Today (Wednesday, 26 August), the projects developed as part of this year’s special festival programme, RAFF Residency, were presented at the Slobodan Novak Rab City Library, one of the Rab Film Festival’s partners.

The presentation marked the conclusion of the four-day documentary film development programme, organised in partnership with the international documentary film festival ZagrebDox. One project explores a wartime trauma that remained unspoken for decades, while the other follows women who became leaders of a resistance movement by defending their forest. Through intensive one-on-one sessions with mentors—the Danish film critic Tue Steen Müller and the Belgian producer and distributor Thierry Detaille—the directors and producers of Through the Process and Women of Akbelen Forest considered the creative and production directions of their films and the next steps in their development.

Both projects were selected from the second edition of ZagrebDox’s Slow Pitch programme, from among eight documentary projects presented at this year’s workshop. Following their work in Zagreb, these two creative teams were given the opportunity to continue developing their projects through RAFF Residency. After the programme concluded, all six participants briefly shared their impressions with us, each thanking the RAFF organisers for the opportunity.

THROUGH THE PROCESS

The first feature-length documentary by director Marina Petković Liker follows the parents of eight children killed in a missile attack in Central Bosnia in 1993. Their fragile daily lives, marked by grief left unspoken for decades, are once again disrupted by the opening of court proceedings. In doing so, the film raises difficult questions about unresolved wartime trauma, the possibility of healing and the path towards peace.

Director: Marina Petković Liker
Producer: Tiha K. Gudac
Production: Četveroruka

Marina Petković Liker was very pleased to have had the opportunity to develop her film—which still has only a working title—in such a stimulating environment. “The film is currently entering the editing stage, and it was extremely useful to speak in greater detail with mentors of this calibre, to be able to show them more of the footage and explore it in greater depth. In my view, this was a highly significant experience for the development of our project, particularly because we had enough time at our disposal, as well as the mentors’ patience and willingness,” Petković Liker said. “We hope our film will be powerful and socially relevant. In this process, it is very important to have systematic support such as this, which helps us articulate the story more clearly, begin shaping a distribution strategy in good time and increase the visibility of our future film. Here, we had truly outstanding and serious mentors, while working in a relaxed setting and a stress-free environment, removed from the business pressures of major industry platforms,” Gudac said.

WOMEN OF AKBELEN FOREST

The documentary by Turkish director Selen Çatalyürekli follows the years-long struggle of women from the village of İkizköy to preserve Akbelen Forest, their homes and the future of their local community. By opposing the expansion of a coal mine, the farmers and homemakers gradually become protest organisers, public spokeswomen and leaders of resistance against environmental destruction and displacement.

Just before RAFF, the project won the Movies That Matter Award as part of the Docu Rough Cut Boutique programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days, earning an opportunity for further international presentation.

Director: Selen Çatalyürekli
Producer: Zeyneb Gültekin
Production: Surela Film (TR) & Stichting Smoke and Mirrors (NL)

“Working with these mentors will undoubtedly be of great help in our efforts to complete the film. I am glad that the collaboration begun at ZagrebDox has continued in this way,” producer Gültekin said, adding that she hopes to return to RAFF for a screening of the film. “Four days of working in this way is invaluable, especially because we brainstormed together and found answers and solutions to the questions and problems we encountered,” director Çatalyürekli said.

MENTORS WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

Tue Steen Müller is a Danish film critic and documentary film consultant. He worked at the Danish Film Institute for more than twenty years and is one of the co-founders of the European Documentary Network, where he also served as its first director. He has delivered lectures and workshops in more than forty countries and collaborated with numerous European festivals and documentary film development programmes. “Although I have been part of the documentary film world for more than 50 years, coming to RAFF has been a wonderful experience. The town itself, the concept of a film festival on a small and beautiful island, and working with four brilliant and talented women bringing their film projects to life—it has all been an excellent experience. I hope they will benefit from my advice and comments,” Steen Müller said.

Thierry Detaille is a Belgian producer, distributor and expert in the international distribution of documentary films. He is the founder of Visible Film and shares his many years of experience in international sales, pre-sales and co-production with filmmakers as a mentor and consultant at film workshops and industry programmes around the world. “I particularly appreciate that RAFF Residency gave us enough time to work with the projects without interruption. I also find it especially interesting that these are two films with a strong female authorial and producing voice. I can’t wait to see their final form,” Detaille concluded.

While festival cinemas screen completed films, RAFF Residency gives space to stories that are still searching for their final form. Among them may well be films that will find their way onto festival screens.