Dear friends and colleagues, The second year of our collaboration with Cannes Docs and Marché du Film, which was completed last Thursday, brought yet another milestone - we are thrilled to announce that the project Cent’anni, directed by CIRCLE 2020 alumnae Maja Doroteja Prelog, was awarded the biggest Docs-in-Progress award in partnership with IEFTA!
The jury consisted of Glenda Balucani, Stephan Riguet, and Joanna Solecka, awarded the Docs-in-Progress award to Cent’anni describing it as “a courageous step in an unknown journey that dives into a couple’s struggle through a fight for life and love, with a promising cinematic approach.” The project was presented as part of the Showcase CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, and was one of altogether 32 projects in the Docs-in-Progress program.
The award consists of €10,000 cash prize and professional project follow-up, supported by IEFTA – The International Emerging Film Talent Association.
CENT'ANNI by Maja Doroteja Prelog
Developed within the framework of CIRCLE in 2020 (Cvinger Film, Slovenia)
Short synopsis:
Filmmaker Maja follows her partner Blaž, a leukaemia survivor who embarks on an extraordinary cycling journey to heal from a traumatic experience. What should have been a heroic journey became a battle for their relationship. CENT’ANNI is a personal confession about the impact of the illness on a relationship told from the perspective of a caregiver.
Maja Doroteja Prelog, director:
“‘Cent’anni’ is more than a film to me. It’s me. It’s my life,” Maja said at the awards ceremony by video call. “When I started on this project three years ago, I wasn’t exactly sure where it would take me. But I promised myself that no matter what would happen, I would always stay honest. And it turns out that this promise that I gave to myself was harder to keep, and more challenging than I thought it would be… It takes a lot of courage and heart. It’s really hard to do a personal film, because nobody can tell you what to do. You have to figure it out yourself. So this award is a confirmation for me that I’m on the right path.”
© Loic Thebaud / Marché du Film
Cent’anni is directed by Maja Doroteja Prelog (Slovenia), produced by Rok Biček (Cvinger Film, Slovenia), Alessandro Leone (Agresywna Banda, Poland), and Massimo Casula (Zena film, Italy).
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Women Doc Filmmakers in the A-List Film Festival Circle Panel
As part of Cannes Docs / Doc Day 2021, CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator had the honor to organise and host a panel around the theme Women Doc Filmmakers in the A-List Film Festival Circle. The invited panelists were Salomé Jashi (director/producer, Taming The Garden), Yaël Bitton (writer/editor, Invisible Demons, by Rahul Jain, Official Selection, Festival de Cannes 2021) and Paula Vaccaro (writer/producer, Sumercé, Uncle Howard), while Biljana Tutorov, program director of CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, moderated. Panelists discussed the female experience in the A-list festival circuit and caught the audience’s attention with their sincerity, generosity to share but also the integrity of their beliefs.
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