12/02/2024 - The 11 projects from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region will have the chance to clinch various post-production awards in March

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival's Agora Docs in Progress (10-14 March) will showcase 11 film projects currently in post-production, representing 16 countries from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. The event will offer industry professionals in attendance – comprising sales agents, distributors, producers and festival programmers – an exclusive preview of these projects.

The films chosen for this year's selection constitute a diverse tapestry, reflecting the multifaceted challenges of our world. Through 11 powerful narratives, audiences will embark on an emotional journey, encountering captivating subjects and resilient characters who have embraced acceptance, pursued aspirations, and confronted adversity with unwavering courage and resilience.

Recent titles that have previously been discovered at Agora Docs in Progress include Diaries from Lebanon [+see also:
film review
interview: Myriam El Hajj
film profile] by Myriam El Hajj, premiering in the Berlinale Panorama this year; Queen of the Deuce [+see also:
interview: Valerie Kontakos
film profile] by Valerie Kontakos; Notes on Displacement [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Khaled Jarrar, premiered at IDFA in 2022; A Happy Man [+see also:
film review
interview: Soňa G Lutherová
film profile] by Soňa G Lutherová, premiered at Hot Docs in 2023; Lift Like a Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mayye Zayed, shown on Netflix, and at Toronto IFF and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, amongst others; Acts of Love by Isidore Bethel and Francis Leplay, premiered at Hot Docs in 2021, and shown in the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s Newcomers Competition; and A Marble Travelogue [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Sean Wang, part of the IDFA International Competition in 2021 and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival International Competition in 2022, amongst others.

The international jury for Docs in Progress comprises Hanne Biermann (festivals and marketing manager at Film Harbour), Pierre-Alexis Chevit (head of Cannes Docs at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film) and Kumjana Novakova (filmmaker and film curator at Pravo Ljudski and Medea). Participating projects stand a chance of winning various post-production awards, including the Two Thirty-Five (2|35) Post-Production Main Award and the 119 Marvila Studios Award for sound-mixing services, while the Greek Film Centre provides a prize of €3,000 in cash for a Greek project or a Greek co-production, and Neaniko Plano will present an award for subtitling in English or French. The Onassis Film Award, valued at €5,000, will go to one of the Greek projects taking part in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or Agora Docs in Progress.

The selected works in progress are as follows:

Dark Waters - Marianna Economou (Greece/Canada)
Producer: Rea Apostolides (Anemon Productions)
Co-producer: Paul Cadieux (Megafun Productions)

Don’t Worry Sari! - Sari Haragonics (Hungary/Bulgaria)
Producers: Sára László, Inez Mátis, Marcell Gero (Campfilm Ltd)
Co-producer: Boris Despodov (Arthouse Blockbusters)

Dream Collector - Sonja Djekic (Serbia/Croatia)
Producer: Sonja Djekic (KEVA)
Co-producers: Tamara Babun, Matija Drnikovic (Wolfgang & Dolly)

Eduard - Sophie Shevardnadze (Georgia)
Producers: Archil Gelovani, Sergei Yahontov (Independent Film Project)

The First Lady - Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein (Israel/Germany)
Producer: Udi Nir (udiVsagi production)
Co-producer: Georg Tschurtschenthaler (Beetz Brothers Film Production)

Happy You’re Here - Lucas Habte (France/USA/Puerto Rico/Ethiopia)
Producer: Isidore Bethel (Alice Films)
Co-producers: Lucas Habte, Juan Carlos Malavé

Lo - Thanassis Vassiliou (France/Greece)
Producer: Orlane Dumas (Les Films de l'AubeSauvage)
Co-producer: Konstantinos Vassilaros (StudioBauhaus)

Mailin - María Silvia Esteve (Argentina/France/Romania)
Producer: María Silvia Esteve (HANA Films)
Co-producers: Alejandra López (IKKI Films), Radu Stancu, Cristina Haneș (deFilm)

Ms. President - Marek Šulík (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Producer: Barbara Janišová Feglová (Hitchhiker Cinema)
Co-producers: Ivo Andrle (Aerofilms), Alena Müllerová (Czech Television), Tibor Horváth (Radio and Television Slovakia), Marek Šulík (Filmotras)

The Secrets of the Owl - Eirini Vourloumis (Greece)
Producer: Leonidas Liambeys (Long Run Productions)
Co-producer: Eirini Vourloumis (Boulis Films)

Super Paradise - Steve Krikris (Greece/Germany)
Producers: Dafni Kalafati, Paul Typaldos (Filmiki SA)
Co-producer: Titus Kreyenberg (unafilm)