Faith and Branko to open the 4th AJB DOC Film Festival
The Fourth Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) will open with screenings at the Kovači Multimedia Center and Sarajevo Cineplexx Cinema.
The opening ceremony of the AJB DOC Film Festival will be held at the Kovači Multimedia Center at 19:30h, followed by a screening of the film Faith and Branko at 20:30h.
Catherine Harte’s film Faith and Branko is an intimate documentary that follows a cross-cultural relationship between musicians Faith and Branko, over a period of seven years. A British accordionist and a Roma violinist are united by music. But, can love and music be enough to keep them together?
The second film to be screened on the opening night of the Festival is Radio Silence by Juliana Fanjul. This film opens the out-of-competition Last Minute Cinema selection. The screening begins at 21:00 hrs at the Cineplexx cinema.
Radio Silence is a film about Carmen Aristegui, an incorruptible journalist known for her free speech, who in November 2014, in Mexico City, uncovered a case of corruption which threatened to seriously tarnish the reputation of the newly elected Mexican president. Three months later, in March 2015, the sentence fell: Carmen was fired from the radio station where she had worked for years. Supported by more than 18 million listeners, she continues her fight with a couple of colleagues and derisory means.
Once the AJB DOC Film Festival is officially open, the audience will have an opportunity to see 23 documentaries of highest quality.
The slogan of this year's edition of AJB DOC is Challenge, which is highlighted on all visual materials. This theme is common to all films in this year's selections, as their protagonists face different challenges, whether self-imposed or put before them by their societies.
In addition to screenings, a training in Smart phone documentary film production will be held under the guidance of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Damir Šagolj, from 11th to 13th September. The training is organized in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Media Institute.
Furthermore, Al Jazeera’s reporter from Gaza, Safwat al-Kahlout, will hold a lecture for journalists on topic Gaza: Past, Present and Future. The lecture will be held on Sunday, September 12, at 16:00 at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Sarajevo. The number of participants is limited due to pandemic restrictions. Prior notice of attendance will be required at info@ajbdoc.ba with the subject Gaza - lecture.
AJB DOC Film Festival will present three awards.
International jury comprising an award-winning film producer Jamel Dallali, writer, director and editor Una Gunjak and artistic director of DokuFest Veton Nurkollari will choose the best film from the Competition Programme, which will receive the AJB DOC Main Award.
All films from the Competition Programme also compete for the AJB Program Award, awarded by the Al Jazeera Balkans Programme Department Jury.
All films screened at the AJB DOC festival will compete for the Audience Award.
This year's edition of the AJB DOC Film Festival is held under the auspices of BH Telecom, and training in partnership with Samsung.