Industry programs at Verzió: documentary film education, European distribution, masterclasses

The industry programmes of the 19th Verzió will feature nine events over four days, for film professionals, for students and teachers, as well as for those interested in the practical and theoretical aspects of documentary film education and filmmaking. Over the four days, renowned experts of documentary cinema from Hungary and abroad will discuss higher education opportunities for young talents, the distribution of creative documentaries in Europe, burnout and the importance of mental health in filmmaking, as well as masterclasses on documentary storytelling, editing as creative development and feminist filmmaking. On Saturday, eight projects from the DocLab filmmaking workshop will be presented, and on Sunday afternoon there will be a presentation and a roundtable on the cooperation between film festivals and education institutions

Venue: 
CEU, Budapest, V. district, Nádor street 15., 1. floor, room 103

The industry events are free of charge and open to the public. Pre-registration is required through the following link: 
REGISTER HERE

More info about the programs: industry@verzio.org. 

9th November (Wednesday) 2:00-3:30 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(HU) We want to learn! Where to next?
- OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING IN HUNGARY

After the re-modelling in Hungarian universities, the question of where to turn for new talents in Hungarian documentary film is a burning one. The teachers of today's Hungarian documentary discuss the state and future of talent and training in a panel. Insights and guidance into the world of Hungarian documentary film universities, alternative training and internships.

Participants:

  • Dorottya Zurbó (HU) Documentary Film Director and Teacher of DocNomads, International Documentary Masters Program (SZFE)
  • Péter Akar (HU) Director, Teacher at the Film Studies Department of the Eötvös Loránd University ( ELTE)
  • Bojána Papp (HU) Director, Teacher at Metropolitan University (METU)
  • Meggyes Krisztina (HU) Producer, Owner of Little Bus Productions

Moderator:
Hanna Sára Kádár (HU) Documentary Filmmaker, DocPro & DocLab Organiser

9th November (Wednesday) 4:00-6:00 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) What makes your film successful on a European level?
— FROM IDEA TO FILM, FROM LOCAL TO INTERNATIONAL

Crossing borders with your film in Europe! How the high quality creative documentary of Europe is created and distributed? A panel discussion among European filmmakers and decision makers on how contemporary films are made from production to post-production and distribution. How can an idea become an international film travelling across all borders? How can a creative documentary travel through audiences in Europe today?

Participants:

  • László Józsa (HU) Producer (Speak Easy Project)
  • Julianna Ugrin (HU) Producer (Éclipse Film)
  • Jannik Splidsboel (SWE) Documentary Film Commissioner at the Swedish Film Institute
  • Inka Achté (FIN) Documentary Film Director, Curator of DocPoint Helsinki, co-founder of Raina Film Festivals Distribution
  • Csaba Bereczki (HU) Director of International Affairs and Sales at Hungarian National Film Institute (NFI)

Moderator:
Szabolcs Szirony (HU) Cultural Anthropologist, Organizer at Verzió, Member of NFI Distribution Board

10th November (Thursday) 2:00-4:00 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Verzió DocLab Open Masterclass: Tue Steen Müller (DEN) & Michael Seeber (AUT): Pursuing focus in our films
— The creative possibilities

A conversation between two DocLab mentors, Tue Steen Müller and Michael Seeber, on pursuing focus in our documentaries. Through their own films, Tue and Michael will show how storytelling, dramaturgy, protagonists, and rhythm can change with the right focus.

Moderator:
Péter Becz (HU) Documentary filmmaker, DocPro & DocLab Organiser

10th November (Thursday) 4:00-6:00 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Burning Out: How to take care of your mental health as a documentary filmmaker?
Burning out is a common problem among documentarians, but now we break the silence and focus on the mental health of the filmmaker. Directors and producers from various backgrounds share their experiences of trying to keep an inner balance as making documentaries. How can we take care of ourselves as filming others, while dealing with challenging mental and physical situations on the field, trying to keep the right balance between work and family or just letting characters go as getting involved in their lives?

Participants:

  • Hanna Polak (POL) Documentary Film Director, Cinematographer and Producer (The Children of Leningradsky)
  • Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (MYA) Documentary Film Director (Midwives)
  • Alexa Bakony (HU) Documentary Film Director (Colors of Tobi)
  • Máté Kőrösi (HU) Documentary Film Director (Divas)

Moderator:
Péter Becz (HU) Documentary Filmmaker, DocPro & DocLab Organiser

11th November (Friday) 2:00-3:30 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Verzió DocLab Open Masterclass: Brigitta Bacskai (HU) & Diana Toucedo (ESP) — Editing is not the end.
A conversation between two DocLab mentors, Brigitta Bacskai and Diana Toucedor, on the importance of editing as a creative development process. Brigitta and Diana will show that editing is more than a phase, it is an ongoing process throughout all of the stages of developing a documentary film.

Moderator:
Péter Becz (HU) Documentary filmmaker and DocPro & DocLab Organiser

11th November (Friday) 4:00 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Bernadette Wegenstein — Global Feminist Filmmaking. A Theory and Practice Workshop.
Global Feminist Filmmaking. A Theory and Practice Workshop with filmmaker Bernadette Wegenstein

This workshop features some of the recent and older film work by Bernadette Wegenstein, including the hybrid documentary Devoti tutti, a feminist intervention into the violent myth of Saint Agatha, currently in post-production; some scenes from the breast cancer documentary, The Good Breast, showcasing a feminist reading of how US beauty culture mixes in with breast cancer culture; finally, Bernadette will share some scenes from her new film project in development, A Sweet Secret, about a forgotten Jewish comedy from pre-Holocaust Vienna. The filmmaker will compare some of her own film strategies and approaches to story-telling with other examples from global feminist filmmakers from her recent anthology, Radical Equalities and Global Feminist Filmmaking.

12th November (Saturday) 11:00 am- 2:30 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Public Presentation of the projects of the 7th Verzió DocLab.
The 8 projects of the DocLab workshop present themselves. They showcase their scene or festival trailer they have worked on with the guidance of the mentors of DocLab. After the presentation the industry members of the audience can ask questions or give feedback. Following the presentation we wait all for a snack and a drink in the CEU hall room, to continue the discussion of the projects.

Presentation moderator:
Tue Steen Müller, DocLab Mentor

13th November (Sunday) 2:30 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Presentation by Andrea Pócsik: (Applied) critical film education
The presentation focuses on development possibilities based on Verzió Film Festival’s higher education program, launched in 2018, and on the online film library, Verziótéka, launched this year. We believe that creative human rights documentaries can be used in related areas of university education (the most crucial including law, social and environmental sciences, economics, pedagogy, psychology, and public administration). Instructive results from questionnaires and interviews reinforce our beliefs and encourage us to move forward.

Sunday, 13th November 3:00-4:30 pm
CEU N15, 1st floor, 103
(EN) Festivals & Education — Cooperation with universities, schools and
partner festivals. 

How do documentary festivals engage with and promote educational activities and contribute to new participatory forms of engagement? What platforms exist for productive educational outreach and cooperation with universities and local communities? Festival representatives from Bologna, Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, and Biarritz share their experiences.

Participants:

  • Chiara Boschiero (Biografilm, IT)
  • Marion Czarny (Fipadoc, FR)
  • Michaela Kolláriková (One World Bratislava, SLO)
  • Carla Lehner (This Human World, AT)

Moderator:
Oksana Sarkisova, Festival Director, Verzió IHRDFF (HU)