Edhem Fočo is a lawyer by education and a visionary businessman by experience. He is one of the initiators of the idea to bring the international Al Jazeera brand to the Balkans, and one of the founders of the Al Jazeera Balkans news service, which was one of the first to transcend borders in the turbulent region still affected by the wars of the 1990s. He is also the director of the AJB DOC Film Festival, which has quickly grown to become one of the most significant documentary gatherings in the region. Cineuropa sat down to talk with him at the sixth edition of the event (8-12 September).

Cineuropa: This is the sixth edition of the festival. Could you sum up the previous five? Have you seen any growth, and what potential is there for the future?
Edhem Fočo: The festival has exceeded our expectations, to be honest. We had not expected full cinemas, great media coverage or to create the biggest regional industry event in such a short period. So far, so good. We do not plan an increase in the number of screenings or anything like that; we will just work on enhancing the experience of both the authors and the audiences. But we do see significant potential for growth for our Industry Days; the interest that it is already generating is pretty amazing.

Did you do anything differently for this year's edition?
Not really. I am happy about, and proud of, the fact than 70% of the filmmakers in the two main selections are women. But then again, most of the winners at our previous editions so far have been women, so it is nothing new.

The region of the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans has no shortage of documentary film festivals. How does AJB DOC stand out from the crowd?
The region has some excellent festivals, such as Dokufest, Zagrebdox and Beldocs, to name a few. However, Bosnia was still lacking in this regard, and I believe that AJB DOC now proudly ranks among the best documentary festivals in the region. We do not consider other festivals as competition; as a matter of fact, we support most of them and enjoy good cooperation with them. AJB DOC has the advantage of being part of Al Jazeera Balkans and the Al Jazeera Network, hence our reach and influence are quite substantial. Half of the content of Al Jazeera Balkans consists of documentaries, so for us, it is a daily thing, unlike the prevailing situation at festivals where the focus on documentaries is linked to the event and the time of the festival.

Last year, the industry section was added to the festival. What did you have in mind with such a move? Who is it primarily intended for?
The Industry Days are organised under the umbrella of the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel (AJD). AJD felt it was natural for AJB DOC to develop its industry platform, as they have been observing us from the very first edition. At the same time, they are ever-present at all festivals such as IDFA, Hot Docs, Nordisk Panorama, Sundance, Cannes Docs and so on. It also offered them an opportunity to raise their profile in some new markets. The Industry Days primarily focus on stories from South-East Europe, the wider Caucasus region, and the Middle East and North Africa. The producers come from many countries, mainly European ones, but the stories come from the aforementioned regions.

What were the initial responses from the filmmakers and decision makers who attended last year?
Last year's response was impressive. Heads of Documentary departments from many big European broadcasters, such as YLE, SVT, Deutsche Welle, ORF, TRT and HRT, were with us, in addition to colleagues from other major festivals, such as Cannes Doc, Sunny Side and DOK Leipzig, to name a few. This year’s turnout is even bigger, and all of those who attended last year’s edition expressed their desire to be with us again. I think that says a lot about their feelings regarding the Industry Days. Also, it was heartening to see six or seven projects from last year's edition being selected later on for IDFA Forum. One of the projects has been completed in the meantime and is having its premiere at our festival this year.

Were there any changes or improvements made for the second edition?
We slightly reduced the number of selected projects; this year, it is 22 over three days. This change was made to ensure that the schedule would not be overbooked, and so that the decision makers would be less stressed and have more time, both for the projects and for themselves. We believe that we have improved Balkan Stars, both in terms of the selected projects and the tutoring they have received from our colleague Rada Šešic. As I mentioned earlier, there is a much bigger turnout of decision makers this year, so I see that as an improvement as well. Our cash and in-kind awards are also more substantial this year.