Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX) and European Film Promotion (EFP) have joined forces to present Europe! On Demand, an online showcase which aims to bolster the profile of selected European documentaries in the North American market.
Europe! On Demand includes a selection of seven world premieres from this year’s competition line-ups and will be available throughout CPH:DOX which runs March 19-30.
“Our initiative marks the beginning of a new collaboration by offering a tailor-made platform to connect European filmmakers with key players in North America,” explains EFP managing director Sonja Heinen. “With its sharp focus on bridging European talent with the US industry, Europe! On Demand builds on EFP’s mission to enhance the international reach of European cinema.”
Mara Gourd-Mercado, CPH:DOX’s head of industry and training, agrees that the initiative is a strong addition to the CPH:Market platform: “On our side any initiative that adds market potential and visibility to projects that come through CPH:DOX is welcomed. The US market is a big one and worth exploring for European films. We want films that go through our industry activities and our programming to be seen by as many people as possible.”
CPH:DOX head of programme Mads Mikkelsen notes that the chosen titles represent the level of cinematic ambition that the initiative wishes to support. “[These documentaries] are contemporary in form and content and have the potential to reach a great audience without compromising their vision. Our additional criteria focused on ensuring the representation of European diversity and, of course, to select films with strong appeal for the North American market and with the necessary rights available for North American distribution.”
To that end, five of the seven titles have been picked from the main DOX:Award competition section. Thomas Balmès’ See You Tomorrow On The Moon (A Demain Sur La Lune) (France) is about a young family facing the impact of terminal illness; The Castle (France-Italy), from directors Danny Biancardi, Virginia Nardelli and Stefano Giuseppe La Rosa, follows three children in Palermo who turn an abandoned building into a fantastical refuge; and Monica Strømdahl’s Flophouse America (Norway-Netherlands-US) is a portrait of a young boy growing up in a household marked by alcohol abuse, shot over three years.
The other two DOX:Award titles being uploaded to the platform are The Helsinki Effect (Finland) by Arthur Franck, an archival essay documentary exploring the pivotal 1975 security conference which helped bring an end to the Cold War; and Sanatorium (Ireland-Ukraine-France) by Gar O’Rourke, which looks at life inside the brutalist Kuyalnik Sanatorium in Odesa, which still offers therapeutic treatments even as Ukraine’s war with Russia rages on.
The remaining documentaries included in the initiative have been chosen from the Human:Rights Award section. Girls & Gods (Austria), by Verena Soltiz and Arash T Riahi, is an exploration of whether religion and women’s rights can ever be compatible; while Black Water (Spain) by Natxo Leuza follows a family preparing to leave southern Bangladesh because of the ravages of climate change.
Europe! On Demand will also include a press and promotion campaign and will offer participating filmmakers guidance on US market strategies as well as making key introductions. It will also offer an in-person networking event at CPH:Forum.
“The campaign is part of EFP’s programme for documentaries, which is backed by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme and the national film institutes, supporting the individual projects in the selection,” explains Heinen.
The institutes supporting the projects include Austrian Films, Cinecittà, ICAA Spain, Screen Ireland, the Finnish Film Foundation, Unifrance and the Norwegian Film Institute.
“By providing curated, easy access to some of the most relevant films from the already outstanding CPH:DOX programme, we are presenting a carefully selected ‘appetiser’,” Heinen concludes. “A glimpse of films we believe will resonate most strongly, offering a seamless introduction to the diversity and quality of European cinema.”
