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CPH:FORUM reveals the selection for its 2023 edition

CPH:FORUM 2023 will introduce brand new projects by filmmakers such as Ljubomir Stefanov (Honeyland), Jessica Kingdon (Ascension), Finlay Pretsell (Time Trial), Ousmane Samassekou (The Last Shelter), Mila Turajlić (The Labudovic Reels), Tonislav Hristov (The Good Postman), Iryna Tsilyk (The Earth Is Blue as an Orange) and Brett Story (The Hottest August), among many others.

Marking the 20th anniversary of CPH:DOX – this years CPH:FORUM line-up presents a curated slate of nuanced films, reflecting on the past and future of the non-fiction genre, and the world at large. Making a point of the richness and variety of the documentary genre, the line-up of 34 projects – bringing together more than 70 filmmakers and producers from 25 countries – is curated for the films to reflect each other and collectively point to some of the major issues of the current world politics, culture, and society.

CPH:DOXs flagship financing and co-production event CPH:FORUM is going to welcome hundreds of guests in Copenhagen from Tuesday to Thursday, March 21-23, 2023, with CPH:WIP and CHANGE presentations taking place on Monday, March 20.

Wider WORK-IN-PROGRESS selection
This year, CPH:WIP is scaling up and will present a total of 8 projects, both Nordic and international. The titles include projects from established filmmakers such as Yrsa Roca Fannberg, Camilla Magid, Håvard Bustnes, Zippy Kimundu and others, who will show scenes from their upcoming films and look for gap financing or a launch pad for further distribution. The selected works will be featured as a prelude to CPH:FORUM in the CPH:WIP presentation on Monday, March 20, 2023.

Eastern European perspectives from the CHANGE projects
In 2021 CPH:DOX partnered up with IMS (International Media Support) and EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) for the development co-production training program CHANGE, featuring projects from the European Eastern Partnership countries (EaP) – Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The second edition of the 6-month long training program will have its last residential workshop in Copenhagen, organised in partnership with the National Film School of Denmark. The program will culminate with a presentation of the 8 participating projects at the CHANGE pitch session on Monday, March 20, 2023.

In a time of increasing polarization and radicalisation of society, its inspiring to see filmmakers having complicated, nuanced conversations around such timely issues as the legacy of colonialism, inequality and free speech, but also cancel culture and the role of activism, arts and science in today’s society. Remarkably, they find also a great deal of hope, humor and beauty while doing so,” says Tereza Simikova, Head of Industry & Training

More than 250 CPH:FORUM financiers confirmed so far
The selected projects will be presented to established film financiers, representatives of streaming platforms such as Disney+, Netflix and Hulu; broadcasters such as ARTE, ZDF, BBC, CNN, National Geographic, POV and DR; film studios Participant Media, Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, Freemantle, A24, Sandbox Films and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios; philanthropic foundations such as Sundance Institute, Doc Society, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Catapult, Open Society Foundations, Freedom of Speech Foundation, and Blue Ice Docs – among many others!

As the only documentary event in the world and for the tenth year running, CPH:FORUM is proud to present the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of € 20,000 for the events best pitch of a project intended for co-production.

Read more about CPH:FORUM and the selection of projects here.

Find film stills for CPH:FORUM, CPH:WIP and CHANGE here.

The selected CPH:FORUM projects in alphabetic order:

#WhileBlack, US
By Sidney Fussell and Samantha Knowles, produced by Ann Shin and Geeta Gandbhir

Almost Human, NO/DK
By Ola Waagen, produced by Bjarte Mørner Tveit and Peter Engel

Breeders, UK
By Tim Travers Hawkins, produced by Julia Nottingham and India Woods

Confidential, US/DK
By Confidential”, produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer, Ross Levine

Conscious, UK
By Suki Chan, produced by Aimara Reques

Cuba&Alaska, UA/FR
By Yegor Troyanovsky, produced by Olha Beskhmelnytsina and Christian Popp

Douglas Gordon: Self Divided, UK/FR
By Finlay Pretsell, produced by Sonja Henrici

Dreams of a Dark Sky, IN
By Anmol Tikoo, produced by Raghu Karnad and Mikaela Beardsley

Evo: The Burnt Palace, US/AR
By Martin Sivak and Noah Friedman-Rudovsky, produced by Justine Nagan and Irene Cajias

Far from Maine, IL/FR/PS
By Roy Cohen, produced by Roy Cohen and Serge Gordey

Generation, DK/UK 
By David Borenstein, produced by Helle Faber

Give It a Shot, IN/US
By Vaishali Sinha, produced by Hemang Chheda, Tracie Holder, Jessica Harrop and Greg Boustead

House of Earth, MK/US
By Ljubomir Stefanov, produced by Maya E. Rudolph and Sarah D’hanens

Intercepted, CA/FR/UA
By Oksana Karpovych, produced by Giacomo Nudi

Once upon a Time in a Forest, FI
By Virpi Suutari, produced by Virpi Suutari

Only on Earth, DK/ES
By Robin Petré, produced by Signe Skov Thomsen and Malene Flindt Pedersen

Opening Night, SE
By Aron Skoog and John Skoog, produced by Aron Skoog and John Skoog

Our Love, SE/FI/DE
By Hannah Reinikainen and Lia Hietala, produced by Melissa Lindgren

Dreamscape, FR/ML
By Ousmane Samassekou, produced by Estelle Robin You and Andrey S Diarra

Part of Society, GE
By Rati Tsiteladze, produced by Olga Slusareva

Red Zone, UA
By Iryna Tsilyk, produced by Darya Bassel

Second World, Second Sex, CS
By Mila Turajlić, produced by Carine Chichkowsky

The Dawn of the Post Plantation, NL/DE
By Cedart Tamasala, Matthieu Kilapi Kasiama, Lizette Mbuku Kimpala, Renzo Martens, produced by Lea Fels and Isidoor Roebers

The Eukrainian, SE/FR/UA
By Viktor Nordenskiöld, produced by Viktor Nordenskiöld, Christian Popp and Olga Beskhmelnytsina

The Infinite Rehearsal, UK/GY
By Louis Henderson, produced by Luke Moody and Romola Lucas

The Lions at the River Tigris, NO
By Zaradasht Ahmed , produced by Thorvald Nilsen

The Menopause Mystery, DK
By Louise Unmack Kjeldsen, produced by Malene Flindt Pedersen

The Production of the World, CA/US
By Brett Story, produced by Jeff Reichert

Truth.com, FI/BG
By Tonislav Hristov, produced by Kaarle Aho

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other, UK/DK
By Jacob Perlmutter, produced by Manon Ouimet and Signe Byrge Sørensen

Untitled Animal Project, US
By Jessica Kingdon, produced by Nathan Truesdell and Jamie Gonçalves

Untitled Dwarfism Project, US
By Julie Forrest Wyman, produced by Lindsey Dryden and Jonna McKone

Voice/over, HU
By Balint Revesz, produced by Viki Reka Kiss

We Have Always Lived in the End Times, DE
By Ben Russell, produced by Guillaume Cailleau

The selected CPH:WIP projects in alphabetic order:

Adil, NO/ NL
By Adil Khan and Julian Nazario Vargas, produced by Eirik Smidesang Slåen and Elisabeth Opdal

Before the Storm, DK
By Juan Palacios and Sofie Husum Johannesen, produced by Kasper Lykke Schultz

Fighting Demons with Dragons, DK
By Camilla Magid, produced by Heidi Elise Christensen

Phantoms of Sierra Madre, NO/FI
By Håvard Bustnes, produced by Christian Aune Falch, Håvard Bustnes

Testament, KE/US/PT/DE
By Zippy Kimundu and Meena Nanji, produced by Zippy Kimundu, Meena Nanji and Eliane Ferreira

The Animated Mind of Oliver Sacks, US/UK
By Dempsey Rice, produced by Lori Cheatle

The Ground beneath Our Feet, IS/PL
by Yrsa Roca Fannberg, produced by Hanna Björk Valsdóttir

Confidential, US


The selected CHANGE projects in alphabetic order:

A Bit of a Stranger, UA
By Svitlana Lishchynska, produced by Anna Kapustina

Boxes from Georgia, GE
By Gvantsa Meparishvili, produced by Tiko Nadirashvili

Flow, PL/BY
By Belarusian Filmmakers

Here, between This Sea and Those Mountains, GE
By Keti Machavariani, produced by Keti Machavariani

How Long Is the Echo?, AM
By Merri Mkrtchyan, produced by Yelizaveta Petrosyan

Kartli, GE
By Julien Pebrel and Tamar Kalandadze, produced by Ketevan Kipiani and Jean-Baptiste Bonnet

Memo 94, UA
By Kornii Hrytsiuk, produced by Anna Palenchuk

Strange Sea, AZ
By Lala Aliyeva, produced by Aysel Akhundova


About CPH:FORUM
CPH:FORUM is an international financing and co-production event for creative documentaries and a flagship industry activity of CPH:DOX. Over the past years, among many others we have been proud to present projects from high profile directors and artists such as Petra Costa (BR), Mads Brügger (DK), Guido Hendrikx (NL), Hubert Sauper (AT), Victor Kossakovsky (RU), Peter Mettler (US), Sally Potter (UK), Yael Bartana (IL), Theo Anthony (US), Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (FR), Stephanie Spray (US), Tonje Hessen Schei (NO), Ben Rivers (UK), Roberto Minervini (IT), Ulrich Seidl (AT) and Crystal Moselle (US).

About CPH:DOX 2023
Marking the 20th anniversary of the International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX, the 2023 edition will offer an outstanding programme of approximately 180 films by both established and emerging filmmakers as well as talks, debates, performances, exhibitions, parties and much more from 15-26 March 2023

CPH:DOX’ industry events will include the financing and co-production event CPH:FORUM, CPH:CONFERENCE and INTER:ACTIVE symposium. The industry programme runs under the banner “Business as Unusual” between March 19-24. Read more about the key dates and events in the industry programme here.

For more information:
Sune Blicher, Head of Communications of CPH:DOX, +45 3122 2661, *****@cphdox.dk