A vibrant tapestry of docs from Europe, Iran and Bhutan will explore the human experience and pressing global issues

5 Pills Away by Karolina Domagalska

The dok.incubator rough-cut training initiative has announced its final selection of documentary projects for 2023. This year's workshop brings together eight international projects from Europe, Iran and Bhutan. The teams behind them will collaborate with international editors, producers and sales representatives to fine-tune their films and create marketing strategies in preparation for their festival premieres in 2024. The CEO of dok.incubator, Andrea Prenghyova, highlights the diversity and relevance of this year's selection, stating: “Every year, we see that the current social and political situation is imprinted into the films that apply for our workshop. I believe we have brought fresh and diverse perspectives, and this year's selection carries many important messages from the contemporary world.” In addition, four more projects are featured in the dok.incubator CZ selection and another four in dok.incubator SK. The main workshop sessions for each strand will take place on different dates in April, June and October, with individual consultations being organised all year round.

Female directors from Slovakia and the Czech Republic lead the slate of upcoming documentary projects with, for instance, Širín Nafariehová and Michael Jiřinec's Misplaced, which follows two freed political prisoners searching for their true home and purpose after being released from a Turkish prison. Eva Křižková's The Birdhill offers a unique perspective on capitalism through the lens of local stories and ornithological research. Amálie Kovářová's Million Moments delves to the heart of the Czech democracy movement, examining the confrontation between citizens and politicians. Finally, Marie-Magdalena Kochová's The Other One presents an intimate coming-of-age story about responsibility, sisterhood and the struggle to balance personal dreams with family obligations.

All eight films from the incubator’s international slate are being directed or co-directed by female filmmakers, showcasing a range of filmmaking approaches, cultural backgrounds and themes. Notably, many of the projects feature strong female protagonists fighting for their rights, and defying gender and social stereotypes. Karolina Domagalska’s 5 Pills Away follows four women fighting against Poland's abortion ban, while Leila Amini’s Zun: An Octopus Under My Skin chronicles an Iranian woman's difficult journey to become a chanteuse in a country where solo singing is forbidden for women. Racing Hearts by Milla Bergh is an archival documentary about Ewy and Ursula, the first female competitive drivers for Mercedes-Benz in the 1960s. In Nice Ladies [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Mariia Ponomarova, elderly cheerleaders from Kharkiv claim the spotlight and find fulfilment in their sport, even as their lives are disrupted by the Russian invasion.

The selected documentaries also raise awareness of mental health and the power of the human spirit. Malgorzata Imielska’s Just Hear Me Out follows a Polish girl with paranoid schizophrenia determined to find her own path in life. Mina and the Radio Bandits by Kari Anne Moe documents Mina's quest to give freedom of speech to incarcerated individuals in six Norwegian prisons through a radio project. The Eternal War explores the impact of propaganda on people's thinking. Finally, Agent of Happiness [+see also:
film review
film profile], co-directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbo, whisks viewers away to Bhutan, where happiness is valued more highly than GDP. The film follows Amber, who conducts a survey to measure happiness in the country while searching for his own fulfilment.

This year's dok.incubator selections highlight the resilience and determination of women from diverse backgrounds, while also shining a light on the power of documentary filmmaking to capture the complexities of the human experience. As these projects are developed over the coming months, they promise to offer vital insights into the pressing issues and challenges facing today's world.

The full list of the films selected for the 2023 dok.incubator international workshop is as follows:

5 Pills Away - Karolina Domagalska (Poland)
Editor: Laura Pawela
Producer: Anna Stylinska
Production company: MY WAY STUDIO

Agent of Happiness [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbo (Bhutan/Hungary)
Editor: Peter Sass
Producer: Noemi Veronika Szakonyi
Production company: Match Frame Productions Kft

Just Hear Me Out - Malgorzata Imielska (Poland)
Editor: Marcin Szymanski
Producer: Adrianna Redzia
Production company: Kalejdoskop Film Studio

Mina and the Radio Bandits - Kari Anne Moe (Norway)
Editor: Karsten Meinich
Producer: Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Production company: Fuglene

Nice Ladies [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Mariia Ponomarova (Netherlands/Ukraine)
Editor: Annelotte Medema
Producer: Rogier Kramer
Production company: Labyrint Film

Racing Hearts - Milla Bergh (Sweden)
Editor: Dominika Daubenbüchel
Producer: Martin Bergh
Production company: Escathon AB

The Eternal War (Finland/Poland)
Editor: Waltteri Vanhanen
Producer: Pertti Veijalainen
Production company: Amnunna Films Ltd

Zun: An Octopus Under My Skin - Leila Amini (Ireland)
Editor: Leila Amini
Producer: Afsaneh Salari
Production company: Docmaniacs

dok.incubator SK 2023 selection

As Long as I Live (Fakir) - Roman Ďuriš (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Poland)
Editor: Jakub Fišer
Producers: Simona Bago Móciková, Michal Sikora
Production company: Bright Sight Pictures

Lichens Are the Way - Ondřej Vavrečka (Czech Republic)
Editor: Ondřej Vavrečka
Producer: Vít Janeček
Production company: D1 Film Ltd

Misplaced - Širín Nafariehová, Michael Jiřinec (Czech Republic)
Editor: Rosalinda Hálová
Producer: Matěj Paclík
Production company: Breathless Films

The Birdhill - Eva Križková (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Editor: Hana Dvořáčková
Producer: Silvia Panáková
Production company: Dayhey

dok.incubator CZ 2023 selection

Company of Steel - Yuliia Hontaruk (Latvia/Slovakia/Ukraine)
Editor: Roman Liubyi
Producer: Ivanna Khitsinska
Co-producers: Uldis Cekulis, Katarína Krnáčová
Production company: BABYLON’13

Million Moments - Amália Kovářová (Czech Republic)
Editor: David Votava
Producer: Jiří Konečný
Production company: endorfilm sro

Return to Life - Jaroslav Beran (Czech Republic)
Editor: Daniel Trögler
Producer: František Horvát
Production company: Tomas Bata University in Zlín

The Other One - Marie-Magdalena Kochová (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Editor: Simona Donovalová
Producer: Vít Poláček, Barbora Drtílková
Production company: m3 films