– A pitching forum, a panel, master classes, talks and lectures have brought together a range of documentary film professionals in Belgrade
The team behind Symbols of War with their Ji.hlava New Visions Market Award
This year’s edition of Beldocs Industry Days took place from 21-23 May at a clutch of venues in the centre of Belgrade, as part of the 19th Beldocs International Documentary Film Festival (20-26 May). It came to a conclusion with an awards ceremony held on Saturday 23 May at the Cultural Centre Grad.
The crowning event of Beldocs Industry Days was the pitching forum, where 20 projects in two categories (Beldocs in Development and Beldocs in Progress) were presented. The main winners of the pitching forum were the Montenegrin project Silence of the Classroom (directed by Isidora Bulatović and produced by Jasmina Karajlović for Bridge & Beyond), the Georgian project Ip Dip Sky Blue (directed by Nino Lomadze and produced by Gvantsa Nadibaidze for Indigo Production) and the Serbian-Croatian project Symbols of War (directed by Nenad Mikalački with Ivana Pejak as producer, for the company Druid), with two awards apiece.
Other victors included the Turkish-Armenian project Krunk, the Serbian-Croatian project I Was Told to Save the World and the Bulgarian-UK-German co-production Confessions of a Female Gamer. The Beldocs XR Academy also rewarded one of its four participating projects – namely, Ana Aleksovska’s Little Radio Orchestra, which scooped the DOK Exchange XR Award. See the full list of winners below.
A panel titled “Anatomy of a Commission: From Pitch to Programme” was also organised. The speakers were Erkko Lyytinen from YLE Finland, Alexandre Marionneau from ARTE France and Vuk Perović from Radio-Television of Montenegro, with Jovana Jovičić from DokSerbia serving as the moderator.
Paul Reith’s talk, titled “Who Is Your Documentary For? Audience Design as a Creative Strategy for Documentary Filmmakers” tackled a similar topic, but from a different angle. Filmmakers Claire Simon and Tomasz Wolski gave master classes, each offering an insight into their preferred working method. Simon’s was titled “Filming Life as It Happens” and Wolski’s “Re-imagining Archival Footage”.
Additionally, two Play.Docs talks were given: Julia Makivić’s “Alternative Controllers: Art, Electronics and Creative Engineering” and Abner Preis’s “Ecology of Archive”. The latter was organised in co-operation with MEDIA Desk Serbia. Play.Docs also showcased Preis’s AR work Love vs. Pig, Makivić’s art installation Sound Block and the board game True Lies, designed by Dušan Jovčić for Hectic Games. Finally, Beldocs Industry Days also held the Balkan Young Talents event, which brought together eight regional talents to be mentored by filmmakers Tea Lukač and Boris Mitić, the latter of whom also gave a lecture titled “A Blitz Overview of the Invisible”, focusing on the documentary film industry.
Here is the full list of industry award winners:
Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival Networking Award
I Was Told to Save the World – Nebojša Resanović, Hana Piščević (Serbia/Croatia)
Producer: Savina Smederevac (zenit.films)
Forgrade Post-production Award
Symbols of War – Nenad Mikalački (Serbia/Croatia)
Producer: Ivana Pejak (Druid)
Film Center of Montenegro Award
Silence of the Classroom – Isidora Bulatović (Montenegro)
Producer: Jasmina Karajlović (Bridge & Beyond)
MajorDocs Talent Award
Ip Dip Sky Blue – Nino Lomadze (Georgia)
Producer: Gvantsa Nadibaidze (Indigo Production)
Ji.hlava New Visions Market Award
Symbols of War – Nenad Mikalački
Lightdox Award
Krunk – Aurora Tuğçe Aydin (Turkey/Armenia)
Producer: Mikayel Dishunts (16mm Film Production)
Impronta Films Consultancy Award
Confessions of a Female Gamer – Dolya Gavanski (Bulgaria/UK/Germany)
Producer: Martichka Bozhilova (Thea Films)
East Doc Award Presented by the Institute of Documentary Film
Ip Dip Sky Blue – Nino Lomadze
Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) Talent Encouragement Award
Silence of the Classroom – Isidora Bulatović
DOK Exchange XR Award
Little Radio Orchestra – Ana Aleksovska (North Macedonia)
