Oscar winning filmmakers Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”), Oscar nominees Maite Alberdi (“The Mole Agent”) and Jessica Kingdon (“Ascension”), and Emmy nominee Jialing Zhang (“One Child Nation”) are among the lineup of speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, which runs during CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s documentary film festival.
The discussion program, which runs under the banner “Future at Our Fingertips,” also features Veronika Châtelain from Open Society Foundation and Anadil Hossain from UNHCR.
CPH:CONFERENCE, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has unveiled the full lineup of events (see here). The conference organizers said this year’s edition is aiming to “gather the international non-fiction community to collectively envision the future of the industry, discover and unlock the currently available resources, possible solutions, and transformative potential of the industry of tomorrow.”
The mornings are dedicated to the art of filmmaking and the creative challenges it brings. The program will feature a series of conversations with filmmakers such as Chai Vasarhelyi, Kapadia, Alberdi, Kingdon, and Zhang. The filmmakers will walk the audience through their most recent films and discuss how “they negotiated the access, developed deep intimacy and maintained the security of vulnerable characters of their films, in order to create powerful, cinematic language for nuanced, complicated stories.”
The afternoons will bring together producers and gatekeepers of the non-fiction world to “envision a positive future for the industry.” The organizers said: “Centered around core questions of inclusivity, freedom and sustainability of documentary as an art form, the program will feature inspiring keynotes, case studies and panel discussions of representatives of key commercial entities, including Netflix, Amazon and Concordia Studios, public broadcasters and institutions such as the United Nations, and philanthropy organizations including Open Society Foundation and IRIS.
The last day is dedicated to the role of film and filmmakers in society. Filmmakers such as Margreth Olin, Elwira Niewiera and Nanfu Wang will join “civil society leaders, visionaries and thinkers to collectively brainstorm the possibilities of cinema to help build and strengthen democracy, freedom and equality.”
Donata von Perfall, director of Documentary Campus, said: “We are excited to provide a future-looking platform that brings together diverse, creative voices and visionaries of the documentary filmmaking world with other forward thinkers to exchange ideas, network and create meaningful partnerships.”
Tereza Simikova, the head of industry and training at CPH:DOX, said: “We are proud that CPH:CONFERENCE is also a place for tangible work. The DocuMentality initiative will further their research, our partners at the International Media Support are organizing a think-tank on fair co-production, and the Global Impact Producers Association is gathering to support impact production around the world. It is important for CPH:CONFERENCE not only to discuss, but facilitate a real, positive change.”
