Docs in Orbit

Hi everyone, Aylin Gökmen here, with a new episode featuring a conversation with Pablo Álvarez-Mesa about his film, The Soldier’s Lagoon (2024), which received the Docs in Orbit Invitation Award at Cannes Doc-Marché du Film last year. The Soldier’s Lagoon is a strikingly beautiful and multi-layered piece centered on the Colombian páramo region. The film explores the land’s history, encompassing Bolívar's political legacy, colonialism, and the presence of armed groups, shedding light on how past conflicts persistently impact both the land and its people. Additionally, it addresses the urgent environmental issue of ecosystem preservation, which has become even more pressing this year due to an unprecedented wildfire season that has devastated the páramo. As a result, The Soldier’s Lagoon already feels like an archive—a part of the region's historical fabric. Blending evocative and mystical elements, Pablo Álvarez-Mesa unveils the unseen, emotionally connecting us to the páramo’s past, present, and speculated future. In this conversation, we delve into these themes as well as Pablo’s artistic process. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Hello everyone. This is Hosein Jalilvand in Geneva with a new episode for Docs in Orbit featuring a conversation with Matthew Lancit about his latest film, Play Dead! (2023). Play Dead! is a funny, tender video diary on living with diabetes, where Lancit playfully transforms his personal experience and fear of dying into a body horror film, where an invisible disease crawls inside his body. The film premiered in the Camera Lucida sidebar of Dok Leipzig in October 2023 and available to stream on Arte TV in France until 16 March and at Jean Rouch International Festival in May. I hope you enjoy our conversation and his film as much as I did. GUEST BIO: Matthew Lancit is an award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker currently based in Paris, France. After leaving his advertising job as a director in a New York animation studio to live in Cameroon, Lancit embarked on the making of his first feature-length documentary, Funeral Season (2011) – which has since been chosen for preservation by the Library and Archives of Canada and selected to over 50 international festivals. Lancit is known for his autobiographical films that intertwine his personal life with philosophical subjects. His films are marked by his simultaneously poetic gaze and self-deprecating humor, which sometimes borders on the burlesque. CONTRIBUTOR BIO: Hosein Jalilvand is an Iranian film director-scholar based in Geneva. His films play with the intersections of history and cinema. After completing his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, Hosein began pursuing his long interests in cinema with a Master’s in Film Studies at the University of Tehran and a Master of Arts in Documentary Film Directing from DocNomads. His short documentary “Song of the Bell” (DocLisboa, 2018) won the best director award in the Green Years competition section. Since then, he has been researching a series of texts about colonialism and its manifestation in wildlife movies while developing a feature documentary on the topic. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

We are releasing a conversation recorded on Tuesday, November 14th, 2023, at IDFA, where I met with Julian Ross and Farah Hasanbegović to recap Corresponding Cinemas. Corresponding Cinemas was a new series at IDFA this year, and in many ways, it was an experiment to see what invisible connections surface when an institution decides to transfer over its curatorial control to filmmakers. The idea is simple and compelling. It would be a series of films and conversations with filmmakers who have inspired one another, and the day would follow this chain of inspiration, with each filmmaker selecting the works of the next. The series was planned months in advance and formally announced in September; in the very first announcement the festival made about its program - it reported that the event would kick off with Sky Hopinka and include Basma al-Sharif, Jumana Manna, Ibrahim Shaddad and Abderrahmane Sissako. In this episode, Farah, Julian, and I run through the events leading up to Corresponding Cinemas as we experienced them on the ground. We first discuss the opening night and the release of IDFA’s statement apologizing for a protest banner that appeared during the ceremony and condemning a slogan that was on the banner proclaiming it should not be used in any way and by anybody anymore - despite a recent ruling by the Dutch Court of Appeals that this is not considered hate speech. In response to IDFA denouncing this slogan, Jumana Manna, Basma al-Sharif, and Sky Hopinka circulated a joint statement refusing to comply with IDFA’s statement the evening before their participation in Corresponding Cinemas. The series took place, and Farah, Julian, and I recount how the day unfolded, detailing how each filmmaker used their screenings in different ways to transform a cinema space into a forum for urgent, meaningful, and needed exchanges. TIMECODES: 0:00 INTRO & GUEST INTROS 4:23: OPENING NIGHT + IDFA STATEMENT 12:30 CORRESPONDING CINEMAS - FILMMAKERS REFUSAL TO COMPLY 14:30 SKY HOPINKA SESSION 17:40 BASMA AL-SHARIF SESSION 25:14 JUMANA MANNA SESSION 39:10 IBRAHIM SHADDAD SCREENING SESSION 43:12 SOLIDARITY ACTIONS FOLLOWING CORRESPONDING CINEMAS STATEMENTS REFERENCED: Opening Night: Workers for Palestine Intervention IDFA Statement #1: IDFA and Artistic Director’s Statement about the Opening Night IDFA Statement #2: IDFA Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire I/We Do Not Comply - Artists' Refusal IDFA Statement #3: A Message from IDFA to the Documentary Community RELATED PODCAST EPISODES Orwa Nyrabia on Corresponding Cinemas, Docs in Orbit, Episode 71 Jumana Manna on Docs in Orbit, Episode 44 Basma al-Sharif on Docs on Orbit, Episode 27 For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Today is the first day of the 36th edition of IDFA, the world's largest documentary film festival - a twelve-day event in Amsterdam featuring more than 250 titles in 22 sections. Earlier this week, I sat with Orwa Nyrabia, the Artistic Director of the festival, to speak with him about the role, responsibility and relevancy of film festivals and how IDFA is meeting the current moment. We also discuss some of the new sections in the program, including SPECIAL SCREENINGS, SIGNED, and the highly anticipated introduction of CORRESPONDING CINEMAS, a unique program featuring a series of films from filmmakers who have inspired one another, including Sky Hopinka, Basam al-Sharif, Jumana Manna, Ibrahim Shaddad, and Abderahmane Sissako. We end the conversation with an amusing story of how Wang Bing came to be this year’s Guest of Honor. [Image from the short film, Deep Sleep by Basma Al Sharif, which is screening in the Corresponding CInemas section on Saturday 11 November] Time codes and Films Referenced Occupied City (2023)Socialist Realism (2023)Arna's Children (2003SPECIAL SCREENINGSSIGNED16 WORLDS ON 16The First Year (1972)First Case. Second Case (1979)FABRICATIONSCORRESPONDING CINEMASWANG BING,TOP 10 films For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

An abandoned house opens the door to revisit the past by bringing to life a unique, nearly destroyed image archive from the unrecognized territory on the border of the Black Sea: Abkhazia. A place normally inaccessible for Georgians because of the ethnic conflict that happened between Georgia and Abkhazia back in 1993. Combining voice, archive, and recent footage, the film examines a lost and split identity stuck between the margins. The audio-visual fragments of this archive are intricately woven together to create a personal and political biography that recalls the complicated and controversial historical past of Georgian-Abkhaz relationships. The highly personal narration delves into the complexities of nationalism and identity in times of war and global displacement. Ultimately, these reflections on recent history become a potential manual for what can come next, once the wars are over. Conversation moderated by Hosein Jalivand as part of Docs in Orbit coverage of films at Dok Leipzig. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

It's been a few days since Dok Leipzig wrapped up, but we are still reminiscing about the films we encountered and the people we met. So, we made a little souvenir of our time there, featuring a collection of voice memos from a cross-section of festival attendees sharing their favorite film discoveries from this year's event. FEATURING: For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Twenty-six years ago, for the 35th New York Film Festival, curators Gavin Smith and Mark McElhatten introduced the festival's experimental sidebar, Views from the Avant-Garde. While their inaugural program featured names like Stan Brakhage, Gregory Markopoulos, and Nathaniel Dorsky, it also opened a space where voices experimenting with cinema's language might meet new audiences. In the festival's intervening years, the vocabulary around this type of cinema evolved and Views from the Avant-Garde has since transformed, first into Projections and then into its most recent incarnation, Currents. When Currents was first announced in 2020, it was also the first year of Docs in Orbit, and every year since, it’s been where we have encountered gems of the festival to bring into conversation, such as My Mexican Bretzel by Nuria Giménez (NYFF58), A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia (NYFF59), and Rewind & Play by Alain Gomis (NYFF60). So, for this year’s edition, we decided to focus more intently on their programming to get a behind-the-scenes look at their curatorial approach. In today's episode, I sit down with the curators of Currents at the 61st New York Film Festival. Our guests are Aily Nash, Rachael Rakes, and Tyler Wilson. They put together an exciting collection of films, which we'll explore, and what sets Currents apart from other programs in New York and abroad. Moderated by Emile Klein SHOW NOTES / FILMS AND BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Man in Black by Wang Bing, Last Things by Deborah Stratman, The Human Surge 3 by Eduardo Williams , Slow Shift by Shambhavi Kaul, A Prince by Pierre Creton, The Night Visitors by Michael Gitlin, The Fist by Ayo Akingbade, Nowhere Near by Miko Revereza, Live from the Clouds by Mackie Mallison, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell by Thien An Pham, Mangosteen by Tulapop Saenjaroen, Bold Eagle by Whammy Alcazaren , Coral by Sonia Oleniak, ALLENSWORTH by James Benning, Ungentle by Huw Lemmey and Onyeka Igwe, and Film as a Subversive Art by Amos Vogel (revised edition with new forward by Herb Shellenberger) FOR GUEST BIOS AND MORE https://www.docsinorbit.com/nyff Image: Film at Lincoln Center NYFF61 poster by Jim Jarmusch For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

As we prepared for the festival, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Franka Sachse, a director and animator who is also the curator for the Animation Night at DOK Leipzig. Aylin Gökmen moderates the conversation. The Animation Night is scheduled for Friday, October 13th, featuring Tess Martin showcasing several of her short films that provide a fascinating insight into the artist's creative journey. The event will be divided into two parts: the first part will focus on her accomplished works as a professional filmmaker, while the second part will delve into the inspirations behind her earlier creations. Franka Sachse - Biography After her studies at the Bauhaus-Univeristät Weimar, Franka was selected to realise a film during the European Animation Masterclass in Halle, Germany. This marked the beginning of her career as an independent filmmaker. To create her films, she assumes the role of a scriptwriter, director and animator. Furthermore, Franka is animating young talents to animate through her sessions at international workshops and her lecturing positions at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. As a board member of the ASIFA Germany, she is committed to young talent in her home country. She is part of selection committees and juries for festivals such as DOK Leipzig, the Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart and the Festival of Animation Berlin and curates film programmes independently for various occasions.. Together with her colleagues Ana Vallejo and Catalina Giraldo, she founded the we animate collective. In the darkness of the night, she projects her colourful live visuals and handmade loops as VJ Loov. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

The 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland has come to a close, but we are still thinking about many of the films we encountered there. For our recap, we invited a cross-section of attendees to share their favorite film discoveries. Included in this episode are films from nearly every section of the festival - the Concorso Internazionale (International Competition), the Concorso Cineasti del presente section (Filmmakers of the Present), the Pardi di domani (Leopards of Tomorrow, competition for short films), Semaine de la critique (Critics’ Week) and Fuori concorso (Out of Competition section). For additional show notes, please visit For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

This year was a special year for the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan. It celebrated its 20th anniversary and also the 100-year anniversary of Armenian cinema. To recap the event, we invited filmmakers, film critics, and other guests to share their impressions about a favorite film they encountered at the festival. We hope you enjoy listening to this mosaic of impressions from a cross-section of participants! QSilent HouseQ,Silent HouseSilent HouseLucaSilent HouseLeonardo GoiOur BodySamsaraKartliThe Magic MountainLandshaftLandshaftEureka For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

A conversation with Karen Avetisyan, the Artistic Director and CEO of the Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia, which took place from the 9 - 16th of July. This year it marked a double milestone for the festival, celebrating both its 20th anniversary as well as the 100th anniversary of Armenian Cinema. Eka Tsotsoria traveled to Yerevan for the occasion, and before making her way there, she sat with Karen to learn more about the programming. In this conversation, Karen shares the origins of the festival and a bit of historical background on the development of Armenian Cinema. He also lends some texture around how the “region” is defined and the festival's role in building a new wave of Armenian Cinema. - Moderated by Eka Tsotsoria For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Director & DOP Kirsten Johnson, President of the 2023 Œil d’or Jury, and writer, director, and producer Guetty Felin in conversation about the many ways filmmaking creates possibilities to search for the invisible, to bring life to the dead and to time travel in our own lives. This discussion was organized by Cannes Docs - Marché du Film with the support of Doc Alliance, Participant, LaScam in association with L'oeul d'or, Année du Documentaire, DAE, CNC, & ACID. Distributed by Docs in Orbit in partnership with Cannes Docs. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

An impenetrable Field of Optimism: Intersections of the Personal and Political in Documentary Filmmaking - Filmmakers Zeynep Güzel, Mina Keshavarz and Sahra Mani (Bread and Roses, Special Screenings, Festival de Cannes 2023), will come together to discuss their work, dreams, aspirations, and hopes for the future, both professional and personal. This discussion was organized by Cannes Docs - Marché du Film with the support of Doc Alliance, Participant, LaScam in association with L'oeil d'or, Année du Documentaire, DAE, CNC, & ACID. Distributed by Docs in Orbit in partnership with Cannes Docs. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Moving beyond Empathy and Equity in Global Stories - A panel discussion presented at this year's Cannes Docs - Doc Day with producer, writer, and director Mehret Mandefro. Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, entrepreneur, physician and thought leader who champions the creative arts as a path to developing a more just society. Her track record in both using narrative to shift culture and scaling media businesses secured her a spot on Variety’s list of most impactful women in global entertainment. Drawing on her training at Harvard University in Medicine and Anthropology as the foundation to approaching social issues as a filmmaker, Mehret co-founded the independent production company Truth Aid Media in 2008 in the USA. She has since set up A51 Pictures as its sister company in Ethiopia as well as the Realness Institute in South Africa, and was formerly Executive Producer of Kana Television in Ethiopia, which was subsequently acquired by Canal+. Her latest media venture, TBTM Studios, is headquartered in Dubai and has a slate of projects across documentary and scripted, featuring Africa’s leading voices. Mehret’s credits include the Sundance and Berlinale Audience Award winner Difret, the New York Times Critic’s Pick Little White Lie and she was showrunner for Ethiopia’s first-ever teen drama series Yegna. She executive produced the American Masters feature documentary film How It Feels To Be Free and feature narrative film Sweetness in the Belly, both on Amazon Prime. Her latest documentary feature about reparations in America, directed by Yoruba Richen, is called The Inheritance and is in post-production. A member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Mehret is a sought-after speaker and has a widely watched TED talk about the impact of the creative industry on economic growth in Africa. Mehret has a BA in Anthropology from Harvard University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Temple University. She was a White House Fellow in the Obama Administration. This discussion was organized by Cannes Docs - Marché du Film with the support of Doc Alliance, Participant, LaScam in association with L'oeil d'or, Année du Documentaire, DAE, CNC, & ACID. Distributed by Docs in Orbit in partnership with Cannes Docs. For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Panel discussion presented at Cannes Docs 2023 at the Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes and curated in partnership with the DAE - Documentary Association of Europe The documentary industry, like the rest of the audiovisual chain, has been in a radical period of transformation in the last 10 years. We hear more and more often about content and format, rather than film and language. Where is the place for the creative documentary in this value chain? This panel discussion explores this topic with curators, distributors, and other players bringing such work to global audiences. What is the worth of a creative, author-driven documentary? PANELIST: Emilie Bujes - Artistic director at Visions du Réel, Edo Choi - Associate Curator of Film at the Museum Of The Moving Image, Ryan Krivoshey - President/Founder of GRASSHOPPER FILM MODERATOR: Brigid O'Shea - Co-Director at Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

Panel discussion presented at Cannes Docs 2023 at the Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes on May 20, 2023 and curated in partnership with the DAE - Documentary Association of Europe Parts of the independent film industry are currently engaged in a crucial discussion about the need for more equitable and accountable curation in film programming and selection processes. More and more filmmakers and industry stakeholders alike are openly questioning the traditional power structures that have historically influenced art and cultural institutions intending to achieve diversity, inclusion, and representation at all levels. This panel discussion explores the latest curatorial trends, sustainable career paths, and effective audience engagement strategies from the filmmaker's perspective. Panelists from diverse geographies and artistic backgrounds share their experiences with ethical representation, storytelling, and questions of their sovereignty that they have faced making and disseminating their documentary films. Together, they also delve into how filmmakers navigate the challenges posed by the persistence of selection processes lacking awareness and accountability mechanisms and how they can influence the freedom of the filmmaker's artistic vision of the maker. MODERATED by Rico Johnson-Sinclair - Race Equality Lead at BFI - BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE PANELIST - Yolanda Maria Barroso - Creative and executive producer, Malin Hüber - HER Film, Nada Riyadh - Director/Producer Felucca Films, and Paul Sng - Director For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

To kick off our collaboration with Cannes Docs this year, we sat with Pierre-Alexis Chevit, the head of Cannes Docs, and Babette Dieu, the coordinator for the event, to hear about this year’s thoughtfully designed program. They also share their personal experiences that shaped their interest in documentaries and the importance of creating physical and symbolic spaces in the industry for the independent filmmaking community to feel supported. Each year, during the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Docs provides the documentary film community with a dedicated forum and tailored program that includes daily workshops, talks, curated panel discussions, networking events, and an energizing showcase of docs-in-progress from around the world. This year’s event will take place from the 18th of May until the 23rd and concludes with the annual Doc Day, a highly anticipated daylong celebration of documentary cinema. CANNES DOCS PROGRAM LINKED HERE | EPISODE TRANSCRIPT LINKED HERE For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

The festival may have come to a close, but many of the films have continued to stir something inside us. This episode features a collection of voice memos gathered from a cross-section of attendees at Visions du Réel, sharing their responses to a film they encountered at the festival. ----- FEATURING: Nicole Chi, Director of Guián, about This Woman by Alan Zhang Ghada Fikri, Director of How Are You, Baba? about Locus Cordis by Alhasan YousefAlhasan Yousef, Director of Locus Cordis, about Love is Not an Orange by Otilia BabaraOtilia Babara, Director of Love is not an Orange, about Our Body by Claire SimonInge Coolsaet, Film Critic for Fantomas and Representative of Argos, on Where the Green Grass Grows by Peter MettlerAnna Dziapshipa, Director of Self-Portrait Along the Borderline, about Where the Green Grass Grows by Peter MettlerVadim Rizov, Film Critic and Director of Operations for Filmmaker Magazine, about Human, Not Human by Natan CastayBen Mullinkosson, Director of The Last Year of Darkness, about Knit's Island by Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse & Quentin L'helgoualc'hEkiem Barbier, Co-Director of Knit's Island, about Corpo Celeste by Alice RohrwacherNarges Kalhor, Director of Sensitive Content, about Waking up in Silence by Daniel Asadi Faezi & Mila ZhluktenkoSonia Ben Slama, Director of Machtat, about Pure Unknown by Mattia Colombo & Valentina CicognaZiad Touma, producer of Made to Walk, about Orlando, My Political Biography by Paul B. PreciadoHosein Jalilivand, filmmaker, film scholar, and contributor for Docs in Orbit, about Memories of a Perfect Day by Davina Maria For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

[April 20, 2023] Docs in Orbit Podcast - Episode #55 - Visions du Réel 2023 with Emilie Bujès (moderated by Christina Zachariades) In preparation for the 54th Edition of Visions du Réel, we sat (virtually) with Emilie Bujès, the festival's artistic director, to hear about how this year’s program came together. Visions du Réel has a strong reputation for championing creative, contemporary non-fiction cinema and has played a vital role for independent documentary filmmakers for decades. The festival has also been a significant source of inspiration for this podcast, where we have discovered many filmmakers and invited them onto the podcast. This year will be the 54th edition, and the collection of films has us fully energized, with more than 160 films, 82 of which are world premieres on display from April 21st to the 30th. Episode Transcript Docs in Orbit Podcast - Episode #39 A conversation with Emilie Bujès For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit

In this episode, we turn our attention to First Look, an annual showcase of new and innovative international cinema at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. This year’s event will mark the 12th edition of the festival, which will take place March 15 - 19th. Over the course of those five days, more than 30 works from all over the world will be exhibited for the first time in New York at the museum - this includes features, short films, fiction, and non-fiction, as well as forms that fall outside the boundaries of traditional theatrical distribution. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to sit with Eric Hynes, the Curator of Film at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, where he heads up year-round programming as well as the annual First Look Festival, to learn more about the program. Eric is also a longtime critic and journalist, with outlets that have included the New York Times, the Washington Post, Film Comment, Rolling Stone, Slate, New York magazine, Sight & Sound, the Village Voice, and Reverse Shot, where he has been a staff writer since 2003 and writes a column on the art of nonfiction. Films discussed include: Silent Love by Marek Kozakiewicz, Fremont by Babak Jalali, Away by Ruslan Fedotov, The Taste of Mango by Chloe Abrahams, The River Is Not a Border by Alassane Diago, Jill, Uncredited (2022) by Anthony Ing Other relevant links: Museum of the Moving Image, Reverse Shot For show notes, visit docsinorbit.com and be sure to follow us on social media @docsinorbit