Internationally renowned composer Ádám Balázs discusses the power and role of music in documentary storytelling — how sound becomes one of the most vital tools of narrative emotion and meaning. He has composed music for more than sixty films, including Ildikó Enyedi’s On Body and Soul (Golden Bear winner, Oscar nominee), Kristóf Deák’s Oscar-winning Sing, and Dorottya Zurbó’s acclaimed documentaries The Next Guardian, Easy Lessons, and Agent of Happiness.

Universality makes the story readable; uniqueness makes it memorable. Award-winning editor Réka Lemhényi examines how an editor’s subjectivity shapes a film’s narrative and layers of meaning. Her masterclass highlights how rhythm, emotion, and structure create stories that remain deeply rooted in their local culture, yet speak to global audiences.

How can filmmakers create a coherent yet artistically powerful visual language in documentary filmmaking — a genre often shaped by unpredictability? Cinematographers discuss how deliberate visual, lighting, and archival decisions help achieve authenticity while meeting the artistic standards of cinema and the increasingly high expectations of the international documentary community.

When is it time to let go of a film project? Every documentary filmmaker has faced the painful realization that some projects—no matter how compelling—simply can’t be made. Whether due to lack of access, funding shortfalls, dwindling interest, or creative burnout, the decision to abandon a project can be as defining as finishing one. This panel explores the difficult moments and reasons we decide to stop, and what that means for our creative lives and mental health.

Featuring filmmakers and industry experts from across Europe who will share candid “negative case studies” of films that never reached completion, we’ll discuss what they learned from the process—and even screen short clips from projects that didn’t fly.

Since its outbreak in 2022, the war in Ukraine has become one of the most visually documented events of our time. This masterclass explores the recurring motifs and visual characteristics of contemporary documentaries about the war, focusing especially on citizen witnessing — how civilians who record and share images online become active participants in documenting conflict. The discussion also examines how filmmakers integrate these fragmented, internet-based images into broader historical and narrative contexts.

This discussion focuses on the unique challenges of personal documentaries: how to maintain trust, respect boundaries, and protect close relationships when the director is part of the story.