Docu Talent Award 2020 went to Elevation
Emerging Producers 2021 were announced, with Israel as guest country
Nine outstanding documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, planned for theatrical release during the upcoming 12 months – the Docu Talents from the East – were presented during the Cinelink Industry Days at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival.
Projects from Croatia, Czech Republic, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine made it to the final selection of the 16th Docu Talents from the East 2020.
Jury composed of Bulgarian producer Martichka Bozhilova, programme director of Taiwan IDF Wood Lin, Natalia Arshavskaya from Current Time TV, the Filmmaker Magazine correspondent Tiffany Pritchard and Jarmila Outratová representing the organiser of the programme – Ji.hlava IDFF, chose the most promising Central and East European documentary project.
The Docu Talent Award 2020 was granted to Elevation – a project in Ukrainian-Romanian-Polish coproduction by a Ukrainian director Max Rudenko. In the center of this visually strong documentary is a passionate trainer of ski jumping in Carpathians.
The awards are accompanied with a financial prize 5,000 USD in cooperation with the Ji.hlava IDFF’s partner Current Time TV.
Statement of the jury:
“The director’s light-hearted approach and his subjects’ quest to overcome fear and self-doubt are both relevant and universal, particularly in these troubled times. The film also has strong international crossover appeal with its powerful characters and themes, as well as a visual focus on landscape and environmental motifs. The film’s log-line – the story of a ski jumper who didn’t know how to land – is something everyone can relate to.”
See the Elevation trailer & reaction of the winners here.
Since 2005, Docu Talents has been a launch pad for a number of documentaries by both renowned and emerging directors such as Laila Pakalniņa, Vladimir Mansky, Bartek Konopka, Piotr Stasik, Peter Kerekes, Dmitrii Kalashnikov and Helena Třeštíková. Films presented at Docu Talents in the past had world and international premieres at major film festivals including in Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam and Sundance.
“We have been following the region of Central and Eastern Europe through Docu Talents for 16 years, thus promoting the cinematography which is often omitted by others. And every year the selection confirms to us that there are many new authors to discover”, says Marek Hovorka, director of the Ji.hlava IDFF and curator of Docu Talents.
During the event, the representatives of the Ji.hlava IDFF also revealed the eighteen Emerging Producers 2021, with Israel as the guest country. This prestigious promotional and educational programme focusing on up-and-coming generation of European documentary film producers will include two sessions – at Ji.hlava IDFF in October 2020 and in February 2021 during Berlinale.
More information at ww.ji-hlava.com
Contact: René Kubášek, Ji.hlava IDFF / +420 778 058 273
