The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) announced an unprecedented number of Scottish documentaries in its program this year. The Perfect Fit, directed by Tali Yankelevich, is included in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ eight contenders for the field Documentary Short Subject, of which three to five will earn Oscar nominations.
This award-winning Scottish production was shown in New York, alongside other short documentaries, in a week-long showcase in August. This theatrical run qualified the 10-minute film to be eligible for a submission to the Academy.
The Perfect Fit looks at professional ballet through the eyes of a shoemaker who pounds his soul out making each pair perfect, trying to ease the burden on the dancers’ feet. Creative Scotland and BBC Scotland invested in this film made by SDI Productions and Teebster.
The film was produced as part of the Scottish Documentary Institute’s Bridging the Gap program which enables young talent to break into the industry. SDI Productions is based at the Edinburgh College of Art, and Tali Yankelevich is also a graduate of ECA.
I Am Breathing by Emma Davie and Morag McKinnon will have its world premiere in IDFA’s prestigious Competition for Feature-Length Documentary. Exploring “the thin space between life and death”, the film follows Neil Platt who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease, a terminal illness affecting around 5,000 people in the UK. Neil invited the filmmakers to follow him through his final months, while he’s trying to sum up his life in a message to his baby son.
I Am Breathing was co-produced by ECA-based SDI Productions and Danish Documentary, with investments by Creative Scotland, Danish Film Institute, Wellcome Trust, MND Association and the former UK Film Council. Broadcasters involved in the production are Channel 4, DR (Denmark) and YLE (Finland).
IDFA will also show Pablo’s Winter directed by Chico Pereira, which will have its world premiere later this month at Dok Leipzig, one of the longest-running documentary festivals in the world. Presented as classic black-and-white cinema, Pablo’s story is one of “nicotine, mercury, and matters of the heart,” a homage to a retired Spanish miner against a backdrop of decay.
In addition, two short documentaries made as part of this year’s edition of Bridging the Gap will have their international premiere at IDFA in Amsterdam: Polaris, also by Chico Pereira, follows Filipino fishermen in the North East of Scotland, and Pouters, by Paul Fegan, chronicles the fight to become Glasgow’s “doo fleein” (pigeon flying) champion. Both films were first shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June.
It was also announced today that Future My Love, which celebrated an acclaimed world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this year to much acclaim, will have its international premiere at CPH:DOX, the innovative documentary festival in Copenhagen. Maja Borg’s film is a poetic road trip through personal and social utopias.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will take place from November 14-25, 2012 in Amsterdam.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
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