During CPH:INDUSTRY, unspooling next month, from 17-22 March, CPH:FORUM 2024 will present a carefully curated selection of projects reflecting diverse documentary styles and addressing global issues. A total of 32 projects, involving over 65 filmmakers and producers from 26 countries, will explore pressing themes. CPH:DOX's primary financing and co-production event will host numerous guests in Copenhagen from 18-21 March.

Among the selected projects competing for the CPH:FORUM prizes are new works by filmmakers such as Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh (Writing With Fire), Sky Hopinka (Kicking the Clouds), Talal Derki (Of Fathers and Sons [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mads Brügger
interview : Mads Brügger
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interview : Jonas Poher Rasmussen
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Regarding the work-in-progress selection, this year sees a broader range than before. CPH:WIP will showcase a total of six projects, encompassing both Nordic and international entries. The titles represent established and emerging filmmakers, offering selected scenes in order to secure gap financing or facilitate further distribution. The chosen works will be previewed as a prelude to CPH:FORUM during the CPH:WIP presentation on Monday 18 March.

For the third year running, CPH:DOX, IMS (International Media Support) and EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) join forces to spotlight a development and co-production training programme called CHANGE, focusing on projects from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries – Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The third edition of this six-month training programme will conclude with its final residential workshop in Copenhagen, organised in collaboration with the National Film School of Denmark. It will culminate in a presentation of the eight participating projects at the CHANGE pitching session on Monday 18 March.

Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry and training, underlines: “As voices are fighting to be heard all around the globe, it is a great honour to be able to present, on a global stage, projects that touch upon the human experience in all its hardship and its beauty. We’re humbled by the trust filmmakers bestow upon the CPH:FORUM, and are excited to see these projects build bridges between people and spark dialogue.”

CPH:FORUM and Eurimages, in a decade-long partnership, have introduced two new industry awards to recognise innovative projects at various stages of production. The Innovation Award (€20,000) targets projects by directors or visual artists with potential for international collaboration, while the Outreach Award (€30,000) supports independent production companies or directors aiming to engage global audiences. These awards, spanning the 2024-2026 cycle, emphasise international cooperation and audience involvement. Additionally, CPH:FORUM 2024 is unveiling the Rise And Shine Award (€3,000) for projects with international potential and no sales agent, the Unifrance Doc Award (€5,500) for outstanding French co-produced pitches, the NewImages - Forum des Images Award and the Sunny Side of the Doc Award, offering opportunities for CPH:LAB projects to enhance their visibility and development in the industry.

Over 270 financiers and decision makers have confirmed their attendance at CPH:FORUM. The selected projects will be pitched to prominent figures from the film-financing world, streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Europe and MUBI, broadcasters such as DR, ARTE, ZDF, Al Jazeera and the BBC, studios of the likes of Amazon Studios and Participant Media, distributors including NEON and IMAX, as well as various art institutions and philanthropic foundations, such as the Sundance Institute and Open Society Foundations.

Here are the selected projects for CPH:FORUM 2024:

Before the Fire - Angel Giovanni Hoyos (Colombia/Argentina/Spain)
Producer: Jorge Botero

The Blue Sweater With a Yellow Hole - Tetiana Khodakivska (Ukraine)
Producer: Elena Saulich

The Broken Greenhouse - Lars Bergström, Mats Bigert (Sweden)
Producer: Mats Bigert

The Call: A Political Odyssey - Lise Birk Pedersen (Denmark)
Producer: Sara Stockmann

Children of Honey - Jigar Ganatra (Tanzania/UK)
Producer: Natalie Humphreys

Cinderella Unbound - Ilinca Calugareanu (UK/Romania)
Producers: Anamaria Antoci, Ilinca Calugareanu

The Dirty Dream - Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh (India)
Producers: Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh

First Woman - Patricia Drati (Denmark)
Producer: Maria Helga Stürup

Freedom (working title) - Camilla Nielsson (Denmark)
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen

Haiti - Collapse - Martin Tamm Andersen (Denmark)
Producer: Andreas Dalsgaard

I Am an Olive Tree - Yasaman Sharifmanesh (Sweden)
Producers: Kristofer Henell, Erika Malmgren

I Am Pippi - Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen (Sweden)
Producers: Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen

In Praise of Invasive Species - Mila Aung-Thwin (Canada)
Producer: Bob Moore

The Invisible World - Talal Derki (Germany)
Producer: Talal Derki

ISKRA (Spark!) - Alenka Pavlin (Slovenia/USA)
Producers: Errol Morris, Petra Vidmar, Geoffrey Smith, Cynthia Kane

Karsai vs. Hungary - Marcell Gerő (Hungary/France)
Producers: Jean-Laurent Csinidis, Sára László

The Listeners - Lindsey Dryden (UK/USA/France)
Producers: Samantha Steele, Lindsey Dryden

My Estranged Sister - Marina Vorobyeva (Denmark)
Producer: Julie Walenciak

My Skin and I - Milton Guillen, Fiona Hall (UK/USA/Germany)
Producers: Nevo Shinaar, Brigid O'Shea

Oriente - Juan Alvaro Hein (Denmark/Argentina)
Producer: Sidsel Lønvig Siersted

Our Sister Angela - Black Power in the GDR - Katharina Warda, Jascha Hannover (Germany)
Producer: André Schäfer

Podium (You Have Three Minutes) - Rachel Leah Jones (Israel/Canada/France/Switzerland)
Producer: Philippe Bellaiche

Powwow People - Sky Hopinka (USA)
Producer: John Cardellino

Project Z - Till Schauder, Sara Nodjoumi (UK/USA)
Producers: Kat Mansoor, Sara Nodjoumi, Till Schauder

Second Woman - Ursula Macfarlane (UK)
Producer: Mandy Chang

Showtime in Helsinki - Arthur Franck (Finland/Sweden)
Producer: Sandra Enkvist

Timestamp - Kateryna Gornostai (Ukraine/Netherlands)
Producer: Olha Beskhmelnytsina

Towards the Abyss - Mads Brügger (Norway/Denmark/Belgium)
Producers: Carsten Annonsen, Stig Andersen, Silje Viki

Tree People - Regina Sobel (USA)
Producers: Sarah Goodwin, Elliot Kirschner, Adam Bolt, Julia de Guzman

Under the Dream - Saelyx Finna (Mexico/USA)
Producers: Yollótl Alvarado, Isabel López Polanco, Laurie Polisky

Victor - Stephani Victor (USA)
Producers: Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Matt Radecki

Whispers in May - Dongnan Chen (China/Netherlands)
Producer: Jia Zhao

The selected CPH:WIP 2024 projects are:

About a Hero - Piotr Winiewicz (Denmark/Germany)
Producers: Mads Damsbo, Rikke Tambo Andersen

Burnt Earth - John Webster (Finland)
Producers: Eveliina Kantola, Marko Talli

If Pigeons Turned to Gold - Pepa Lubojacki (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Producers: Wanda Kaprálová, Klára Mamojková

North South Man Woman - Morten Traavik, Mary Sun Kim (Norway/Latvia/South Korea)
Producer: Verona Meier

Unwelcomed - Amilcar Infante, Sebastian Gonzalez Mendez (Chile)
Producer: Sebastian Gonzalez

Confidential project from Yemen

The selected CHANGE projects are:

Between Strange Borders - Mira Oyetoro, Sabina Asadova (Ukraine)
Producer: Mira Oyetoro

Echoes of Avey - Atanur Nabiyeva (Azerbaijan)
Producer: Durna Safarova

The Ferryman - Pavlo Dorohoi (Ukraine)
Producer: Olha Symonenko

Land of Fairy Tales and Dreams - Denis Pavlovic (Moldova/Germany)

Language X - Tanya Haurylchyk (Belarus/Poland)
Producer: Katerina Barushka

Lessons of Chemistry - Magda Grudniewska (Poland)

Nana’s Wings - Maradia Tsaava (Georgia)
Producer: Mariam Chachia

Sacred Songs - Nona Giunashvili (Georgia)
Producer: Mariam Bitsadze