29/09/2020 - Majorca's creative documentary festival runs from 29 September to 3 October, offering chilled-out projections and leisurely masterclasses (both physical and virtual)

MajorDocs, a self-proclaimed “slow event”, embraces a refreshingly relaxed approach to the cinematic experience. This year’s line-up presents a selection of eight creative documentaries, all with a distinct auteurist slant, “that encourage us to connect with not just the other, but also with our own sensibility”. These five days (29 September–3 October) in an intimate and congenial atmosphere are a chance to “reflect, ask and discuss each film with its author”. It’s an event designed to “stimulate the critical eye through screenings and talks, as well as workshops and discussions on documentary cinema”. Directed by Miguel Eek, MajorDocs seeks out “hybrid, innovative, transgressive, adventurous” films that “dig deeply into the ins and outs of a complex world without staying on the surface”.

The jury — comprising producer Jacques Bidou (Eva Doesn’t Sleep [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), cultural manager Andrea Guzmán and lecturer Marta Andreu — will announce the overall winner at the end of the festival, and the public will also have a chance to vote for their favourite entry. Both awards, each with a monetary prize of €1,500, will be presented at the closing ceremony. Cinemas across Palma will be hosting screenings, while workshops will take place in the open air in accordance with strict infection control measures. Talks will also be live-streamed, with opportunities for the audience to have their say. The one-to-one session for accredited participants may also be held online — a video-conferencing option is available as an alternative to a face-to-face meeting.

Among the various masterclasses on offer at this second edition of MajorDocs, Isaki Lacuesta’s session at 10 am on 1 October is particularly hotly anticipated. It’s called In the Limits of Reality and will draw on examples from two of his films: The Legend of Time and Between Two Waters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isaki Lacuesta
film profile]. Another must is the class led by Salima Jirari, who will be taking a deep-dive into distribution, looking at the resources, forms of support and platforms available to aspiring documentarians and how the COVID-19 crisis has affected this side of the industry. The Calculation and Disclosure, presented by Catalan filmmaker José Luis Guerín (29 September) is also stirring up a lot of interest.

As for the films themselves, the real stars of this festival of cinephilic bliss, they are: Inland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], directed by Spain’s Juan Palacios; Midnight Traveller [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by Hassan Fazili, a co-production between the USA, Qatar, the UK and Canada; Talking About Trees [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Sudan/Germany/Qatar/Chad), from Suhaib Gasmelbari; Wintopia, directed by Canadian filmmaker Mira Burt-Wintonick; Drommeland (the Netherlands), by Joost van de Wiel; The Last Autumn [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by Icelandic director Yrsa Roca Fannberg; Love Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by Denmark’s Eva Mulvad; and the epistolary film In a Whisper [+see also:
film review
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interview: Patricia Pérez and Heidi Ha…
film profile] (Cuba/Spain/France/Switzerland), from Heidi Hassan and Patricia Pérez.

For the full details of this year’s programme, see the MajorDocs website.

(Translated from Spanish)