05/04/2022 - We profile ten outstanding projects presented at last week's CPH:DOX Forum and Works in Progress

The industry section of the Nordic region's biggest and most important documentary film festival CPH:DOX took place last week, and besides the Conference and Symposium programmes, it included the pitching of projects in the Forum and Work in Progress sections as well as the newly established Change section, a development co-production training programme in collaboration with IMS and EAVE, featuring projects from the European Eastern Partnership countries. Cineuropa profiles ten outstanding projects across the three sections.

Forum

So Called Sisterhood (working title) - Hanka Nobis (Switzerland/Poland)

A project that Nobis is working on in parallel with IDFA Forum entry Brotherhood, So Called Sisterhood follows three 20-something girls who live in a collective and fight against conservative, oppressive norms and arbitrary police violence in today’s Poland. Ester van Messel of Switzerland's First Hand Films is producing the project which is in development. Expected release: 2023.

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The Gospel According to Matthew - Renzo Martens (Netherlands/Denmark/Germany)

White Cube [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Renzo Martens
film profile] director Martens returns to Congo where a community of plantation workers is producing a film on the life of Jesus. Inspired by seeing how much money was invested in Milo Rau's The New Gospel [+see also:
film review
interview: Milo Rau
film profile], one of the workers, Matthieu, wants to use the production funding to get back the land stolen by white men. The docu-fiction hybrid currently in development is a co-produced by the all-star team of Topkapi Films' Frans van Gestel (Another Round [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Real Lava's Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær (The Cave [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], The Territory [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and ma.ja.de.'s Heino Deckert (Heimat Is a Space in Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). Expected release: 2024.

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The Whale Mystery - Klaus Thymann (Denmark, Norway, Iceland)

Acclaimed deep sea photographer and filmmaker Thymann explores why thousands of whales commit suicide every year. Using an advanced rebreather technique, he gets very close to the majestic mammals, leading a global team to reveal why whales beach themselves. Wingman Media's Peter Engels (Cold Case Hammarskjöld [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mads Brügger
interview: Mads Brügger
film profile]) is producing along with Iceland's Sagafilm and Norway's Von Mörner, with DR Sales attached for international rights. The project is in development. Expected release: 2024.

Whitewash - Andrei Nekrasov (Norway)

Russian-born Nekrasov (The Magnitsky Act – Behind the Scenes) investigates the path of illegal funds that travel from Russia through Estonia into every corner of the world, telling the inside story of the gigantic money laundering case of Danske and other Nordic banks. Praya Film's Torstein Grude (Secret Lives of Pigs) is on board as producer for the project currently in development. It will be available as a film and mini-series. Expected release: 2022.

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Total Trust [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Jialing Zhang (Germany/Netherlands)

Co-director of One Child Nation and producer of In the Same Breath, Zhang looks at the Chinese surveillance system through the relationship between the watched and those watching. The film reveals how a family is gradually integrated into the system, what it is like to live in it and explores the resulting consequences. Filmtank's Knut Jager (German Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pavel G Vesnakov
film profile]) is producing together with the Dutch company Witfilm and Germany's Interactive Media Foundation. Cinephil is in charge of world sales and the project is currently in production. Expected release: early 2023.

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Portrait of a Confused Father - Gunnar Hall Jensen (Norway/France)

Oh, It Hertz! [+see also:
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film profile] director Hall Jensen tells his own story of trying to be a good father and connect with his son whom he doesn't understand at all. The humorous and intimate documentary, currently in development, is produced by UpNorth Film's Ingrid Galadriel Aune Falch in co-production with France's Little Big Story. Expected release: 2023.

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Copa 71 [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine (UK)

This Is Football co-directors re-team to tell the forgotten story of the 1971 Women's Football World Cup in Mexico. Unaffiliated with FIFA, the event attracted huge crowds and media coverage but has since been erased from history. New Black Film's Victoria Gregory (Maiden [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Battle of the Sexes) is the producer, the project is in development and Dogwoof is on board for international sales. Expected release: 2023.

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Celluloid Dreams - Ilinca Calugareanu (UK/Germany)

A 5 x 25 minute series, Celluloid Dreams is set in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, South Korea, India and Iraq, highlighting stories that show how across different cultures, political regimes and historical contexts, films are our common denominator. Calugareanu and producer Mara Adina of UK's Vernon Films are best known for Chuck Norris vs Communism [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and the series, currently in production, is co-produced by Germany's Kloos & Co. Medien and ARTE, supported by Chicken and Egg Pictures with Rise and Shine on board for world sales. Expected release: 2023.

Work in Progress

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Nasrin's Voice - Kaisa Rastimo (Finland)

Nasrin is a Middle-Eastern woman who was forced to marry a human trafficker while she was a child. After the couple came to Finland, Nasrin emancipated and divorced him. The punishment was harsh. Rastimo follows her as she fights for her rights. Ella Ruohonen is producing for Image Club Oy and the project is in production. Expected release: 2023.

Change

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9-Month Contract - Ketevan Vashagashvili (Georgia)

The director follows Jana who grew up as an orphan and is now raising a child, single and homeless. She becomes a surrogate mother for the third time so she can offer her daughter the life she never had, but now she runs into serious complications stemming from an illegal and dangerous deal. Anna Khazaradze (Glory to the Queen [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Nino Chichua are producing through 1991 Productions and the project is in early production stage. Expected release: 2024.