FORUM Includes Documentary Projects by ‘Apolonia,’ ‘Navalny,’ ‘Flee’ Producers : CPH

CPH:FORUM, the financing and co-production section of the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (also known as CPH:DOX), will showcase 32 projects, including new works from producers such as Sidsel Lønvig Siersted (“Apolonia, Apolonia”), Signe Byrge Sørensen (“Flee”), Diane Becker (“Navalny”) and Mandy Chang, the creative director of Fremantle label Undeniable and former head of BBC documentary strand Storyville, as well as directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh (“Writing With Fire”), and Mads Brügger (“Cold Case Hammarskjöld”).

Other projects include those by directors Sky Hopinka (“Kicking the Clouds”), Talal Derki (“Of Fathers and Sons”), and Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche (“Advocat”), and producers Lindsey Dryden (“Trans in America”), Mila Aung-Thwin (“Midwives”) and Kat Mansoor (“Cow”).

CPH:FORUM will bring together more than 65 filmmakers and producers from 26 countries between March 18-21.

The selected projects will compete for a number of long-standing as well as newly-introduced awards at CPH:INDUSTRY, the professional section of the festival.

More than 270 financiers and commissioners will attend CPH:FORUM. These include those from streamers Netflix, Amazon, Mubi and HBO Europe; broadcasters such as ARTE, ZDF, Canal+, BBC, POV, Al Jazeera, Banijay and DR; film studios Participant Media, Time Studios, Concordia Studio, Fremantle, Sandbox Films and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios; and distributors such as Neon, Fifth Season and IMAX.

This year, CPH:WIP will present six projects from filmmakers who will showcase selected scenes with the purpose of securing gap financing or a launch pad for further distribution. The selected works will be featured on March 18.

For the third year in a row, CPH:DOX, IMS (International Media Support) and EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) have combined to stage the development and co-production training program CHANGE, highlighting projects from Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The third edition of the six-month-long program will have its last residential workshop in Copenhagen, organized in partnership with the National Film School of Denmark, and will culminate with a presentation of the eight participating projects at the CHANGE pitch session on March 18.

“As voices are fighting to be heard all around the globe, it is a great honor to be able to present on a global stage projects that touch upon the human experience in all its hardship and its beauty. We’re humbled by the trust filmmakers bestow upon the CPH:FORUM and are excited to see these projects build bridges between people and spark dialogue,” Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry and training, said.

After a decade of partnership on the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, CPH:FORUM and Eurimages have introduced two new awards: the Innovation Award and the Outreach Award, focusing on innovative and experimental projects at different stages of production. The Innovation Award, with a €20,000 prize, targets projects by directors or visual artists showing potential for international cooperation. The Outreach Award, offering €30,000, aims to support independent production companies or directors with projects that seek to engage audiences internationally. Both awards are for the 2024-2026 cycle, and eligible projects must comply with Eurimages’ support criteria.

CPH:FORUM will also present the new Rise and Shine Award consisting of €3,000 for the best project with international potential and no sales agent attached; the Unifrance Doc Award, in collaboration with Unifrance and TitraFilm, totaling nearly €5,500 in benefits for the best French co-produced pitch; The NewImages – Forum des Images Award inviting two CPH:LAB projects to the XR Development Market for further development and visibility; and the Sunny Side of the Doc Award, which will select up to three CPH:LAB projects to participate in its 2024 edition.

CPH:FORUM PROJECTS

“Before the Fire,” Colombia/Argentina/SpainBy Angel Giovanni Hoyos, produced by Jorge Botero

“The Blue Sweater With a Yellow Hole,” UkraineBy Tetiana Khodakivska, produced by Elena Saulich

“The Broken Greenhouse,” SwedenBy Lars Bergström and Mats Bigert, produced by Mats Bigert

“The Call: A Political Odyssey,” DenmarkBy Lise Birk Pedersen, produced by Sara Stockmann

“Children of Honey,” Tanzania/U.K.By Jigar Ganatra, produced by Natalie Humphreys

“Cinderella Unbound,” U.K./RomaniaBy Ilinca Calugareanu, produced by Anama -

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“The Dirty Dream,” IndiaBy Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, produced by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

“First Woman,” DenmarkBy Patricia Drati, produced by Maria Helga Stürup

“Freedom” (WT), DenmarkBy Camilla Nielsson, produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen

“Haiti – Collapse,” DenmarkBy Martin Tamm Andersen, produced by Andreas Dalsgaard

“I Am an Olive Tree,” SwedenBy Yasaman Sharifmanesh, produced by Kristofer Henell and Erika Malmgren

“I Am Pippi,” SwedenBy Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen, produced by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen

“In Praise of Invasive Species,” CanadaBy Mila Aung-Thwin, produced by Bob Moore

“The Invisible World,” GermanyBy Talal Derki, produced by Talal Derki

“ISKRA (Spark!),” Slovenia/U.S.By Alenka Pavlin, produced by Errol Morris, Petra Vidmar, Geoffrey Smith and Cynthia Kane

“Karsai vs. Hungary,” Hungary/FranceBy Marcell Gerő, produced by Jean-Laurent Csinidis and Sára László

“The Listeners,” U.K./U.S./FranceBy Lindsey Dryden, produced by Samantha Steele and Lindsey Dryden

“My Estranged Sister,” DenmarkBy Marina Vorobyeva, produced by Julie Walenciak

“My Skin and I,” Nicaragua/U.S./GermanyBy Milton Guillen and Fiona Hall, produced by Nevo Shinaar and Brigid O’Shea

“Oriente,” Denmark/ArgentinaBy Juan Alvaro Hein, produced by Sidsel Lønvig Siersted

“Our Sister Angela – Black Power in the GDR,” GermanyBy Katharina Warda and Jascha Hannover, produced by André Schäfer

“Podium (You Have Three Minutes),” Israel/Canada/France/SwitzerlandBy Rachel Leah Jones, produced by Philippe Bellaiche

“Powwow People,” U.S.By Sky Hopinka, produced by John Cardellino

“Project Z,” U.K., U.S.By Till Schauder and Sara Nodjoumi, produced by Kat Mansoor, Sara Nodjoumi, Till Schauder

“Second Woman,” U.K.By Ursula Macfarlane, produced by Mandy Chang

“Showtime in Helsinki,” Finland/SwedenBy Arthur Franck, produced by Sandra Enkvist

“Timestamp,” Ukraine/NetherlandsBy Kateryna Gornostai, produced by Olha Beskhmelnytsina

“Towards the Abyss,” Norway/Denmark/BelgiumBy Mads Brügger, produced by Carsten Annonsen, Stig Andersen and Silje Viki

“Tree People,” U.S.By Regina Sobel, produced by Sarah Goodwin, Elliot Kirschner, Adam Bolt and Julia de Guzman

“Under the Dream,” Mexico/U.S.By Saelyx Finna, produced by Yollótl Alvarado, Isabel López Polanco and Laurie Polisky

“Victor,” U.S.By Stephani Victor, produced by Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Matt Radecki

“Whispers in May,” China/NetherlandsBy Dongnan Chen, produced by Jia Zhao

CPH:WIP PROJECTS

“About a Hero,” Denmark/GermanyBy Piotr Winiewicz, produced by Mads Damsbo and Rikke Tambo Andersen

“Burnt Earth,” FinlandBy John Webster, produced by Eveliina Kantola and Marko Talli

“If Pigeons Turned to Gold,” Czech/SlovakiaBy Pepa Lubojacki, produced by Wanda Kaprálová and Klára Mamojková

“North South Man Woman,” Norway/Latvia/Republic of KoreaBy Morten Traavik and Mary Sun Kim, produced by Verona Meier

“Unwelcomed,” ChileBy Amilcar Infante and Sebastian Gonzalez Mendez, produced by Sebastian Gonzalez

Confidential project from Yemen, Yemen

CHANGE PROJECTS

“Between Strange Borders,” UkraineBy Mira Oyetoro and Sabina Asadova, produced by Mira Oyetoro

“Echoes of Avey,” AzerbaijanBy Atanur Nabiyeva, produced by Durna Safarova

“The Ferryman,” UkraineBy Pavlo Dorohoi, produced by Olha Symonenko

“Land of Fairy Tales and Dreams,” Moldova/GermanyBy Denis Pavlovic

“Language X,” Belarus/PolandBy Tanya Haurylchyk, produced by Katerina Barushka

“Lessons of Chemistry,” PolandBy Magda Grudniewska

“Nana’s Wings,” GeorgiaBy Maradia Tsaava, produced by Mariam Chachia

“Sacred Songs,” GeorgiaBy Nona Giunashvili, produced by Mariam Bitsadze

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