The Festival launches its 8th edition
by: Laia Pascual
The festival will celebrate creative documentary and non-fiction filmmakers with a dynamic new programme for 2018. “Open City Documentary” will take place from the 4th to the 9th of September in London, UK. You will be able to see 48 shorts and experience 2 world premieres, 3 European premieres and 26 UK premieres across shorts and features from more than 30 countries!
What’s on?
‘Baronesa’
This year the opening night will begin with the UK premiere of “Baronesa”, directed by Juliana Antunes in partnership with MUBI. The director spent 5 years in Belo Horizonte – 6th largest city in Brazil, to create a world of rare intimacy and authenticity in order to explain the story of Andrea and Leid, two Brazilian women who are trying to survive in dangerous favelas. Book your tickets now online!
‘The Swing’
Director Cyril Aris offers an emotionally rich film about the lies a family tells to keep their patriarch happy and the unattended costs of their falsehood. Antoine and Vivi have lost their daughter, however, the horrific news is kept a secret as no one has dared to tell the bedridden nonagenarian Antoine, lest his heart crack. This deeply affecting, beautifully shot cinematic novella is called “The Swing” and the UK premiere of it will be the last day of the festival. Book your tickets now online!
The festival will also have an amazing jury this year! It will be chaired by director Sophie Fiennes (Grace Jones: Bloodlight, Bami), and features Beatrice Gibson, Nelly Ben Hayoun, May Adadol Ingawanij and Mehelli Modi. There will be two different categories of awards. The first one is for the Emerging International Filmmaker Award and there are four documentaries that have been nominated for this special award: “Angkar”, “Those Who Come, Will Hear”, “Home of The Resistance” and “The Best Thing You Can Do With Your Life”. The other award is for the Best UK Short and there are eight documentaries competing for this category: “The Mess”, “Some of These Days”, “Absent Wound”, “Missed Call”, “Season of Goodbyes”, “Plastic Man”, “Then a Hero Comes Alone” and “Landline”.
This edition of Open Documentary Festival will also count with international filmmakers like the japanese pioneer of “action documentary” Kazuo Hara who will present his work to the audience.
This festival is also giving opportunities to students and recent graduates to get ready to enter this industry! You can go to the Industry Bootcamp sessions and each event is just £5 or free if you present your student accreditation!
It’s the first time that Open City Documentary Festival has invited artists to present films that have informed their own practice, with special selections from DJ and producer Nabihah Iqbal and filmmaker Marc Isaacs. The festival will also host different parties this year, they will be listed in the Open City Documentary Festival programme. Check it out!
