The seventh edition of AJB DOC to focus on Palestine
- Taking place from 13-17 September in Sarajevo, the Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Festival will include the third edition of the ever-growing AJD Industry Days
The Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Festival (AJB DOC), which is set to take place from 13-17 September in Sarajevo, has announced its programme, which will unfold under the theme “Justice?”
The festival, which focuses on TV documentaries, will show 24 titles, selected from over 300 submissions, across four sections: the Competition Programme, AJB Screening, Last Minute Cinema and SmartDoc, with four additional Special Screenings. These include nine international premieres, 12 regional ones and five Bosnian premieres.
Among the 11 films in the Competition Programme are the CPH:DOX entries Grand Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Atiye Zare Arandi and Bram Crols, A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, and Daughter of Genghis [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Christian Als and Kristoffer Juel Poulsen; Luka Beradze’s Smiling Georgia [+see also:
film review
interview: Luka Beradze
film profile] and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s Making of a Japanese; and two films by Bosnian filmmakers – namely, Srdjan Šarenac’s Prison Beauty Contest and Sergej Kreso’s Forgive Us Our Debts. The full festival programme can be found here.
The jury comprises Deborah London-Harrington, documentary filmmaker and head of Production Management at Dogwoof, and filmmakers Namik Kabil, Mila Turajlić, Francesco Montagner and Myriam Francois.
The Competition Programme also includes Turkish national broadcaster TRT’s Holy Redemption by José Carlos Soares, Tanju Şahin and Aslıhan Eker Çakmak, which explores the world of radical Israeli settlers on Palestinian lands. This is one of the films that highlight the current and decades-long conflict that the festival has chosen to focus on this year.
“It pains us that other film festivals have somewhat overlooked this topic, as if it were not the most important issue today,” says festival director Edhem Fočo. “We will have many films and guests from Palestine. Some titles are made by Palestinian auteurs, some are not, but their topic is what is important.”
Meanwhile, the third Al Jazeera Documentary Industry Days (AJD Industry Days) will present 29 projects that tell human stories, address pressing social issues and promote universal values, with a focus on the regions underrepresented in the documentary filmmaking industry. They are divided into four categories (scroll down for the full list), and the total prize fund amounts to €120,000. The event will gather over 80 international decision makers, and 50 producers and filmmakers.
Adel Ksiksi, head of AJD Industry Days, says: “We've received an overwhelming response, showcasing the talent and creativity within the global documentary community. This year's programme focuses on international collaboration and supporting emerging talent.”
The full list of AJD Industry Days projects is as follows:
Main Pitch
American Dream: The Return of Captain Kabonga - Amir El-Shenawy (Egypt)
Big in Gazi Baba - Pauline Blanchet (North Macedonia)
K67 - Filip Filković Philatz (Croatia)
Power, Elaine - Mila Turajlić (Serbia)
The Amateur Photographer’s Family Portrait - Nurlan Hasanli (Georgia/Azerbaijan)
The Dry Period - Nihal Atasoy (Turkey)
The Last Baron - Olga Lucovnicova, Annabel Verbeke (Belgium)
The Other Gaza - Wafa Jamil (Palestine)
Wolf Game - Patricia Echeverria Liras (USA)
You Are Mine - Fariz Ahmadov (Azerbaijan)
Rough Cut
3phrala- 3brothers - Katalin Bársony (Hungary)
32 Meters - Morteza Atabaki (Turkey)
Close to Paradise - Zarema and Her Rebel Family - Tatsiana Khamliuk (Italy)
Dom - Massimiliano Battistella (Italy)
Dreams of the Wild Oaks - Marjan Khosravi (Iran)
Eduard - Sophie Shevardnadze (Georgia)
Jodari Meno - Jamal Al Khanji (Qatar)
Magma - Mia Bendrimia (France)
Slav(e)s - Robert Tomić Zuber (Croatia)
Balkan Stars
“For Whom the Bells Toll?” - Denis Karam, Zlatko Ivanišević (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia)
Houses on Sand - Vid Begić (Croatia)
Phantom Limb - Catherine Norman Tahirović (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Third Person - Dragan Gmizić (Serbia)
Weeping Houses - Srđan Perkić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Zanki - Marcella Zanki (Croatia)
Special Selection
From Ground Zero Docs - Ahmad Hassouna, Reema Mahmoud, Mostafa El Nabieh, Khamis Masharawi (Palestine)
Inside Gaza - Hélène Lam Trong (France/Belgium)
“Is It All About Money?” - Emir Nuhanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The Track - Ryan Sidhoo (Canada)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
