Meet the mentors of the CIVIL PITCH: Civil Activism Films. Documentary filmmakers and civil society activists are invited to participate in this project, which is unique for Ukraine. By joining their efforts, they will be able to create films which will catalyze deep changes in the society.

The four mentors will not only teach the participants how to present their projects, but also help them to decide on the central idea of their film and the form of their project, and, most importantly, to form effective teams of directors and activists.

Daniel Abma

Daniel Abma studied film directing at the Konrad Wolf Film University Babelsberg, with a focus on documentaries. His own films are contemplative and thoughtful, and they received awards at many international festivals. In particular, his film Beyond Wriezen was shown at IDFA and at numerous other festivals and won, among others, the prestigious Grimme Award in Germany. His last work Transit Havana, about the sexual revolution in Cuba, visited more than fifty festivals. At Docudays UA 2017, it was shown in the DOCU/RIGHTS competition program. Today, he also teaches documentary film at the Konrad Wolf Film University Babelsberg, as well as holds workshops and seminars.

Daniel Abma will be the chief mentor of both project trainings which will take place in March.

Brigid O’Shea

Brigid O’Shea is a native of Australia who has worked for European film festivals and documentary organisations since 2008. She worked for various Berlinale departments, including the European Film Market and the Co-Production Market, until taking a more focused approach on creative documentary. This came from coordinating the DOK Industry Programme. Now she regularly tutors on topics such as European co-financing, cultural management and festival strategies in places like North America and Eastern Europe.

Brigid O’Shea will teach the participants at the fist training. Together with Daniel, they will form teams of activists and directors and help them decide on the central idea of their films and the form of their project.

Katharina Bergfeld

Since 2014, Katharina has worked at the Berlin production company Flare Film. As a documentary film producer, she has participated in the development of projects (the screenwriting, financial and marketing aspects of it) together with film authors. In 2012-13, she was the head of the industry platform at the DOK Leipzig’s Dok Market. Before that, she had many years of experience as a production assistant and sales agent assistant for TV documentaries. Today, she is working as a producer on seven feature-length documentaries. She is a member of the European Documentary Network and the European producer network EURODOC.

Katharina Bergfeld will join Daniel at the second training. Together with the participants, they will work on improving their presentations for the pitching.

Tue Steen Muller

Today, Tue Steen Muller is one of the best tutors who teach filmmakers to defend their projects at global-level pitchings. For twenty years, Tue Steen Muller has been a commissioning editor, a distributor, and a film festival manager at the Danish Film Academy. He was head of the European Documentary Network, and selected films and worked for film festivals ike DOCSBarcelona, Magnificent7 and DOK Leipzig. Now Tue teaches and consults with film directors in various European film schools, and most importantly, he is a renowned expert on modern Eastern European documentaries.

Tue Steen Muller will join the project at the stage when the participants will be preparing for the pitching, which will take place during Docudays UA-2018 in March. In addition, at the final stage of the competition, the participants will meat known professionals of the European film industry and receive consulting about their projects.

The authors of the best projects will receive monetary prizes to develop their films. And the NGOs that will win in the competition will be able to use the films that will be created in their own campaigns.

See competition conditions in more detail at this link. The application deadline is February 1, 2018.

Project organizers: Goethe-Institut in Ukraine and Docudays UA

Project partner: Kyiv-Mohyla Business School