Why even very experienced producers would rather become participants than tutors of DOK.Incubator? The reason is evidently not a face-lifting or sugar-coating of weak projects, but a deep work on the editing, topic and structure of each of the participating films, under a long-term supervision of top European Editors. As every year, the workshop has also a very strong distribution section, which made it possible for 6 of the 8 participants, to get a sales agent last year. As a novelty, the marketing part has been deepened by the workshop, which now hires an independent PR agency, to elaborate for the participants a professional qualitative analysis of their outcomes – so they would better understand how their audience sees what the posters, trailer and synopsis are saying.
So who will be the ones who are now ready to go deeper in order to fly further, afterwards? They have much in common: their makers have already spent years on them, they know their characters very well and have a close relationship with them. Nevertheless, they don´t lose their critical distance and often bring very controversial testimonies. All of them are presented at the workshop website http://dokincubator.net/projects-2/ Now let us introduce them briefly.
“The Legacy” (NL) is told by a grandson, meeting his lost grandma in her 90s, far in South Africa. A real femme fatale who devoured countless men during her life, including her own sons – whom she put into a children's home. While the shooting of the film, the grandmother starts to realize some disturbing feelings. She's in love. With her own grandson. How is something like that possible and can we ever agree and sympathise with the old woman who claims all the rules can be broken in the name of love? A disturbing, dictator love is also a topic of two other 2014 participating films: “Always Together” (CZ) and „Promise“ (DE), which brings new light in an old, very controversial criminal case. In early 90´s Jens Soering, the geeky son of a German diplomat is found guilty of a brutal murder of the parents of his girlfriend. Jens says his love for Elizabeth drove him to confess to the murders. From their honours classes at the University of Virginia to life sentences in prisons 35 miles apart, it's the story of a deadly love.
In the times of consumerism and comfort, Petr Mlcoch, the main character of Always Together” (CZ) decides to bring up his children in an utopia. Far from civilisation, he and his wife Simona and their nine children live without any running water, a standard bathroom or a toilet, all together in a caravan building on the meadow. Everybody feels this is the father´s dream: but do the other family members have any choice to live their lives?
Deep family topics can also be found in the film “Aunty” (IT- BE) where the director decides to film his aunt Teresa, 84 years old, and her steps in her old age. Very soon, old hidden conflicts between Teresa and her younger sister, director´s mother Ornella, come out. The questions open new doors and old family secrets. Which is also the key topic for another film from the 2014 selection: „The Other Side of Everything“ (RS). Looking through the keyhole of a locked door in the family apartment in Belgrade, taken up slowly by the regime, the director goes through 10 years of the Serbian democratic revolution together with her mom, leader opposition against Milosevic.
Exotic environment, which indeed influences our daily life more and more, brings “Beekeper´s Family” (CH), an insight to present-day China. The film humorously encapsulates the generational and urban-rural dilemmas faced by millions of families in China today, while following Maofu who, disillusioned with his city life, returns to his family in a Chinese mountain valley. „Queen of Spades“ (DE-PL) on the other hand, brings to the screen a little girl from an illegal Roma settling, who escapes the brutal reality of everyday life into the world of rhythm, dance and imagination. 10 years old Denisa, an illegal citizen in Poland, a woman in a patriarchal gypsy community, even diagnosed her with severe hearing disabilities has a world of her own. A world full of rhythm and dance of Bollywood films. Ricsi, the main character of the film „Drifter“ (HU) shares Denisa´s destiny of a gypsy kid from a rural family. He also has a dream and aims to organize village rally competitions with his only treasure: a rundown, makeshift BMW. While racing against the local competition putting his schooling and his freedom at stake, he is also challenging his father for attention and respect. The father left the family many years ago, leaving a great deal of bitterness in his wake.
Shot for many years, from a very close relationship with their characters, 2014 DOK.Incubator participants have all already an amazing film material in their editing rooms. Now, for half a year, they will work on their stories in order to be able to tell them in all the layers, and to bring them to as wide audience as possible. First workshop session takes place already in a 6 weeks´ time, during the Krakow Film Festival, 22-29th May.
For Polish filmmakers it is still possible to participate this workshop session, applying for DOK.Restart – 4 days programme with a final presentation at Docs to Go pitching. More information the application you can find at www.dokincubator.net THE DEADLINE IS THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 11th.
