Ex Oriente Film and East Doc Forum

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Code Completion Credits Range Language Instruction Semester
303MEXOR credit 2 8 seminar hours (45 min) of instruction per semester, 44 to 54 hours of self-study English summer

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Department

Předmět zajišťuje Department of Documentary Film

Contents

Ex Oriente Film is an international documentary writing workshop focused on creative development and financing. During 3 meetings, directors will develop the theme, story, visual style, and presentation of their upcoming films. Producers will work intensively on the financial plan, production, and distribution strategy of their project and gain knowledge of the international market. The module includes lectures on the economic aspects of film production, directing masterclasses, and producing case studies.

  1. Ex Oriente Film workshop: “Market, Here I Am!“

The lectures of the third meeting of the Ex Oriente Film workshop offer practical case studies on distribution, production, marketing strategies, and directing masterclasses.

Open Programme of the Ex Oriente Film:

Saturday, March 23

9:30 – 10:45

MASTERCLASS by Ibrahim Nash'at (EG)

Cinema 35

Ibrahim Nash'at is an Egyptian documentary filmmaker based in Berlin. Ibrahim holds a master's degree in documentary filmmaking from Met Film School. He co-edited Academy Award-nominated director Talal Derki's latest film UNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS Which premiered at Panorama – Berlinale 2023 and won the Golden Alexander at the 25th Thessaloniki Doc Festival. Ibrahim has directed multiple short films which were selected in multiple film festivals around the world. HOLLYWOODGATE is Ibrahim's first feature film which premiered at Venice Film Festival. Masterclass is moderated by Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová.

Open Program / In partnership with DAE / In partnership One World Festival

17:00 – 18:30

LECTURE by Iikka Vehkalahti (FI): 10 most common sins in the teaser-thinking

Cinema 35

Why is it so difficult to make a good teaser and is a teaser needed only to attract financiers? Let's try to find 10 most common sins in the teaser-thinking. Iikka Vehkalahti, the leading tutor of Ex Oriente Film, is an executive producer of Rough Cut Service run by his own company IV Films also producing and consulting international documentary films. Commissioning Editor for the Finnish YLE (1998–2015), has been working with hundreds of documentaries as a writer, director, editor, producer or commissioner, which were awarded at many international film festivals, including Venice and Cannes. Selected producer's credits: Three Rooms of Melancholy (dir. P. Honkasalo, FI, 2004), The Act of Killing (dir. J. Oppenheimer, Ch. Cynn, anonym, DK, NO, UK, 2012), Armadillo (dir. J. M. Pedersen, DK, 2010), Machines (dir. R. JainIndia, DE, FI, 2016), Invisible Demons (dir. R. Jain, IN, FI, DE, 2021), The New Greatness Case (dir. A. Shishova- Bogoliubova, FI, NO, HR, 2022).

Open Program

Sunday, March 24

9:30 – 11:00

LECTURE by Krishan Arora (UK): How to navigate the meetings with festival programmers, funders, sales agents, co-producers?

Conference Room

Krishan Arora will give advise on how to present the projects to decision makers at meeting relevant to the stage of the project, materials, team etc. He will discuss different approaches, strategy a priorities the producer and director can have reflecting different stages and needs of the projects. Krishan Arora is an experienced producer and television executive who is currently the International Content Consultant for Australian public channel SBS. As a producer he has developed, produced and directed documentaries in the areas of history, culture, and international affairs. He began his television career at the BBC and was one of the first programmers at Arte in Strasbourg when the channel launched in 1992. Krishan rejoined the BBC in 2001 as commissioning executive in Specialist Factual, commissioning and executive producing documentaries in the areas of Science, History and Arts for all BBC channels. He’s based in London and Copenhagen.

9:30 – 11:00

PANEL: Dokufiction: working with reality in contemporary film

Cinema 35

This year, for the first time, the One World Festival presents feature films in its programme. However, documentary film has always worked with fictional principles, just as fiction film uses various techniques known primarily from documentaries. Whether it is the repetition of scenes, their direct staging or the „actorly“ work with performers in documentary filmmaking, or, on the contrary, the use of non-actors, „documentary camera“ or natural light work in fiction film, the intermingling of both approaches has been a trend since the time of cinematic new waves. Many contemporary films, usually described as hybrid, then deliberately combine both cinematic modes, hovering somewhere in between. What challenges does this oscillation bring? How do contemporary filmmakers approach reality? And does it even make sense anymore to define films through age-old categories that may not have made complete sense at the time of their creation? These questions will be discussed in a panel of filmmakers with films represented in the program, such as Angelos Rallis, director of the hybrid feature Mighty Afrin: In Time of Floods, and other experts. Open Program / In partnership One World Festival

17:00 – 18:30

MASTERCLASS by Apolena Rychlíková (CZ)

Cinema 35

Masterclass by Czech documentary filmmaker, writer and journalist Apolena Rychlíková together with her editor Kateřina Krutská-Vrbová related to the premiere of her latest feature documentary The Limits of Europe (Hranice Evropy, dir. Apolena Rychlíková, CZ, SK, FR, 2024, 98’) Rychlíková studied documentary at FAMU and she is engaged in socially critical documentaries. Her film The Limits of Work (Hranice práce, dir. Apolena Rychlíková, CZ, 2017, 71´) produced by Hypermarket Film for the Czech TV, won Best Czech Documentary Award and Audience Award at the 2017 Ji.hlava IDFF, and she was awarded the Open Society Fund Prize for Best Journalistic Commentary in 2017. Together with her film´s lead protagonist, Czech journalist Saša Uhlová, she received a nomination for the Journalism Award 2018 for their reporting series Property Seizures, the Guilty Conscience of the Czech Republic / Exekuce, černé svědomí Česka. She also received a nomination for the European Press Prize 2021. The shooting started in the summer of 2021 and wrapped by the summer of 2022. The film was shot in Germany, UK, Ireland, France and the Czech Republic. The film is produced by Tereza Horská, Filip Remunda and Vít Klusák of Hypermarket Film (CZ) in co- production with Kolam Productions (FR), Kerekes Film (SK), Czech TV and ARTE G.E.I.E. Masterclass is moderated by moderated by Martin Horyna.

Open Program / In partnership with DAE / In partnership One World Festival

Monday, March 25

10:00 – 11:15

ONE WORLD PANEL DISCUSSION: Documentary Films as a Tool for Democracy

Cinema 35

In times of war and crisis, the medium of documentary film can be used in different ways. Many dictators throughout history have believed that film is a key tool for propaganda and maintaining the status quo. In the same way, however, documentaries can be used to spread the democratic values on which Western society is built. Raise awareness of regions suffering from poverty and war. To report on human rights violations in different parts of the world and to give a voice to people who would not otherwise have one. This ability of documentary films will be discussed in a panel discussion by the organizers of human rights film festivals, as well as by the filmmakers whose films are part of the One World Festival program.

In partnership with One World Festival. Open Program / In partnership One World Festival

10:00 – 11:15

LECTURE by Michael Palm (AT): Editing as directing

Conference Room

Michael Palm, *1965 in Linz, Austria, is a film editor and sound designer of more than 25 highly acclaimed feature films and numerous short films; since 2001 he is writing and directing, mainly in the field of documentary and experimental film. His recent feature documentary Cinema Futures celebrated its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival 2016. He is the author of numerous lectures and publications on the history and aesthetics of film and cinema. Since 1998 he is a lecturer at the Viennese University for Music and Arts and the University of Arts in Linz, Upper Austria. Since October 2019 he is a professor for „Montage“ at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film in Munich.

11:30 – 13:00

MASTERCLASS by Kumjana Novakova (NM)

Cinema 35

Masterclass by director of Silence of Reason (2023) Kumjana Novakova on different aspects and challenges when working with archival material. The masterclass is moderated by Ivana Formanová. Masterclass is moderated by Ivana Formanová.

Open Program / In partnership with DAE / In partnership One World Festival

17:00 – 19:00

CASE STUDY by Stefano Strocchi (IT): Case study of series ART CRIMES

Conference Room

Stolen paintings promise quick money. But where to put world-famous masterpieces by Monet, Munch or van Gogh? In six episodes full of surprising twists, art thieves and investigators step in front of the camera to reconstruct the most spectacular thefts of the last decades. One of them: the Norwegian ex-footballer Pål Enger, who was a little too cocky at the crime scene...

Stefano Strocchi is an independent documentary producer and director from Italy. His productions include, ALMOST MARRIED by F. Bucak (IDFA First Appearence Competition 2010), the cross-media project FROM ZERO: STORIES FROM EARTHQUAKE TENT CAMPS in co-production with Al Jazeera English (IDFA 2009, TFF2009, Bellaria 2010), and RETURN TO L’AQUILA by Giotto Barbieri in co-production with Al Jazeera English (2011). In 2013, he wrote and directed the feature documentary LA POLITICA in co-production with ZDF/ARTE, DR, VRT, and NRK. He has also co-written and produced the feature doc COMMANDER ARIAN by Alba Sotorra (2018) which premiered in International Competition at HotDocs 2018, Sheffield DocFest 2018, and Shanghai Documentary Festival 2018.

18:00 – 18:40

PANEL: Pitch the Doc Presentation

Cinema 35

Presentations of EDP partner’s program. Pitch the Doc: The hub for documentary professionals, and a gateway to curated documentary projects. How does it work for the filmmakers? The Pitch the Doc Platform will be launching a new feature focused on co-production. If you are looking for co-production partners, Pitch the Doc might be the answer. Find out more at the presentation.

Tuesday, March 26

9:00 – 10:30

CASE STUDY by Justin Webster (UK): Case study of series DEATH IN LEON

Classrooms

DEATH IN LEON Non - Fiction Series. Ground-breaking non-fiction series about the murder of a controversial political leader, Isabel Carrasco, at the hands of three female conspirators, in the superficially peaceful provincial city of León. A real-life thriller about power, corruption, and ambition and a stunningly filmed courtroom drama that leaves a series of mysteries to be resolved by the filmmakers. Justin Webster - Crafting non-fiction narratives became Justin’s passion when he worked as a newspaper reporter, after studying classical literature. Working with photographers as a freelance writer led to directing his first short documentaries. In 2004 his first feature documentary, a vérité film about a year inside FC Barcelona, won several international awards. His films and series are either investigative, constructed through testimonies, archive and recreations, or vérité style following an unfolding story in the present. Justin believes non-fiction, told with craft but without invention, can be as dramatic and creative as the best fiction – and often more revealing.

Wednesday, March 27

EAST DOC FORUM LIVE PITCHING SESSION

Cinema 35

Public pitch presentation of feature length (20) & docuseries projects (5)

09:00 – 10:30 East Doc Forum pitches 1st slot

10:30 – 10:50 Coffee break

10:50 – 12:00 East Doc Forum pitches 2nd slot

12:00 – 12:20 Coffee break

12:20 – 13:30 East Doc Forum pitches 3rd slot

Public screenings related to the lectures:

Friday, March 22, 20:30

Screening: HOLLYWOODGATE (dir. by Ibrahim Nash'at, DE, USA, 92 min, 2023)

Světozor Cinema / Great hall

Immediately after the US pull-out from Afghanistan, Taliban forces occupied the Hollywood Gate complex, which is claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul.

One World Festival

Saturday, March 23, 20:30

Screening: THE LIMITS OF EUROPE (dir. Apolena Rychlíková, CZ, SK, FR, 98 min, 2024)

Lucerna Cinema

A prominent Czech journalist Saša Uhlová leaves her family and joins “cheap labour force” in Western Europe. Undercover, she works at an asparagus farm in Germany, tries her hand as a maid at a hotel in Ireland and takes care of the elderly in France. She experiences first-hand the struggles of Eastern European low-wage workers whose sacrifice and hard work allow for the Western society’s comfort. What is the real price that Europe pays for exploiting its own citizens? How do the lives of economic migrants, who have been forced to leave their children and elderly parents, look like? And why are privileged Europeans looking the other way?

One World Festival

Sunday, March 24, 20:00

Screening: SILENCE OF REASON (dir. Kumjana Novakova, NM, BiH, 63 min, 2023)

Atlas Cinema / Great hall

Forensic video essay built as a performative research into the first international criminal tribunal case to enter convictions for rape as a form of torture and for sexual enslavement as crime against humanity. While working solely with visual archive and testimonies, The Silence of Reason acts as a memory itself: elusive, fluid, it rejects framing, moving in all directions, spatial and temporal. The singular experiences of violence and torture by women from the Foča rape camps during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina become our collective memories, surpassing time and space.

One World Festival

The complete East Doc Platform 2024 open program can be found at: https://dokweb.net/activities/east-doc-platform/2024/open-programme

Learning outcomes

The aim of the module is to deepen students' knowledge of educational programmes, markets, and co-production forums focused on documentary films.

Prerequisites and other requirements

MANDATORY REGISTRATION until March 10, 2024 with Katarína Karafová, karafova@dokweb.net, +420 735 925 143 286 and at the same time in the accreditation form: https://forms.dokweb.net/accreditation/index.php - enter this code to get a free industry accreditation: FilmStudent2024

Literature

https://dokweb.net/activities/east-doc-platform/2024/about

https://dokweb.net/activities/ex-oriente-film/2023/about

Evaluation methods and criteria

attending at least 3 lectures and submitting a 2NS reflection on what you found interesting and new in the lecture

Note

Modules KDT FAMU

Lecturers: Anna Kaslová Iikka Vehkalahti, Filip Remunda, Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, Ruth Reid, Gitte Hansen, Hubert Sauper, Justin Webster, Stefano Strocchi, Michael Palm, Krishan Arora, Lucie Kon, Diana El Jeiroudi, Martin Horyna, Ibrahim Nash'at, Kumjana Novakova, Apolena Rychlíková, Kateřina Vrbová Krutská (guaranteed by Lukáš Kokeš)

Date and time: 22-28 March 2024, by subscription - French Institute (Cinema 35), Štěpánská 35, Prague 1 (unless otherwise stated)

Assignment: pro/2 - participation in at least 3 lectures + submission of reflection 2NS

Capacity: 50

Optional for: FAMU / AMU

Language of teaching: English

The complete East Doc Platform 2024 Open Program can be found at https://dokweb.net/aktivity/east-doc-platform/2024/program

Further information

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans