HOT DOCS SPOTLIGHTS 10 TIMELY EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARIES IN ‘THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE’
Highlighting stories from female directors, to complex family relationships, and gender identity exploration, European Film Promotion brings a vast array of stories to Hot Docs’ new online platform.
May 20, 2020 (Toronto, ON) － The 2020 selection of THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival features 10 exceptional films which give unique and unconventional insight into the reality of contemporary European life. Curated to highlight outstanding European documentaries, THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE programme is a collaboration between European Film Promotion (EFP) and Hot Docs. This year’s selection draws attention to the increasing presence of works by women – seven of the 10 films are by female directors or female director teams. With themes ranging from family separation and support, to gender identity and self-empowerment, the films skillfully showcase the talent of European documentary filmmakers . THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE programme will be accessible on the new online Hot Docs platform as of May 28, 2020 - June 15, 2020.
In Always Amber, Swedish co-directors Lia Hietala and Hannah Reinikainen follow their protagonist over a period of three years capturing Amber’s search for sexual identity, friendship and love. From North Macedonia, Ana Aleksovska’s debut film Consuming Contemporary introduces audiences to several socially excluded seniors who are longing for togetherness and community and, to compensate for the lack of this, attend cultural events in Skopje – uninvited - which attracts the disapproval of the social elite. Dead Souls Vacation by Georgian director Ekaterine Chelidze is a portrait of the formerly very successful Georgian musician Levan Svanidze, who tries to regain success while living in a tiny apartment with his 84 year old mother, Lamara. Ksenia Okhapkina’s Estonian production Immortal focuses on the rigid structure of life in a small industrial city in Russia and portrays the people who continue to live as before although the old system has broken down. The Icelandic director Yrsa Roca Fannberg made The Last Autumn as a long farewell to the rural life of a shepherd in Árneshreppur, a small community in the northwest of Iceland, as Ulfar and his wife herd their sheep from the hills down to the farm.
In Lessons of Love, Polish filmmakers Małgorzata Goliszewska and Kasia Mateja lovingly and poetically portray a woman going her own way after separating from her abusive husband of 45 years. Prazer, Camradas! A Pleasure, Comrades! by Portuguese filmmaker José Filipe Costa recounts life and life concepts in the rural co- operatives established throughout the country after the 1975 Carnation Revolution, through re-enactments with original members of these communes. Reunited by Danish director Mira Jargil tells of the dramatic separation of a family that has to split up and leave their country because of the Syrian civil war. Mira Jargil accompanies the family members who are waiting and dreaming for the reunion each and every day. Res Creata by Italian director Alessandro Cattaneo is about the ancient, conflicting and manifold relationship between the human being and the animal. Two Roads, directed by filmmaker and producer Radovan Síbrt, from Czech Republic, is about the members of the band The Tap Tap, of whom all are disabled (or as they cynically call themselves, crippled), and show audiences how some of life’s most difficult obstacles can be overcome.
All 10 of the films selected for the programme will take part in Hot Docs Industry All-Access Online program, which continue to be accessible for registered industry professionals online into June. They will be presented to buyers, distributors and programmers through the films‘ participation in the Doc Shop, Hot Docs’ online market that offers access to curated playlists of documentary titles on-demand and the hub for this year’s industry content. Directors and producers of films in THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE will also be brought together with key distributors, buyers and festival programmers via virtual one-to-one meetings arranged by EFP.
All images, trailers, and assets for The Changing Face of Europe program can be found here.
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About European Film Promotion
EFP (European Film Promotion) is an international network of film promotion institutes from 37 countries from throughout Europe, each representing their national films and talent abroad. Under the EFP flag, these organisations come together to promote the diversity and spirit of European cinema and talent at key film festivals and markets, in particular outside of Europe. EFP is financially supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by its member organisations. The Hamburg-based office is backed by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and the Ministry of Culture of the City of Hamburg.
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HOT DOCS INTERNATIONAL SPECTRUM SPOTLIGHTS POLITICALLY TORN MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO IN ‘A COLOMBIAN FAMILY’
An estranged mother and daughter seek reconciliation in ‘A Colombian Family,’ which premieres on Hot Docs online platform.
May 20, 2020 (Toronto, ON) － On May 28, 2020, A Colombian Family will premiere internationally on the Hot Docs online platform as part of the highly competitive International Spectrum Programme. Directed by top candidate of the Emerging International Filmmaker Award, Tanja Wol Sørensen, A Colombian Family follows a mother and daughter as they confront the past after years of civil war. Torn between the decision to fight for a better country together, or leave as a family for Cuba, A Colombian Family features a complex mother-daughter dynamic faced with sacrifice. A Colombian Family will be available to stream on the new online Hot Docs platform as of May 28, 2020 - June 15, 2020.
When a peace agreement between the FARC rebel movement and the Colombian government looks like it will put an end to half a century of conflicts, 30-year-old Yira visits her mother Ruby in Colombia after spending 10 years in exile in Cuba. Now a mother herself, Yira wants her mother to join her in exile in Canada, so she can give her daughter the family she never had. With a neglected childhood in the shadow of her parents’ political struggles and persecution, Yira confronts Ruby, who is unable to let go of her political ideals to choose her family. It is not just Yira’s childhood that has been sacrificed, Ruby has also sacrificed her own life and safety to such an extent that she must be constantly protected by armed guards. As the peacetime death toll continues to rise, Ruby is faced with a difficult dilemma. If she chooses her daughter, she gives up on her people.
The trailer for A Colombian Family can be found here.
All images and assets can be found here.
About Bullitt Film
Bullitt Film is committed to creating truthful, cinematic documentary films with a strong political or social dimension. Their stories are framed by artistic visuals and focused on giving characters a voice as well as directors room for expression. They are driven by the urge to share and uncover stories that create debate and instigate change with audiences in Denmark and internationally. Many of Bullitt Film’s titles have premiered at international film festivals including IDFA, CPH:DOX, Berlinale and HotDocs; have been shown on television and online platforms in territories worldwide and been an important part of the content at events such as ASIL Washington and Roskilde Festival or clubs such as Frontline. Established in 2007, Bullitt Film is based in Copenhagen and collaborates with a wide range of local and international funding institutions, television broadcasters, distributors and online platforms.
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DADDY, A TRAGICOMEDY ABOUT THE EXQUISITE PERILS OF FATHERHOOD, PREMIERES AT HOT DOCS
Challenging traditional gender roles and toxic notions of masculinity, Daddy brings an outsider perspective to the Hot Docs World Showcase programme.
May 20, 2020 (Toronto, ON) － The 2020 Hot Docs Film Festival features the International Premiere of Daddy, which follows American anthropologist, Brendan Cooney, in his new full-time job as a stay-at-home father. As part of the Hot Docs World Showcase programme, Daddy gives audiences an outsider perspective on fatherhood when Brendan turns the ethnographer’s lens on himself to examine his own childhood abandonment in an exploration of fatherhood and a journey to adapt after settling to a new life in a new country. Daddy will be accessible on the new online Hot Docs platform as of May 28, 2020 - June 15, 2020.
“There should be another word for this than love…” Brendan says, reflecting on fatherhood. After a life of travelling around the world to study foreign cultures, Brendan settled in Denmark with his wife and became the father of their child. It’s a full-time job, since finding work in Denmark is challenging for Brendan, who doesn’t speak Danish. With all vanity long disposed of, and a self-irony that he must have picked up here, Brendan’s life becomes the subject of his professional and often funny perspective of being a father. Director and cinematographer Lars Leonhardt filmed over the course of six years to capture an honest and unsentimental portrayal of the highs and lows of fatherhood, ultimately challenging gender roles and toxic notions of masculinity.
Daddy is produced by Bullitt Film, producers of ‘We Could Be Heroes’ which won the Best International Documentary Film Award at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.‘We Could Be Heroes’ was directed by Hind Bensari, marking the first time an African filmmaker took the coveted award at Hot Docs.
The trailer for Daddy can be found here.
All images and assets can be found here.
About Bullitt Film
Bullitt Film is committed to creating truthful, cinematic documentary films with a strong political or social dimension. Their stories are framed by artistic visuals and focused on giving characters a voice as well as directors room for expression. They are driven by the urge to share and uncover stories that create debate and instigate change with audiences in Denmark and internationally. Many of Bullitt Film’s titles have premiered at international film festivals including IDFA, CPH:DOX, Berlinale and HotDocs; have been shown on television and online platforms in territories worldwide and been an important part of the content at events such as ASIL Washington and Roskilde Festival or clubs such as Frontline. Established in 2007, Bullitt Film is based in Copenhagen and collaborates with a wide range of local and international funding institutions, television broadcasters, distributors and online platforms.
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