Watermelon by Sara Szymańska has secured a spot at DOK Short n’ Sweet, whilst The Town That Drove Away by Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski is set to be featured at DOK Preview International. These selections follow the earlier announcement of titles qualified for DOK Co-Pro Market, which included the Polish-German co-production Letters by Andrei Kutsila.

DOK Short n' Sweet has established itself as a pitching platform for short-form content, including documentary films, animated documentaries, as well as animated films and series.

Sara Szymańska's latest animated film stands among nine selected projects —a Polish-French production jointly produced by Animoon (Poland) and Avec ou sans Vous (France).

Watermelon tells the story of 27-year-old twin sisters, Nela and Zyta, set against the backdrop of New Year's Eve in Paris. Both Polish-born sisters are determined to make Paris their home, with Nela having arrived first and Zyta following a few years later. Whilst Nela has developed a career, made friends and mastered French, Zyta remains in her sister's shadow.

You can find the list of all qualified projects here.

DOK Preview International aims to showcase outstanding films seeking completion funding, distribution partnerships, or festival premiere opportunities. Each of the qualified projects is to receive dedicated support and take part in discussions moderated by Brigid O'Shea and Sofía Tocar. The organisers take pride in championing these ambitious, stylistically distinctive works through their final stages of development.

Among this prestigious selection is a documentary by Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski, produced by LARMO.

The Town That Drove Away chronicles the construction of Turkey's Ilısu Dam – a project that forced Kurdish and Arab communities to resettle, devastating their cultural heritage. The ancient settlement of Hasankeyf, inhabited for 10,000 years and home to remnants of nine civilisations, was flooded. Despite promises of relocation to a new development, residents wished to remain in their old home, in itself a cornerstone of their identity. In pursuit of modernisation, authorities disregarded both social costs and historical legacy, forcing the community to fundamentally reshape their way of life.

The accepted titles have been listed here.

OCTOBER 2024