The second session of the Ex Oriente Film workshop, an esteemed project-based training programme from the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF), will take place for the first time in Germany, in collaboration with DOK Leipzig on 6 - 11 October 2023.

Director of DOK Industry at DOK Leipzig Nadja Tennstedt has expressed enthusiasm for the cooperation with the IDF and commended the quality of projects selected for Ex Oriente: “The Institute of Documentary Film has been a wonderful and trusted partner of DOK Industry for many years. We are continuously impressed by the high quality of projects selected for Ex Oriente. So, it brings us great joy to welcome the talented creative teams of documentary feature films and documentary series along with the knowledgeable and inspiring professionals who will be guiding and mentoring these teams."

This year, a total of 12 creative documentary feature-length films and, for the first time, five documentary series projects are participating in intensive sessions, working closely with a panel of international experts and tutors. Among the tutors of the second session are VP and Executive Producer of Documentaries for HBO Europe Hanka Kastelicová, sales agent Manuela Buono (Slingshot Films), producer Erik Winker (CORSO Film) and documentary film editor and story consultant Yael Bitton. Please find the full list of tutors of the second session here.

During the second session, participating directors will further hone the visual style and narrative of their documentary feature films and series, while producers will develop a detailed financing strategy, dive into various aspects of international co-production and receive valuable guidance in navigating the landscape of European broadcasters. The director-producer teams will also start preparing for the workshop’s final session and gain insights into pitching and marketing.

As a three-module creative lab, the Ex Oriente Film workshop offers a comprehensive support for creative documentary projects in development and early production from Central and Eastern Europe. The third and final session of this year’s workshop will be held during the East Doc Platform in Prague in March 2024, in partnership with the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.

Overview of projects participating in the 2023 Ex Oriente Film workshop:

Ex Oriente Documentary Feature Films

Acting Classes - director Sasha Shegai, producers Assel Yerzhanova (FilmFilmFilm) and Yevgeniya Moreva, Kazakhstan

Armenia Phantom - director Tamara Stepanyan, producer Céline Loiseau (TS Productions), France/Armenia

Becoming Roosi - director Margit Lillak, producer Margit Lillak ​​(Tiny Desk Productions), co-producers Dirk Manthey (Dirk Manthey Film) and Hõbe Ilus (Tiny Desk Productions), Estonia/Germany

Birdie - director Aneta Ptak, producer Małgorzata Staroń (Staron Film), Poland

Do Magic - director Vera Lacková, producer Peter Drössler (Golden Girls Film), Austria/Slovakia

How I Became a Hijacker - director Andrew Carter, producer Aleksandra Szczesna, Poland/Germany

Keepers of the Ruins - director Mariia Shevchenko, producer Ella Shtyka (New Kyiv), Poland/Ukraine

Letters - director Andrei Kutsila, producer Sofiia Zadorozhna, Poland/Belarus

Lights - director Mila Teshaieva, producer Marcus Lenz, Germany/Ukraine

Man Under the Ice - director Eva Tomanová, producers Michal Kráčmer (Analog Vision), Veronika Kührová (Analog Vision) and Kenan Aliyev, Czech Republic

The Poor Cry Too - directors Viktorija Mickute and Ieva Balsiunaite, producer Dagne Vildziunaite (Just a Moment), Lithuania/Mexico

What About Little Peter? - director Martin Trabalík, producer Jan Bodnar (GNOMON PRODUCTION S.R.O.), Czech Republic

Ex Oriente Documentary Series

Exit Only - director Timo Novotny, producer Tereza Horská (Hypermarket Film), Czech Republic/Austria

Tito. The West's Favorite Dictator - director Bence Máté, producers Gunnar Dedio (Looks Filmproduktionen GmbH) and Regina Dr. Bouchehri (Looks Filmproduktionen GmbH), Germany/Austria/Croatia/Italy

Unhero or a Falling Star - director Georgi Tenev, producer Martichka Bozhilova (Agitprop Ltd.), Bulgaria

The Murderers of Anna Labancz - director Balázs Dudás, producer Balázs Dudás, Hungary

She Is Not in the Business of Making Friends - director Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, producers Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan (Manifest Film) and Elena Martin (Manifest Film), Romania

Tutors of the second session:

Ex Oriente Documentary Feature Films

Christian Popp, Iikka Vehkalahti, Filip Remunda, Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, Yael Bitton, Mikael Opstrup, Erik Winker, Stefan Rull, Manuela Buono, Joanna Solecka, Stefano Savona

Ex Oriente Documentary Series

Ruth Reid, Florian Schewe, Carsten Gutschmidt, Hanka Kastelicová