NEWS

As a world sales company, Film Harbour distributes creative documentaries from around the globe for which we see a potential on the international market. 

The films in our catalog are very diverse in style and content, but they all have one thing in common: we are convinced of their high artistic quality and their strong relevance, and we want to introduce these outstanding documentaries to a wide international audience. 

Our main goal is to make the connection between a film and its viewers, both via the big and the small screen. 

Film Harbour

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As published by Geoffrey Macnab in <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/news/liselot-verbrugges-film-harbour-sales-outfit-lines-up-for-vaccine-doc-pavilion-6-exclusive/5193443.article?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1o1Q6wnTp9zYAg1_FMr1_nunU7CDsodkgF01Ab7-1oMOG52fxaY5jD_p4_aem_AcfmfZg5N6_oofRtlKcI5LNwILIcTsAWyE5bGZVAMVvxw1cxovsMlT8ndt1c_o7BG8hg2uGAH-1LysmSUEOul6rD">Screen</a> today:&nbsp;Amsterdam-based sales outfit Film Harbour, launched earlier this year under CEO Liselot Verbrugge, has taken on world rights to <a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/pavilion-6">PAVILION 6</a> by by Croatian filmmaker Goran Dević, ahead of its Sheffield DocFest world premiere next month.&nbsp;Part of the BBC Storyville strand, the doc will premiere in Sheffield DocFest’s International Competition in June. It presents a humorous and humane snapshot of a unique moment in time: the waiting line for the Covid-19 vaccination. This is the fifth collaboration between producer Hrvoje Osvadić and director Dević.&nbsp;The company is also beginning sales on another Sheffield DocFest title, <a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/where-dragons-live">WHERE DRAGONS LIVE</a>, from Dutch director Suzanne Raes, whose credits include <a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/close-to-vermeer">CLOSE TO VERMEER</a>.&nbsp;WHERE DRAGONS LIVE is made by Dutch production company Docmakers and co-produced by Reece Cargan from Bombito Productions. Just announced as part of Sheffield Doc Fest’s Memories’ strand, it is a portrait of an eccentric family as they pack up the house they grew up in, reliving their childhood and all the memories it brings up, and trying to come to terms with who they now are.&nbsp;“We are pleased to continue the collaboration with producer Ilja Roomans and director Suzanne Raes,” said Verbrugge. ”WHERE DRAGONS LIVE is an imaginative, beautifully filmed documentary that we are happy to launch on the market,”&nbsp;She also hailed the “perfect timing” of PAVILION 6.&nbsp;“We can finally approach this tough topic, the Covid-19 pandemic, by looking back also on the surreal and humorous moments, as Goran Dević so impressively shows us,” she says.

Heading to Cannes with two fresh titles

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As published by Leo Barraclough in <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/global/liselot-verbrugge-film-harbour-berlinale-a-bit-of-a-stranger-the-secret-drawer-1235898660/?fbclid=IwAR20H2WaJ1cGf0T3fGs4TOT11YTZxM_HzCLYvX7C_l34oIlBDSAi8bFH5TA">Variety</a> today:&nbsp;"Liselot Verbrugge, former CEO of Deckert Distribution, has started a new chapter in her career with the launch of Film Harbour, a world sales company for non-fiction films. At this month’s European Film Market, Verbrugge will kick off sales for two feature documentaries selected for the Berlin Film Festival: Svitlana Lishchynska’s “<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/a-bit-of-a-stranger">A Bit of a Stranger</a>,” which plays in Panorama, and Costanza Quatriglio’s “<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/the-secret-drawer">The Secret Drawer</a>,” which screens in Forum.&nbsp;Film Harbour launched at the beginning of this year, with its base in Amsterdam, Netherlands. As well as taking over a selection of Deckert’s catalog, it is also adding new titles.Verbrugge will be attending the EFM together with festival and marketing manager Hanne Biermann, who joined Film Harbour from the former Deckert Distribution team.&nbsp;In “A Bit of a Stranger,” Lishchynska becomes also a protagonist as she follows four generations of women in her family, including herself, as they explore how their ethnic identity has been destroyed through the full-scale invasion by Russia of Ukraine.Growing up in Mariupol during the Soviet era, Lishchynska faced suppression of individuality. In independent Ukraine, she struggled to find her identity, impacting her daughter Alexandra’s upbringing. Today, each woman in the family faces a different political reality. When war disrupts their lives, Svitlana’s mother Valentina is forced to move from Mariupol to Kiev permanently, while Alexandra and her daughter flee to the U.K.All of them embark on an emotional journey shaped by new found memories and family history.&nbsp;“My family and I come from the eastern part of Ukraine, which was heavily influenced by Russia,” Lishchynska explains. “The regime that existed in the USSR was designed to destroy all individuality: a person should not stand out, meant nothing, and should live in poverty, without any kind of opinion. As a result, the country consists of a society vulnerable to propaganda. I am among them. Having neither individuality nor ethical foundations, I raised my daughter without passing any values on to her.”“After the full-scale invasion, we were all faced with a choice: to stay in Ukraine, which is bombed daily, sinking into trauma and where democracy is weakening, or to look for a calmer place on this planet. With this film, I want to show how the consciousness of people has been transformed under the influence of dictatorship and imperial policy of Russia, by combining a personal and political history, past and present.”&nbsp;“The Secret Drawer” sees Quatriglio return to her childhood home in Sicily. There, she opens its doors to archivists and librarians to donate to the Sicilian Region the universe of knowledge belonging to her journalist father. It is the library and archive of Giuseppe Quatriglio, a historical figure of the Giornale di Sicilia and other important newspapers, a writer, essayist, and friend of intellectuals of the 20th century.A sentimental journey begins through photographs, 8mm reels, and sound recordings made by Giuseppe Quatriglio from the 1940s onwards in Europe and around the world. These are accompanied by footage shot by the director between 2010 and 2011 with him, almost 90 years old. Palermo and Sicily, with their history and culture, are the point of observation of the world from which everything starts and to which everything returns.“&nbsp;Creating the film took shape from the intense work dedicated to my father’s library and archive, which began in January 2022 in preparation for the donation I made to the Sicilian Region,” Quatriglio says about her film. “The discovery of over 60,000 photographic negatives taken by my father from 1947 onwards, dozens of 8mm reels, and hundreds of hours of sound recordings made me realize that I had the extraordinary opportunity to create a film that would place a web of events and lived lives. The house where I grew up became the set for an elaborate tale that unfolds from its walls to embrace Sicily, Europe, and the world, spanning a century of history. In addition, I already filmed in my house between 2010 and 2011, having a dialogue with my nearly 90-year-old father, and filming him among his books and papers. Through cinema, emptying his library became now an act of filling. Because the space, transforming over the months in front of the camera, becomes a protagonist itself, alongside the narrated events and the history of us all.”&nbsp;Verbrugge commented: “Launching Film Harbour with two such powerful projects feels exceptional. Both Svitlana Lishchynska and Constanza Quatriglio created stories out of their most inner core: family history. While the starting point of their projects lies in similar roots, both films depict two very different worlds. A family is faced with the struggle of identity due to the consequences of a generation-long invasion, while a daughter is tracing back her father’s past to get closer to hers. It is the question of your own legacy in today’s society which captivates throughout both films, and we are happy to be part of their journeys.”&nbsp;“A Bit of a Stranger” is produced by Anna Kapustina for her Ukraine-based company Albatros Communicos Film and co-produced by ZDF/ARTE, Fredrik Lange Swedish-based company Vilda Bomben Film, Anthony Muir and Kristina Börjeson at Film i Vast.Kapustina produced Iryna Tsilyk’s “The Earth Is Blue As an Orange,” which world premiered in the 2020 competition at Sundance Film Festival, where it won the best director award, and was shown at Berlinale Generation, IDFA, CPH:DOX, HotDocs and more than 100 festivals afterwards.&nbsp;“The Secret Drawer” is produced by Indyca, Luce Cinecittà and RAI Cinema. Co-produced by Rough Cat and RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera, supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Film and Audiovisual Department, with additional support from the Sicily Region, the Sicilia Film Commission and the Film Commission Torino Piemonte.

New company, new logo, new titles for Berlinale!

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As published by Leo Barraclough in <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/liselot-verbrugge-deckert-distribution-1235784824/">Variety</a> today:&nbsp;"Deckert Distribution CEO Liselot Verbrugge is to launch a new company as the German sales agency prepares to wind down its operations in 2024, with founder Heino Deckert moving fully to production. Verbrugge is attending <a href="https://www.idfa.nl/en/">IDFA</a> documentary festival this week, where the Sundance awarded film “Against the Tide,” one of the agency’s bestsellers this year, is playing in the Best of Fest section.&nbsp;Amsterdam-based Verbrugge joined Deckert at the start of 2019 as head of sales and acquisition, starting with the roll out of double Academy Award nominated “Honeyland.” She took over the reins of the company as CEO two years ago.&nbsp;Verbrugge commented: “I am very happy with what we managed to build over the last few years here. But with the company officially residing in Leipzig, there were certain practical elements that became obstacles. Both in the legal sense of running a company from another country, as in sharing part of the German team with [Heino Deckert’s production company] Ma.ja.de.”&nbsp;Verbrugge added: “As Heino is now stepping out fully, it is time for a new phase. So after a lot of thinking and talking to Heino, I have decided to start over with a new company in the Netherlands. There will be a fresh start with a new name, but also some Deckert Distribution DNA, as part of the team will join me. I am very happy to also have festival manager Hanne Biermann on my side again, who I have been closely working with for over four years.&nbsp;“Twenty years after the launch of Deckert Distribution and with nearly 30 years of experience in international sales, founder Heino Deckert is closing this chapter, as the company will cease its active outreach in the course of 2024.&nbsp;“Having been involved in several companies throughout the years, and a well-known face in the international film industry, he now wants to fully focus on production.”&nbsp;Deckert said: “As my production company Ma.ja.de, besides documentaries, is making more and more fiction films, I feel it is time for me to stop working in distribution. We have just started the release of our Venice title ‘The Universal Theory’ by Timm Kröger, have another title in production right now, and several more in the pipeline. So it’s good for me now to concentrate just on this.”&nbsp;Deckert Distribution’s successes over the years include titles like 2010 Oscar nominated “Rabbit a La Berlin” by Bartek Konopka and Piotr Rosolowski, “Heimat Is a Space in Time” by Thomas Heise and the afore mentioned Sundance hit “Honeyland” by Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska. With such titles as “Against the Tide” and “Close to Vermeer,” 2023 has been a strong year for the company, both in theatrical and broadcast/VOD sales.&nbsp;A handful of films from the Deckert catalog will also follow Verbrugge to the new company, but she is not intending to have a catalog of the same size. Verbrugge added: “Through the years Deckert Distribution has built up a vast back catalog with so many strong, award-winning titles. But with the changes in the market we also see the benefit of being lighter as a company. With less films and a less complicated structure we are more flexible to move within this ever changing landscape.”&nbsp;Preparations for the new company, that will have its launch on Jan. 1, 2024, are now in full swing. Verbrugge said: “It is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun to build the new set up. We have many exciting plans for the new year, including new titles. There will be a new admin department joining us in the Netherlands and we are looking forward to a start full of new energy.”&nbsp;The new company name will be announced in the following months."

Big News in Variety

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/against-the-tide">AGAINST THE TIDE</a> by Sarvnik Kaur can add another accolade to its growing list, as it has been awarded the Best Documentary Film Award at the <a href="https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/apsa-nominees-winners/2023/best-documentary-film-2/against-the-tide">Asia Pacific Screen Awards</a> during the ceremony on November 3rd at the Gold Coast, Australia!&nbsp;The Asia Pacific Screen Awards, APSA, are hosted annually in Australia, and recognize cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the vast Pacific Region of 78 countries and areas.&nbsp;

APSA Award for Best Documentary Film goes to AGAINST THE TIDE

Bombay fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the great Koli knowledge system – a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. AGAINST THE TIDE is a tale of friendship and rising resentment between the two men, as close as brothers, against the backdrop of an adoring sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.

Two indigenous Koli fishermen in Bombay, are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.

Against the Tide

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/against-the-tide">AGAINST THE TIDE</a> is off to a great start in the fall awards season!&nbsp;Sarvnik Kaur's film has just been shortlisted for Best Feature Documentary at the 39th Annual <a href="https://www.documentary.org/awards/enter">International Documentary Association Awards</a>.Since 1984, the IDA Documentary Awards have recognized a diverse range of emerging and established filmmakers, and expanded to include recognition of artistic direction, audio documentaries, documentary journalism, and music documentaries, as well as individual honors such as the Courage Under Fire Award and Career Achievement Award.&nbsp;In addition to this, the film is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the <a href="https://awards.thegotham.org/">Gotham Awards</a>, which honor visionary talent in front of and behind the camera.&nbsp;The good news doesn't stop there, as the film has also been nominated for Best Documentary Film at the <a href="https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/apsa-nominees-winners?nomination-winner-name=nominee">Asia Pacific Screen Awards</a>. &nbsp;The Asia Pacific Screen Awards recognize and promote the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the vast Asia Pacific region of 78 countries and areas.

IDA Best Feature Shortlist and Gotham Award Nomination

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/land-of-upright-people">LAND OF UPRIGHT PEOPLE</a> by Christian Carmosino Mereu has won the Seventh Hour ('La Settima Ora') Award and Special Mention in the 'Lost Italian Cinema' section at the <a href="https://www.persofilmfestival.it/en/#:~:text=Perso%20is%20a%20social%20themed%20documentary%20film%20festival&amp;text=During%20the%20Festival%20all%20screenings,from%20all%20over%20the%20world.">Perugia Social Film Festival</a>!&nbsp;The aim of the Perugia Social Film Festival is to portray all of the different aspects and widest meanings of the social world through the Cinema of the Real.

LAND OF UPRIGHT PEOPLE wins Seventh Hour Award in Perugia

October 2014, the capital of Burkina Faso Ouagadougou is the scene of mass demonstrations against a dictatorship in power for 27 years. An unarmed uprising kicks off the dictator and subsequently resists to a coup attempt. In 2015 the country votes freely for the first time in its history, but the revolution is not followed by a real change, especially regarding economic exploitation of the country by foreign companies. Today the weakness of the government allows the advancement of Al Qaeda and IS, which has put the region under attack causing thousands of victims and hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The film follows this process during one year through daily life of four burkinabes made up of resistance and struggle. An engaged musician, a candidate for elections, a miner who is unemployed because of his political commitment, and a mother in a poor and numerous family in the capital Ouagadougou. All of them share a hope for change that is concentrated in the important polls’ deadline.

Four Bukinabé citizens during the revolution of 2014 and its aftermath: A famous raggae artist, a candidate in the upcoming elections, a miner and a mother with a large family to care for.

Il paese delle persone integre

English, French, Italian

Land of Upright People

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/against-the-tide">AGAINST THE TIDE</a> by Sarvnik Kaur has won the award for Best Documentary at the <a href="https://isaff.ca/">International South Asian Film Festival Canada</a> 2023!&nbsp;&nbsp;From the jury statement:&nbsp;“This year's winner is an immersive and masterfully filmed documentary that blurs the lines between narrative storytelling and reality. The film provides a unique South Asian perspective on the fishing industry, exploring the clash between modernization and tradition, class differences, and a multifaceted narrative touching on friendship, climate change, and politics. It delivers a poignant message about global warming's impact on the fishing industry and the planet, without the need for narration. The familial characters all share a common theme: the struggle for survival, making this film a deeply compelling and thought-provoking cinematic experience.”&nbsp;iSAFF celebrates diversity and champions inclusion through films, arts, and culture to help build a stronger multicultural society and economy.

Best Documentary for AGAINST THE TIDE at iSAFF

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/outside">OUTSIDE</a> by Olha Zhurba has received the Award of Honor in the Lifelong Learning Division at the Japan Prize 2023!&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhk.or.jp/jp-prize/english/index.html">The Japan Prize</a>, hosted by NHK, is an international contest dedicated to, and celebrating educational content around the world. It aims to foster mutual understanding between societies and cultures by recognizing works that make innovative use of visual media.&nbsp;&nbsp;The trophy will be awarded during the opening ceremony on November 20.&nbsp;Visitors of the festival will also be able to watch the film on the big screen between November 21 and 23.

Award of Honor for OUTSIDE at the Japan Prize 2023

After his mother was deprived of parental rights, 13-years-old Roma escapes to the Ukrainian revolution, becoming a part of the Maidan uprising. His childhood experience of survival in a devastating environment and street skills turns into his advantages as he engages in the most dangerous events of the revolution. The people around him admire his courage. Here, for the first time in his life, Romani boy Roma is accepted by society and feels that he is necessary.&nbsp; In the aftermath of the revolution, Roma ends up at a boarding school; however, instead of the necessary psychological and social rehabilitation, the system only provides some conditional assistance. When he turns 18, Roma is expelled from the boarding school without a chance of graduating, accommodation or money. He returns to his native, criminogenic town of Yahotyn and gradually immerses into the criminal world. His older brother Kolya, who was just released from prison and has an influence on Roma, is among the few people who care about him. Kolya shares his experience of survival outside of jail. The independent life is a challenge for Roma, and the camera witnesses his insignificant efforts to cope with normal existence: he finishes his studies in 9th grade, tries to find a job, and to abstain from drugs. Still, all his efforts are futile. However, hope is always looming somewhere in the future.

The 7-year journey of Roma, once a poster boy for the Ukrainian Revolution, who is released from the orphanage at 18 into the adult world with nothing but a knife and a lighter.

Назовні

English, Dutch, Danish

Outside

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<a href="https://filmharbour.com/films/pure-unknown">PURE UNKNOWN</a> has won the Special Jury Award in the International Competition at <a href="https://dmzdocs.com/eng/">DMZ International Documentary Film Festival</a> in South Korea!&nbsp;The festival showcases films dealing with peace, coexistence and reconciliation.&nbsp;It doesn't stop there, as earlier this month it also received a special mention in the main competition at <a href="https://www.ajbdoc.ba/">AJB DOC Film Festival</a> in Sarajevo! The jury stated that “this extraordinary documentary delves into a profound human story. The authors of this film, through a powerful cinematic approach, depict the heroic struggle of one individual against the entire system.”

Jury Award & Special Mention for PURE UNKNOWN

Every night nameless bodies land in Dr. Cristina Cattaneo’s autopsy room. She calls them the Pure Unknown. These Pure Unknown often belong to the fringes of society. They are homeless, sex workers, runaway teenagers. Lately, they have mostly been migrants, rejected by the Mediterranean Sea onto the shores of Italy. If all rights belong to the living, nothing is left to the dead. So what happens when the dead have lost their identity? In the face of this growing multitude, no one seems concerned about their right to dignity. No one but Cristina. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Nameless bodies land in Cristina’s autopsy room. Lately, they have mostly been migrants, rejected by the Mediterranean Sea. No one seems concerned about their right to dignity. No one but Cristina.  