In 2025, Fipadoc is especially proud of spotlighting a selection of fascinating projects from the 2025Focus, the Balkan region. In addition, we are happy to have a great presence of Balkan decision makers with us, representing great opportunities for co-working with and reaching audiences in the region.
International Pitches run for two days, spotlighting 24 projects in development during four sessions:
• Is the future already here? • Is the present in the past? • Is reality in wide format? • Is it all about character?
IS THE FUTURE ALREADY THERE ?
Tehran, auto-immune (FR, SE, IR)
AFSANEH SALARI - Christian Popp, Diane Nivoley | YAMI 2 Productions | France
Afsaneh Salari | Docmaniacs | Iran Ashley Smith | Sisyfos Film Production | Sweden
One-off: 52 min & 80 min TEHRAN, AUTO-IMMUNE goes under the skin of Iran's capital through intimate observations of beauty clinics in a city that records the world's highest rate of beauty surgery.
Jezero (BA, DK, ES, NO)
BOJAN STOJCIC - Lara Grozdanic, Ishak Jalimam | Realstage | France
Lise LENSE-MØLLER | Magic Hour Films Amaia REMIREZ GARCIA | Kanaki Films | Spain Anita | REHOFF LARSEN | Sant & Usant
One-off : 90 min Jezero deals with the past, present, and future of a city in Bosnia & Herzegovina, as well as a crater of the same name on the planet Mars. Through these two connected motifs, the film aims to explore the implications of imperialism and extractive capitalism on ecosystems in the country and beyond.
World of Walls (SK, FR, CZ, ZA, BE)
LUCIA KAŠOVÁ - Matej Sotník | GUČA films | Slovaquie
Yann Ollivier | FACTSTORY | France Klára Mamojková | CLAW AV | République Tchèque Kristian Van Der Heyden | Harald House | Belgique Wanda Kaprálová | Claw AV
One-off : 80 min Set in a dystopian South Africa where the future is already reality, the coming-of-age documentary World of Walls follows the everyday lives of two teenage girls on opposite sides of a wall. Through their eyes, we witness extreme social divisions and an escalating climate catastrophe.
Women for Peace : A Journey in War (FR, IL)
KEREN SHAYO - Sylvie Brenet | Les Films Du Sillage | France Arik Bernstein, Talia Bernstein | Alma Films | Israël
One-off : 52 min & 70 min Through the eyes of Israeli and Palestinian women peace activists, nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, the film delves into the devastating toll of war on women. As October 7, 2023, changes everything, their shared journey for peace and the price they pay for it, faces its greatest challenge.
Dark Waters (GR, CA)
MARIANNA ECONOMOU - Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof | Anemon Productions | Grèce Paul Cadieux | Filmoption International | Canada
One-off : 52 min & 75 min In the dystopian port of Elefsina, a diver battles toxic wrecks, revealing a tale of cleansing and one man’s personal struggles to escape the world's darkness.
2084 (ES)
RUTH CHAO - Alphonse De La Puente | Somadrome Films | Espagne Alicia Veira | Espagne
One-off : 80 min Marta overcomes trauma thanks to innovative neurotechnology, but a fatal failure highlights the need for legislation on mental privacy and neurorights.
IS THE PRESENT IN THE PAST ?
Seven and one (FR)
LUCAS VERNIER - Mathilde Raczymow | Les Films Du Bilboquet | France
One-off: 90 min At 16, Evelyne Noël left her family in Picardie to escape elsewhere. Since then, we've known her only as Eve. Eve is my mother. She's kept her past hidden. She has seven sisters and brothers whom I don't know. It's time for me to meet them.
Memoirs of Jerusalem (GB, JO)
KINDA KURDI - Brian Hill | Century Films Ltd. | UK Kinda Kurdi | K² Visual Media | UK
One-off: 90 min The year is 1948 and the Israeli army haven't been able to capture East Jerusalem. How will one man’s leadership restore life and hope to East Jerusalem and keep it under Palestinian sovereignty?
One-off : 90 min A group of friends, born in the 90s, goes on a road trip across America in a Yugo, aiming to experience their first big adventure in the worst car ever.
Hope against hope (IR, FR, NO)
MINA KESHAVARZ - Mina Keshavarz | MinDoc Film Production | Iran
Christophe Bruncher | Ici Et La Productions | France Anita Norfolk | Folk Film | Norway
One-off: 100 min Informations about this project are confidential.
XAU (SE, ZA)
FREDRIK GERTTEN, SYLVIA VOLLENHOVE Margarete Jangård, Cecilie Bolvinkel | WG Film AB | Suède
Sylvia Vollenhoven | Vision In Africa | Afrique du Sud Andreas Dalsgaard | Elk Film
One-off : 55 min & 90 min When a surprising illness hits Sylvia, a prominent black journalist, she traces its roots to the absurdities and violence of apartheid. Through uncovering her indigenous identity, she finds the cure.
Serie: 2 episodes x 52 min Through the eyes of a Palestinian and an Israeli filmmaker who have grown up in the complex reality of the region, the film aims to tell the story of the historical and geopolitical evolution of the Gaza Strip, as well as the intimate and collective stories that underpin this evolution.
IS REALITY IN WIDE FORMAT ?
Balkan's Maestro (ME, FR)
ALTINAÏ PETROVITCH NJEGOSH, FRANÇOIS FLEURY Ivan ČOJBAŠIĆ | Atomic Production | Monténégro
Altinaï Petrovitch Njegosh | aïe aïe aïe films | Monténégro Frédéric Chaudier| BIENVENUE PRODUCTION | France
One-off : 90 min Following the death of his father, conductor Marc Korovitch put his career on hold to take the lead of the Montenegrin National Orchestra and reconnect with his roots. While rehearsing Don Giovanni, he’s confronted with the reality of a country about to join the European Union.
One-off: 80 min The film "UNDER THE YELLOW SKY" is a documentary story about the life and survival of civilians in a frontline city during a full-scale war, their cohesion, resilience, and the desperately fast growing up of children at the peak of frontline activity. This is war through the eyes of children.
Boom ! (GB)
LAURA PLANCARTE Johnny Brewin | The Republic Of Park Royal Ltd | Grande Bretagne Laura Plancarte | LP Films ltd | Grande Bretagne
Mandy Chang | Mandy Chang | United Kingdom
One-off: 52 min & 90 min BOOM! A journey into inner turmoil and the need to suppress it. Champion fighter G-Air and driven Sonia are a boxing couple navigating the complexities of life. Their passion for Muay Thai brings them peace, but the demands of societal expectations and parenting push them to their limits.
Barrabás (ES, PE, US)
Barrabás (ES, PE, US) DANIEL MARTINEZ-QUINTANILLA Rafa Molés, Pepe Andreu, Alba Santos Cloux | SUICAfilms | Spain
Daniel Martínez-Quintanilla Pérez | MUYUNA EIRL | Peru Drew Stoneman | Associated Press | United States of America
One-off : 50 min & 90 min "Barrabás" spans 12 years of world history, exploring war, football, ethical contradictions, and reconciliation through the lens of photojournalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Rodrigo Abd.
Waltz from the Well (PL)
TYMON NOGALSKI Slawomir Richert | Warsaw Production Team | Poland
One-off : 54 min & 70 min Young hydrology student and amateur conductor accidentally discovers lost manuscripts
Iraq, land of factions (FR)
ANNE POIRET Anne Poiret | After War | France
Patrick Winocour, Juliette Guigon | SQUAWK | France
One-off : 52 min On the margins of the conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah, other pro-Iranian Shi’a factions are now clashing with the Jewish nation from their bases in Iraq. This film will delve into the factions comprising a paramilitary system alongside the Iraqi government.
IS IT ALL ABOUT CHARACTER ?
Goodbye Andy Brown (NO, HU)
LARS ERLEND TUBAAS ØYMO Karianne Berge | Indie Film | Norway
Julianna Ugrin | Éclipse Film | Hungary
One-off : 52 min & 80 min An intimate portrait of a female sex worker's struggle to define herself on her own terms and find true love. Goodbye Andy Brown is an artistic documentary combining animation and home video material.
Contacts (FR)
One-off : 52 min Choreographer Eric Minh Cuong Castaing's Shonen company meets children with motor disorders and introduces them to contact dance, a form of dance based on physical contact and listening, which addresses in particular the question of the relationship between ‘able-bodied’ and ‘disabled’ bodies.
Matriarchy (SE, CH)
ZARA ARREHED Ilja Stenberg, Malcolm Dixelius | Dixit International | Sweden
Esther Van Messel, Daniel Schneider | First Hand Films | Switzerland
One-off : 58 min & 85 min Living a double life between her Syrian Orthodox family and Muslim girlfriend, Melissa faces an impossible choice when secrecy is no longer an option. Her decision to live openly transforms her Stockholm home into a battleground, as her deeply religious mother weighs acceptance against tradition.
One-off: 90 min In the aftermath of the media hijacked trial of the circumstances surrounding the death of Sanda Dia (20) during a student hazing in Belgium, his brother Seydou and his friends struggle to come to terms with the events. How could this have happened? And how can they move on?