We profile the winning European projects from the Pitching du Réel section of the recent Visions du Réel film festival (17 April-2 May 2020). You can read the news about the winners here.

Paradise by Alexander Abaturov

The Party Film Sales Award

Paradise [+lee también:
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The second feature-length documentary by Alexander Abaturov, the director of the 2018 Berlinale Forum entry The Son [+lee también:
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material damage the fire will cause. Here, we find 11-year-old Aliona and her family, and the story about environmental and systemic threats is told from her point of view. The Son producer Rebecca Houzel is again working with Abaturov through Paris-based Petit à Petit Production.

Young and Afraid by Petter Aaberg and Sverre Kvamme

RTS Award

Young and Afraid [+lee también:
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This unorthodox autobiographical documentary by the two young Norwegian filmmakers Petter Aaberg and Sverre Kvamme starts in 2017, when Petter was on the verge of committing suicide. Petter and Sverre roam the streets of Oslo, camera in hand, and discover other characters who have shared or share experiences of self-doubt and chaos. Faced with panic attacks, overdoses and stories of suicide attempts, Petter’s fragile psyche is further destabilised, and his relationship with Sverre is put to the test. The project is being produced by Carsten Aanonsen and Even Benestad for Oslo-based Indie Film.

Machtat by Sonia Ben Slama

MFI SCRIPT2FILM Workshops Project Development Award

Machtat [+lee también:
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In her second feature-length documentary, writer-director Sonia Ben Slama (Maktoub) follows the lives of three women in the small town of Bir Beranek in Mahdia, Tunisia. Fatma and her two daughters, Najeh and Waffeh, work in the fields during the winter season, and in summer they become machtat, or traditional wedding musicians. They go from one wedding to another, celebrating and blessing young women’s marriages, guiding them and preparing them for their new life as a wife. The project is being co-produced by Cécile Lestrade and Elise Hug for the French company Alter Ego Production, and Tania El Khoury for Lebanon's Khamsin Films.

The Mission by Tania Moilanen

DOK Leipzig Talent Development Award

The Mission - Tania Moilanen (Finland)
Director Tania Moilanen's first feature-length documentary is an intimate story that reveals the inner lives of four young Mormon missionaries who travel to the other end of the world in an attempt to convert some of Europe’s most non-religious, private and sceptical people: the Finns. Moilanen has a personal history with this community, as her father was raised in a Mormon family, and she says that her aim is “to make contact with the naive, vulnerable and courageous teenager that lies behind the religious apparatus”. The project is being produced by Isabella Karhu and Juho-Pekka Tanskanen for Helsinki-based Danish Bear Productions.

A Little Love Package by Gastón Solnicki

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Award

A Little Love Package [+lee también:
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The fifth feature-length outing by Argentinian filmmaker Gastón Solnicki is set in Vienna, just like his previous film, the Venice 2018 title Introduzione all'oscuro [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]. Solnicki is working without a script, and the very short synopsis reads: "In the context of the end of an era, a woman in her forties arrives in Vienna and makes a strong impact on the love lives of a few young women." The director's note reveals that it is going to be a docu-fiction hybrid of sorts, in line with Solnicki's uniquely specific form of artistic expression. Paolo Calamita is producing for Viennese company Little Magnet Films, and the Argentinian company on board is Filmy Wiktora.