors and professors. Their studies focus on new formats, interactive projects drawing on the crossing the boundaries of the documentary world, transmedia and journalism, as well as virtual reality.”
The public project presentation at the Doc Tank will take place on Friday, March 10. | 2:00 – 3:45 pm | at the Cervantes Institute where 5 trans-media projects in development will be (presented by a producer – director team to the public and a small jury consisting of prestigious international transmedia producers.
Tips for lectures at the East Doc Platform:
MASTERCLASS: JOE BINI – PERSONAL REMARKS ON DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING THROUGH THE EYES OF AN EDITOR (Thursday 9 March | 11:30 am – 1 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
LECTURE: WILLIAM URICCHIO – INTERACTING WITH SPACE (Wednesday 8 March | 4:00 – 5:30 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
CZECH DOCS… COMING SOON (Wednesday 9 March | 2:00 – 3:15 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
LECTURE: ADAM ŠIROKÝ, JINDŘICH TRAPL – LATEST TRENDS IN 360° VIDEO AND VIRTUAL REALITY (Wednesday
9 March | 5:30 – 6:30 | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
LECTURE: CHRISTOPHER HIRD – HOW TO RELEASE A HARD-HITTING FEATURE DOC – FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES (Friday 10 March | 10:00 – 11:15 am | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
“Other significant guests I would like to point out are the panellists in the discussion opening new opportunities for female filmmakers. Organisations like EWA, Tribeca Fund and Impact Partners/ Gamefounder are pioneers and important sources for female documentary financing,” adds Miriam Ryndová.
PANEL: MRIDU CHANDRA, GERALYN DREYFOUS, LEENA PASANEN, ULLA SIMONEN, ALEXIA MUINOS RUIZ – SUPPORTING WOMEN FILMMAKERS (Friday 10 March | 4:30 – 6:00 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall)
KineDok at One World: drink and screening with David Alræk (Thursday 9 March | 9:00 pm – 12:00 am | DUP36, Charvátova 39/10, Praha 1)
For more information on the program: https://www.dokweb.net/articles/detail/253/unveil-programme-of-east-doc-platform-2017
