Articles

7 years of contradictions caprured by film

In couple of days Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan (from 9th to 13th August) will travel around Slovakia with KineDok and show her film A mere breath (Doar o răsuflare) to the Slovak audience in Banská Štiavnica (10.8. – 4 elements), Považská Bystrica (11.8. – Cooltajner) and Ružomberok (12.8. – Galéria Ľudovíta Fullu).

Shooting documentaries is like playing jazz, says Aleksander Duraj

Project KineDok is not only an alternative distribution platform but also a connection between the film fans and makers of creative documentary. This time, we asked for an interview the director of photography and the assistant director of a music-driven documentary about a deaf gypsy girl The Queen of Silence, Aleksander Duraj. Why is fiction easier from his point of view? How he managed to seize all the dance scenes with unruly children? Or how was he able to communicate with a deaf main character? Read on!

KineDok First Screens Conference 2017

Since its beginning in 2015, KineDok has grown into a unique network for alternative distribution of creative docs in Europe. Originally operating in five countries in 2015, KineDok spread to Norway and Poland and in 2017 is starting in Bulgaria too. But the whole network shouldn’t only serve to help the circulation of documentary films, but also to share the know-how. That’s why the East Doc Platform will host the KineDok First Screens Conference, which will discuss possibilities of professional exchange of social and current issues orientated documentary films made by young filmmakers. The aim is to extend and strengthen connection between film schools in different European countries and encourage young filmmakers to think about distribution outside the box.

KineDok introduces 16 new documentaries for 2017

KineDok, an alternative distribution platform of creative documentaries, is starting its third edition! The selection of 16 new documentaries is screened at alternative venues during the whole year: cafés, clubs, galleries, parks and even in church. Wide audience thus has a chance to watch documentaries that are not available in theatre distribution or even outside of the country of their origin. KineDok offers not only the top production, but also a follow-up discussions with interesting guests and filmmakers. This year, KineDok is joined by a new partner Bulgaria, which became the 8th partner country next to the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The second edition of KineDok attracted new audiences to more alternative venues; introduced successful documentaries and inspiring guests

In 2016, almost 22 000 people attended screenings under the auspices of KineDok, project focused on the innovative forms of documentary film distribution, in 7 European countries. In the Czech Republic alone, there were 168 screenings organized. The alternative venues chosen for screenings promise not only a great atmospheric environment for watching a thought-provoking documentary film, but also provide space for an accompanying programme and debates with interesting guests - directors, producers or experts in the field of the documentaries’ topics. Institute of Documentary Film as the main organizer of KineDok strives to bring the filmmakers and their audience closer together and to strengthen the position of the documentary genre on the cultural scene. The positive feedback from both the filmmakers and their audiences give the project the green light to another successful edition in 2017!

KineDok Begins its Screenings in MeetFactory With My Father the Banker

Exceptional creative documentaries from the second edition of project KineDok are being screened in 7 European countries already and in the Czech Republic alone they can be seen at 42 alternative venues. On October 5, 2016, KineDok will also start its cooperation with MeetFactory Gallery. The opening film will be the Latvian documentary My Father the banker, followed by a discussion with its director Ieva Ozolina and preceded by a curator’s guided tour of the exhibition Laughter and Forgetting.

KineDok site-specific screenings at Bergen International Film Festival

On September 20, 2016, the 17th edition of BIFF starts in Norway, hosting also a vast section of international creative documentaries. Within the mutual cooperation, KineDok will offer four screenings of three creative documentaries to the Norwegian audience, which had been screened within the project in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia so far.

You Are Just Six Degrees Apart From Obama or a Mexican Farmer

Do you know that there is a theory that you are connected to any other individual on this planet via a chain of six contacts only? And that since the expansion of Facebook you might even be just five people apart from Barack Obama or a South American Indian? The Polish filmmaker, Bartosz Dombrowski has been inspired by the theory of American social psychologist Stanley Milgram to make a documentary roadmovie 6 Degrees. In it, with the help of Polish punk-rock singer and a Mexican farmer, a group of young people tries to explore whether we are really closer to reach other in the "shrinking“ world and whether the most common individual can have an intriguing life story.

You Are Just Six Degrees Apart From Obama or a Mexican Farmer

Do you know that there is a theory that you are connected to any other individual on this planet via a chain of six contacts only? And that since the expansion of Facebook you might even be just five people apart from Barack Obama or a South American Indian? The Polish filmmaker, Bartosz Dombrowski has been inspired by the theory of American social psychologist Stanley Milgram to make a documentary roadmovie 6 Degrees. In it, with the help of Polish punk-rock singer and a Mexican farmer, a group of young people tries to explore whether we are really closer to reach other in the "shrinking“ world and whether the most common individual can have an intriguing life story.

KineDok never sleeps

The second edition of KineDok is entering its second half, and so far there has been a great number of event-based screenings with film directors and interesting guests for Q&A's organized. The topics that were discussed by the guests and their audience were very diverse and covered not only the methods of the current creative documentary filmmaking but also practical questions of campaign making, psychological and sociological issues and many more.

Five years of Following a Trail of a Young Rebellious Racer

One of the recently most successful Hungarian documentaries is a film by Gábor Hörcher named Drifter that picked a number of prestigious awards, including an award from the largest documentary festival, IDFA in Amsterdam. A film about a rebellious teenager, Ricsi, who intends to race in a local rally although he has neither a driving license nor a functional car, was coming into existence for five years. During this year it can be seen on various uncommon places all over the Czech Republic – this is happening within the project KineDok organized by Institute of Documentary Film that also supported the film. I talked to the director Gábor Hörcher about the film right when he was going to see Ricsi.

Domino Effect: In Abkhazia, a post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zone, patriotism runs deep. While Sports Minister Rafael is busy organizing an international domino event to put his motherland on the world’s map, his beloved Russian wife is just an unwelcome f

The documentary in German-Polish co-production, Domino Effect, has been collecting one prize after another at prestigious international festivals since 2014. This formally elaborate film about the relationship between the Abkhazian Minister of Sports, Rafael Ampar, and his newlywed Russian wife Natasha, takes place on the background of the VIII. World Domino Championship, set in the backdrop of the devastated Abkhazia, where - despite the Russian promises - almost nothing works properly. The award-winning Polish director Piotr Rosolowski and the documentarist Elwira Niewiera spent more than three years working on the film. They laid the foundations for it when attending a series of Ex Oriente Film workshop sessions organized by Institute of Documentary Film.

KineDok Documentary So Far, So Near by Jaro Vojtek just won the Slovak national award Sun in a Net!

“Such a strong movie has not been here for a long time – and at the same time it is also happy and full of hope,” Slovak media said about the newest documentary movie by Jaro Vojtek So far, so near, that was screened at One World festival. The piece supported by Institute of Documentary Film was being created for long 7 years, and it got awarded at One World in Bratislava last year. The jury there said that it is “a sensitive expounding of the world of autistic people and their families.“ The film also got the Slovak Igric award in the category of film and TV production for its screenplay and direction, and it was nominated for the European Film Award as the best Slovak documentary film in 2015. Needless to say it was totally by right.

KineDok opens its second edition

Last year saw the inception of KineDok, a unique project promoting the screening of original documentary films in untraditional places. Organized by the Institute of Documentary Film, the project – connecting Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and the Czech Republic – was met with great interest in all partner countries, both among the general public and in the media (more information). A number of screenings also took place at the Karlovy Vary and Jihlava film festivals, as well as at the Forum 2000 international conference. This year, KineDok is introducing 15 new original documents and offering site-specific screenings also to audiences in Poland and Norway.

A Greek Journalist: Be Careful What You "Like"

Although Dimitra Kouzi has been involved in numerous projects, documentaries are her true passion. She says that the audience is wise and well-informed.

KineDok Romania Approaches the End of a Very Successful Pilot Edition

KineDok is a new kind of international community, a unique film club and an alternative distribution platform, connecting both the fans and makers of creative documentary. In its pilot edition, 12 thought-provoking East and Central European documentaries were screened at more than 20 non-traditional venues (local clubs, cafes, galleries, attics etc.) in each of the participating countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Croatia.

KineDok's Sugar Blues will be screened in London and Bristol

The Institute of Documentary Film in cooperation with the Czech Centre London, DocHouse Cinema and University of Bristol organizes 2 screenings of investigative documentary Sugar Blues. Film’s director and its main protagonist Andrea Culková embarks on a journey to fight off the “sugary dictatorship” and to uncover the consequences of the centuries’ worth of sugar consumption on both the individuals and the society.

Political Docu-drama 1989 at Forum 2000

This year's edition of the Forum 2000 conference will host project KineDok within its programme, screening a documentary film 1989, dealing with the events preceding the fall of the iron curtain. The film will be followed by a discussion with its Danish director Anders Østergaard, nominated for the Academy Award for his previous film Burma VJ.

KineDok – launched in Romania on July 1st – by “Men with Balls”

On July 1st, KineDok is launching in Romania with the screening of „Men with Balls” at Cinema Elvira Popesco in Bucharest. The one serving the balls will be the protagonist of the film, the mayor of the Hungarian village of Besence, who will attend the event. Mr. Ignácz József will then leave for Timișoara and Arad, where the next screenings of the film are scheduled for the 2 and the 3 of July.

BLOOD: Documentaries Criticizing Russia Have No Chance to Get the State Support... INTERVIEW

I like project KineDok.This is a wonderful possibility to acquaint the audience with Russian independent films. I think my films are versatile, because they mention universal questions, which can be clear to any country and make audience think over and look at ourselves from the other side; maybe even laugh at ourselves. I hope KineDok audience will appreciate this... says the director Alina Rudnitskaya

Comeback: Jail as a Space for Purgation and Redemption

Comeback, a strong and visually refined portrait of two notorious recidivists Mira and Zlatko, was originally shot as a graduation film of Miro Remo, but the talented director managed to succeed in a huge competition of several hundreds of films from the whole world and got into the documentary competition at Karlovy Vary IFF 2014. The film, supported by Institute of Documentary Film and included in the KineDok project selection, currently has the rating of 79% at Czechoslovak Movie Database.

INTERVIEW: Aneta Kopacz, the director of "Joanna"

Visually refined Polish documentary Joanna with the music by Oscar-winning composer Jan Kaczmarek collects one award after another at film festivals throughout Europe. This extremely powerful film about life in the shadow of impending death, nominated for Oskar is one of the KineDok films.

KineDok will start with the screening of 1989 in Slovakia, the authors will be present

On Wednesday, April 15, the official launch of project KineDok in Slovakia will take place in Bratislava in A4 -Association for Contemporary Culture. The introductory film will be the Danish-Hungarian documentary 1989. During the following year, screenings at 20 more non-traditional venues will take place in Slovakia.

INTERVIEW: Sugar Blues: About the Maliciousness of the White Poison

The director investigates the impact of hundreds of years of sugar consummation on individuals and society. She discovers the huge power this white powder has played in history right through to the present day. She uncovers links between mental and behavioural disorders and excessive consumption of sugar. An interview with Andrea Culková, the director of Sugar Blues

KineDok Project - Focused on the Audience

Within East Doc Platform, a new and unique project of international importance will be introduced, named KineDok. “The project aims to adress the audience of creative documentaries, who are convinced that these films are worth seeing on the big screen and being accompanied by debates with the filmmakers or other interesting guests. KineDok will be welcomed by those who believe that a shared experience with friends at their favorite venue is better than solitary streaming at home and those who prefer the genius loci of alternative spaces to the unified multiplex cinema halls. Not to mention the possibility of meeting new people who think alike from five different countries and an opportunity to become an active part of this alternative distributional network“, says Jana Ripplová, the main coordinator of project KineDok.