CPH:DOX, EFP Invite U.S. Consumers to Europe! On-Demand

Europe has rolled out the crimson carpet for American consumers. Because of European Movie Promotion’s Europe! On Demand initiative, co-organized with Copenhagen documentary pageant CPH:DOX, U.S. distributors and different consumers are being supplied entry to seven European documentaries enjoying on the pageant and obtainable for North America.

On March 12, a dozen U.S. consumers from prime outfits together with Neon, MUBI, Netflix, Sony Footage Classics and Kino Lorber had been invited to an internet pitching session with the movies’ respective inventive, manufacturing and gross sales groups. The U.S.-European bridging occasion will proceed on-site with an in-person networking occasion throughout the pageant’s business sidebar, CPH:FORUM (March 24-27).

5 of the documentaries are world premiering within the pageant’s most prestigious DOX:AWARD part. Dealt with internationally by Common Footage Content material Group, “See You Tomorrow on the Moon” is directed by the multi-awarded Thomas Balmès (“Happiness,” “Infants”). Beneath the Rise & Shine banner, “The Helsinki Impact” is an all-archival docu essay helmed by Arthur Franck (“The Hypnotist”). Three different docs vying for the €10,000 ($10,900) DOX:AWARD are characteristic debuts: MetFilm Gross sales’ “Sanatorium” is helmed by Gar O’Rourke, Fandango’s “The Citadel” by Danny Biancardi, Virginia Nardelli and Stefano Guiseppe La Rosa, and “Flophouse America” by Monica Strømdahl.

Rounding out the choice are two titles competing for the HUMAN:RIGHTS Award, simply picked up by Paris-based Cat & Docs gross sales outfit: “Black Water” by Natxo Leuza and “Ladies & Gods” by Verena Soltiz and Arash T. Riashi.

All doc members applauded the Europe! On Demand initiative, corresponding to “The Citadel’s” producer Nadège Labé. “This initiative is an actual alternative to open up our movie to the U.S. market. It’s a troublesome territory for European movies to entry, with a community that we lack,” she stated.

As a part of the promotional initiative, the chosen groups share their visions with Selection.

Here’s a rundown of the titles:
“Black Water” (Spain, En Buen Sitio)
For this movie, filmmaker Natxo Leuza (San Sebastian Irizar Award nominated for “El Drogas”) has travelled to Bangladesh to seize a household pressured to flee their rural residence for Dhaka, as storms, cyclones and erosion power 1000’s of individuals every single day to seek out refuge within the capital. “This can be a movie about poorer nations, corresponding to Bangladesh, paying the prize of wealthy international locations exploiting our pure sources. It’s a human tragedy,” says Leuza who skilled first-hand the cruel monsoon climate situations together with his crew together with producer/cinematographer Jokin Pascual. The latter says “Black Water” is “the most important and most bold mission” for the not too long ago based manufacturing outfit En Buen Sitio.

“Ladies & Gods” (Austria, Golden Ladies Movie)
On this thought-provoking movie, Verena Soltiz (“Thierry Henry”) has teamed up with seasoned helmer/producer Arash T. Riashi (CPH:DOX viewers winner for “On a regular basis Insurrection”) to discover whether or not monotheistic religions may be feminist, with Ukraine activist Inna Shevchenko of the FEMEN collective as their information, from Copenhagen to New York. “ ‘Ladies & Gods’ will not be a documentary made out of a protected distance. It’s an unsafe movie, an unsafe dialog, as a result of reality is commonly uncomfortable however all the time joyful!,” says Soltiz who was approached by Shevchenko with the concept for the movie.

“With ‘Ladies & Gods’ we need to empower these silent lots to face up and clear up their religions from the traditional mud of violent, misogynist patriarchy that’s the reason for thus many wars, conflicts and injustices, particularly in direction of ladies,” provides Iranian-born Riashi, who has distanced himself from faith, after being pressured into exile together with his household by the Islamic regime. Riashi produces for his outfit Golden Ladies Movie, in co-production with Switzerland’s Amka Movies. “This can be a very inclusive movie, which we imagine can attain out to a large viewers, together with within the U.S. as we had a number of shootings there, notably with feminists towards abortion, pro-choice Catholics, Iranian/U.S. activist Masih Alinejad and trans rabbi Abby Stein,” says Riashi. The Austrian theatrical launch through Filmladen is scheduled for this fall.

“Flophouse America” (Norway, The Netherlands, U.S., Fri Movie)
For greater than 15 years, prime nonetheless photographer Monica Strømdahl has travelled within the U.S., documenting housing situations and households dwelling in flophouse lodges. When she met Mikal (12), born and raised in such a spot together with his alcoholic dad and mom, she realized that his story wanted greater than only a {photograph} and began filming. “Flophouse America” follows Mikal by three years and a turning level in his life. “Our intention is to make audiences see youngsters like Mikal, not as statistics, however as a full complicated human being,” says Strømdahl, who desires to lift consciousness about little one poverty and social inequality around the globe, and set off concrete actions from policy-makers and most people. Producer Beathe Hofseth says she was immediately satisfied by Strømdahl’s imaginative and prescient when she approached her in 2014. “Combining artwork, robust lovely photographs with necessary and highly effective content material is precisely what we – producer Siri Natvik and I – love doing at Fri Movie.”

The movie, co-produced with Dutch companion Basalt Movie, might be launched by Norsk Filmdistribusjon in Norway and Cinema Delicatessen within the Netherlands. Broadcasters on board embrace RBB/Arte.

“Sanatorium” (Eire, Ukraine, France, Venom Movies)
Gar O’Rourke’s documentary tracks the tales of employees and friends on the imposing Kuyalnik Sanatorium in Odesa, as they seek for therapeutic, love and happiness whereas conflict rages close by. O’Rourke says after filming his brief movie “Kachalka” in Kyiv in 2019, he was “all the time fascinated by the Ukrainian perspective in direction of well being and dwelling.” Launched by a Ukrainian buddy to “the unbelievable world of Soviet-era sanatoriums, he fell in love with Odesa’s Kuyalnyk Sanatorium and began engaged on his movie in 2021. After the Russian invasion, he thought his mission would collapse, till he discovered a strategy to return in 2023. “This can be a story concerning the energy of the human spirit and of human resilience,” he tells Selection. “The conflict has modified all the pieces for the lives of Ukrainians, and I noticed first-hand simply how brave and courageous each the employees and friends had been by being there on the sanatorium throughout such harmful occasions.”

Impressed by O’Rourke’s “Kachalka” and his imaginative and prescient for “Sanatorium,” Met Movie Group’s head of gross sales and distribution Zak Sensible says he got here on board throughout pre-production. He’s now “fielding a number of territory provides from broadcasters and distributors” forward of CPH:DOX. The Venom Movie manufacturing was pre-bought by BBC Storyville.

“See You Tomorrow on the Moon” (France, TBC Productions)
Director, producer and cinematographer Thomas Balmès travelled the world for his hit documentary “Infants” (2011), dealt with by Focus Options, and filmed a distant village in Bhutan in “Happiness,” for which he received greatest cinematography at Sundance in 2013. With “See You Tomorrow on the Moon,” he stays in France and turns his digicam to the palliative care unit of Calais Hospital, in northern France, the place a horse named Peyo visits probably the most fragile sufferers to assuage them of their last days. One in every of them is sufferers, Amandine (39) who suffers from terminal most cancers and has just a few months left to dwell.

“The movie began from a photograph story that includes Peyo printed by the Guardian newspaper and seeing it sparked an concept that I needed to develop additional,” says Balmès, who then approached the Calais Hospital and tried to “negotiate” his presence every single day with the medical employees, the sufferers, and the households. “What was distinctive with Amandine is that she was very prepared to take part within the film as quickly as she heard about it. Immediately she stated: “I need to be on this movie. I need to go away a hint behind in order that my youngsters can see who their mom was and the way she fought till the tip towards her sickness,” says Balmès, including, “I like when movies make individuals query themselves and I hope this one, which offers with dying, will make some individuals query the way in which they dwell their life.”

“The Citadel” (France, Italy, Société du Smart, ZaLab Movie)
In Danisinni, an remoted and poor neighborhood of Palermo, Sicily, three 11-year-old youngsters, Angelo, Mary and Rosy, flip an deserted kindergarten right into a secret shelter. Right here they will escape the violence of the skin world and share their goals.

Co-directors Danny Biancardi and Virginia Nardelli, who lived in that district for nearly two years, regularly received to know that group, organizing movie workshops. They had been joined by Palermo-born Stefano Guiseppe La Rosa. “We did some scouting to seek out our protagonists, however these three youngsters shortly stood out. It was a really spontaneous selection to start out working with them, as they took us alongside to discover their world,” says Nardelli.

La Rosa says they had been cautious to ship an genuine portrait of the youngsters’ harsh lives, whereas giving room for creativeness and magic, mixing observatory and participatory creation. French producer Nadège Labé says she was each taken by the administrators’ inventive affinities, their intuitive method, closeness to their protagonists and want to combine genres. The movie, co-produced by Italian producer Giulia Campagna of ZaLab Movie, was pre-bought by France Télévisions, with Fandango Gross sales stepping in forward of CPH:DOX.

“The Helsinki Impact” (Finland, Polygraf)
The all-archival essay documentary by Arthur Franck explores the facility narratives and myths of the Chilly Warfare period, by the political chess sport between world leaders on the Helsinki Summit in 1975. “Putin’s conflict on Ukraine has introduced a way of collective déjà vu, the place the anxiousness of looming mutual destruction that plagued the Chilly Warfare is instantly again in play once more,” says Franck, who additionally denounces U.S. President Donald Trump’s “radical method by bypassing western allies, which is undoing many years of diplomatic work and places Europe in peril. My movie may be seen as a counter-narrative to the perceived permanence of the Chilly Warfare. Change is feasible,” claims the director, who dug into public broadcaster Yle’s archives to extract 80% of his footage, combined with AI voice simulation scenes based mostly on transcripts…and many humor. Franck says pitching the mission at CPH:FORUM 2024 was essential to draw worldwide consideration. Co-producers Kloos & Co in Germany and Indie Movie in Norway joined in, adopted by RBB/Arte, DR and RÚV.