The 4th edition DOC SCREENINGS INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

A unique close-up of the another side of Cairo, where Jesus Christ and the Madonna rule and the huge pyramids are still being built. Except these pyramids are made of rubbish.

I made a number of super-8 films between 1987 and 1993. Some of them were fiction films. Others consist of documentary images of my friends, of the city where I lived, in the suburb of Paris, and of my holidays, avoiding almost totally to film my family. I edited these films to tell that part of my life, where I went from adolescence to adulthood.

Clémentine and Stéphanie are sisters. They share the same multiple disabilities since birth. Throughout the year, they live within the specialized care home "Soleil". As August arrives, the two girls take leave from their medical center to settle in "la Rochette": their family home. The parents and their two daughters gather there and rediscover together this familial space marked by summer rituals. The time of the "short vacation" makes possible the exploration of a unique family language where the richness and depth of their bonds are expressed.

Starting from a security check at the Tel Aviv airport, By The Throat explores a more deeply engraved border, albeit an invisible one, that defines the sounds and words we can pronounce. We carry with us these limits, created by our mother-tongue, becoming ourselves a mobile check-point, wherever we are.

In "Barullo," the essence of unique human experiences takes center stage. While physical constants define our world, life's moments are ever-changing, shaped by unpredictable variables and circumstances. This film captures the essence of life's fleeting nature, demonstrating the freedom found in music, the connection with others, and the beauty of nature. Through the shared purpose of enjoyment, dance, and unity, "Barullo" celebrates the transient yet profound moments that allow souls to soar, bringing individuals together in a shared, exhilarating dance of existence.

The documentary "Improvisione" tells the story of the experience of the Orchestra InStabile Maratonda, founded in 2017 by Franco Gonzalez Bertolino at the Fondazione Solidarietà e Cultura in Montalto di Castro. Through an intimate and unique perspective, Gonzalez Bertolino narrates the history and present of the orchestra, acting not only as the musical director but also as a witness documenting behind the camera. The ensemble distinguishes itself through the pursuit of sound and musical improvisation, rather than a traditional approach to music therapy. The goal is the creation, searching for one's own voice and musical identity through the instruments. To enhance musical expression, the orchestra collaborated with the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications of the University of La Sapienza to create an innovative device: an LED lighting system connected to each instrument and operated by a remote pedal by its director. This system offers creative freedom and transforms the musical score into a luminous experience for the musicians. For the occasion, composer Leonardo Spinedi wrote the "Suite Inestable" for viola, guitar, double bass, and Orchestra Instabile, a composition that pays homage to Gonzalez Bertolino's Uruguayan origins and evokes emotions in every part. The documentary provides a comprehensive view of the orchestra, interviewing users and professionals involved in the project's realization. It highlights not only the therapeutic and musical aspects but also the scientific and research aspects, emphasizing that the true protagonists of this musical journey are the members of the orchestra themselves. The 45-minute documentary is directed by Franco Gonzalez Bertolino, with original music by the Orchestra Instabile Maratonda and Leonardo Spinedi. Collaborators include Elena Mozzetta (manager of the unstable orchestra), Marco Francini (sound technician), Marco Balsi (engineer), Marco Guidi (light technician), and Raul Nuñez (graphics). The production is by Marcando Bobera Producciones, with the sponsorship of various institutions including the University La Sapienza of Rome, Fondazione Solidarietà e Cultura, Comune di Montalto di Castro, Fondazione Nazionale delle Comunicazioni, and the Embassy of Uruguay in Italy.

Recorded in the Occupied West Bank, this film is a glimpse of Palestine’s Jenin Refugee Camp in proximity of two deadly attacks by the Israeli military in 2023. Jenin has long been an epicenter of Palestinian armed resistance determined to overthrow Israel’s illegal military occupation. For decades Israeli forces have relentlessly invaded the camp, indiscriminately killing and wounding innocent refugees in their attempt to eliminate the growing militancy. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza on October 7th, 2023, violence has surged across the Occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has intensified its daily attacks on refugee camps, towns, and cities, resulting in at least 300 Palestinians killed and over 4,000 others wounded. According to the UN, 2023 was "the deadliest year on record" for Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank with a total of 504 people killed.

A film constantly on the run, running away from something or someone, from itself... A film with no pretentions of being a film. Rather it wants to be description, a diary of a journey, of days and lives that have fled, that have escaped control, life itself ... What escapes is what exists, but what doesn't exist also escapes, devoid of all romanticism, and certainly of God ... Perhaps only the time counted down by the music that dominates the flight ... Counting down? Counting? Measuring? No, embodied time, even though apparently mute, silently aflow, singing and conjuring forms: being itself ... A running that wants to outrun time, and succeeding, even though every suspension, every slowing down or ceasura—paradoxically— has a boomerang effect, redoubling the force of time's seemingly even pulse. A blow to the forehead or a splash to a devouring gaze that cannot get enough of the images, desperate to capture them all at once in a single glance, in a single frame ... But time, though seemingly crystal clear, is never straightforward, never in focus; it is, in any one moment, blurred, opaque, diffused ... ...« notes by Blaž Lukan

"Strange & Sometimes Troubled Memories" offers a poignant look into the life and art of Jack Greenwood. Using his powerful paintings as a window into his past, the film explores themes of poverty in the 1970s and 80s, mental health struggles, self-harm, and addiction.

After obtaining an old Boca de Estrella guitar like the one played by tango icon Carlos Gardel, tango musician/guitar collector Patricio Crom sets out to restore the instrument and discover its true sound—and then use it in a concert featuring some of today’s best Argentine tango guitarists. Along the way, Crom explores the different techniques of guitar playing, the challenges of guitar building and restoration, and the enduring passion for Carlos Gardel.

Two people speak Sign Language in a rural library. Kolya, who is hard of hearing, and Tanya, who is deaf. They are professional guides and invite viewers on a unique journey. The camera pulls back and the audience sees the entire film crew. The journey begins... The film crew does not hide behind the scenes. The group finishes filming the scene, gets on a bus or a plane and goes to the next filming location in Italy, in Russia, in Mongolia. This documentary in Russian Sign Language looks at the Russian Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1220 - 1263), famous for his campaigns, travels through the Mongol Empire and correspondence with the Pope. Tracing the hagiographic story of Alexander’s life, the film attempts to recreate an amazing picture of the world between East Asia and the Mediterranean in the time of Alexander. It also focuses on Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, a Franciscan monk, missionary and the first European traveller to Mongolia. The film features a selection of unique items, such as a paiza of Uzbek Khan of the Golden Horde (mid-14th c.), the sword of Prince Daumantas of Pskov (late 13th c.), the manuscript of The Vita of St Alexander Nevsky (late 13th c.), on display in Russian museums; two letters from Pope Innocent IV to Prince Alexander (1248), a letter from Great Khan Guyuk to Pope Innocent IV (1246) at the Apostolic Archive of the Vatican and and an old copy of Carpini’s History of the Mongols (14th c.) from Biblioteca e Centro di Documentazione Francescana in Assisi. The documentary is in Russian Sign Language with subtitles in English language and voiced by deaf and hard of hearing people.

The heart gripping Their Own Life portrays three persons who survived a period of serious longing for suicide. Kris van der Veen was bullied in high school so intensely in his Christian community in the far north of the Netherlands, that he tried to take his life with pills when he was only 14 years old. Transgender woman Solange Dekker experienced no understanding of her narrow-minded family members and jumped of a high bridge twice. And Jean Passos heard from his Brazilian family he as possessed by the devil after coming out as gay. The number of suicides in the LGBTQ-community in the Netherlands is five times higher than in the other part of the society. A shocking result of being not excepted, bullied, or even thrown out of your family completely. The documentary is an initiative of Henk Burger who now already has experienced 25 suicides among his friends. Documentary maker Tim Dekkers follows Kris, Solange, and Jean in their actual support of others who struggle with loneliness, insecurities, depression and death wishes. Solange became a super model, winning even as first European transgender woman the prestigious Miss International Queen title of 2023. Kris managed to become a politician in the town council of Amsterdam, focusing on the ones who need attention the most. Jean developed a special Acrobatic Mental Health Workshop to give people more confidence. Halfway the period of making this documentary, the shocking news came that Jean, despite his positive feelings, hanged himself in his studio. Suddenly his death became an unexpected part of the story, that will leave no viewer unmoved. How to go further with the knowledge that you can never really read one’s mind completely? Their Own Life is not only a taboo breaking film, but it is also most and for all a heart-breaking cry for change.

Filmed in various locations throughout New Jersey, Garden State explores the diverse landscapes in which wildlife, development, farming, and industry coexist in the most densely packed state in the union. Thematically concerned with utopian/dystopian ideas about modernist ‘progress’, the static camera lens observes New Jersey without judgement in order to allow the viewer to draw connections between the visual poetics of the landscape and the overwhelming legacy of human intervention. Kevin T. Allen’s sound design-- a heightened soundtrack of organically sourced hums and drones -- lures the viewer into a hypnotic and meditative experience while sonically announcing the presence of the human figure in the landscape. Garden State both encourages us to slow down, take a long lingering look at our surroundings, and to find wonder, beauty, ruin, and awe in the most unlikely of places.

The story of the once forbidden Russian Sign Language, told through the personal story of the family of a hard of hearing Yulia - a teacher at a boarding school for deaf and hard of hearing children from the city of Tula, Russia. How was sign language taught to the deaf? How do deaf people find ways to express themselves? What is hidden in the beauty of singing in sign language? What does the future hold for sign language?

Music is a conduit to the divine. "In Balinese there is no word for music," says ethnomusicologist and gamelan orchestra composer, Wayan Sudirana. Music as both a gift and an offering is deeply ingrained in the Balinese way of life. I Made and Suasthi Bandem train the next generation of Balinese musicians and dancers. Guitar wizard Wayan Balawan innovates by blending traditional gamelan music with jazz. Musical ambassador Nita Aartsen hosts the Tepi Sawah Festival, Bali's only music festival featuring exclusively Indonesian artists from across the archipelago.

Stuck in an underprivileged neighbourhood in Port-Louis, Nolwenn, an introvert girl, only sees the world trough her tablet. It does not prevent her from dreaming of music; a dream that might become a reality when she enters Mo’zar, an unconventional Jazz school created by an idealistic musician.

On the Arctic Ocean coast of Chukotka live a people cut off from the world. Their life revolves around hunting walruses and whales and protecting villages from bears coming from the tundra. This theme turns the film into a reflection on death. Marine animals become the primary source of food for the people, animal leftovers are used to feed arctic foxes on a fur farm, human cemeteries become targets for bears. It appears that all the inhabitants of this region are involved in the cycle of food and death. The film departs from the typical rhythmic structure of cinema and instead adopts the structure of a shamanic ritual, which is a meaning-forming event for the northern peoples.

Daniel Balima is a senior horticulturist from Tenkodogo, a small Sub-Saharan African town in Burkina Faso, where he lives with his large family and has worked since he was born 67 years ago. Daniel as a child falls ill with polio and, although growing without the use of his legs, he is able to follow his father in the family nursery, walking on his hands. He works immediately with great passion and talent so much that his disability, which for many in Africa means a marked destiny, is for Daniel an opportunity: "I could take two paths: begging or taking my life in hand and devoting myself to work with dignity ". So every day he goes to the garden to work, despite the various difficulties he faces, both those related to his physical condition, and those related to the territory and he is happy, because he can keep the family and pay their studies to children and grandchildren. Daniel has chosen and won this great challenge and, every day, he sows and cultivates with great effort and gratitude many vegetables and plants. Often those who have no food go to the garden, because they know that even without money can open that gate, look into the eyes this generous man, who with a few gestures and a few kind words will make him collect and bring home what is necessary to feed. In over fifty years of activity he has given life to more than a million trees and this is what is most important for Daniel because, as he tells us, his country, because of the drought, needs many trees and does not stop, on the contrary, he dreams of planting another million.

A group of Jewish soldiers, immediately after the war, had a visionary idea. They decided that to prevent future hatred between the nations(Arab and Israeli), action had to be taken. They went to the Arab villages which until a short time ago they were fighting against. The idea they had was to build a bridge between the people through education. They talked to Arab parents and convinced them to allow their children to be educated in the kibbutz, thereby sowing the seeds of peace. teaching the teens how to become farmers in the special surroundings of a Kibbutz. Kibbutz which was built as a way of life/ A settlement that had a mission to create an equal society A story about the dreams of peacemakers. A story like no other in the world.

This documentary revolves around exploring the unique profession of birth photography. It delves into its distinct nature, the preparation it requires, and how a photographer handles its unpredictability from the point of view of “Tampa Bay’s Birth Photographer” Sara Hunter.

An international consortium led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research is planning the flight of the most capable solar observatory ever to leave the Earth's surface. Carried by a stratospheric balloon, the observatory Sunrise III is set to fly from Sweden to Canada in the summer of 2022. Free from disturbances of the Earth's atmosphere, under conditions resembling space, it is expected to continuously observe the solar surface with unprecedented precision during its five-day flight. The anticipated dataset will influence astrophysics for decades to come. The film follows the Sunrise III team during the final sixteen months before the flight. The essential modules are already constructed and are receiving their finishing touches in the clean rooms of the Göttingen Institute. The scientific instruments from partners in Japan and Spain are on their way. Likewise, the gondola developed in the USA is en route. Now they must assemble the entire system, test it, and transport it to Esrange Space Center north of the Arctic Circle. There, they have about eight weeks to get the observatory ready for its flight into the stratosphere. The Sunrise documentary focuses on the work of the people who make such a research mission possible - long before any scientific results are available. Additionally, the film shows that the collective pursuit of technical and scientific excellence can also be influenced by unpredictable factors.

The sixty year history of radical music of Chilean folk, punk and hip hop that has deeply influenced the Chilean political consciousness and social movements leading to the election of student leader Gabriel Boric as Chilean president. This documentary connects the musical scars left under Pinochet's dictatorship against Chile's artistic class and how they formed the soundtrack that led musical and political movements of both Chilean exiles and the children raised in a post Pinochet society.

The verdiales festival is the oldest living folklore in Europe. Malaga becomes a great setting for ancient rites transmitted by oral tradition.

Sergei Paradjanov (1924-1990), a brilliant filmmaker of Armenian origin, remains a legendary figure in the opposition to the Soviet regime which landed him in prison, notably for homosexuality, for years. A pilgrimage to his house in Yerevan by a French director of Russian origin who admires his work turns into a mystical experience in search of the spirit of the Master.