50 Metres

IMS at CPH:DOX 2025

IMS works with documentary films as a tool for change. Many of the films we have supported are being screened at this year’s CPH:DOX festival 19-30 March.

This year, CPH:DOX and IMS are proudly presenting films, filmmakers and film stakeholders from Palestine, Ukraine, Egypt, Georgia and Iraq. IMS is sponsoring and presenting the CPH:DOX F:ACT AWARD 2024 and throughout the festival, we are hosting several industry events to support and promote filmmakers from majority world countries.

See the full CPH:DOX 2025 programme here: CPH:DOX (cphdox.dk)

FILM SCREENINGS 

PALESTINE

FROM GROUND ZERO – UNTOLD STORIES FROM GAZA
Various Directors / Palestine, France, Qatar and Jordan / 2024 / 115 min 
In the heart of Gaza, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi brings together local filmmakers to document their own lives and stories while living under war, starvation and displacement.

19 March, 18:30, Empire Bio + talk
After the film you can meet IMS Regional Director, Michael Irving Jensen, and Danish-Palestinian Reem Daniel, who has roots in the Gaza Strip. Together they will use the film and the stories from Gaza as a starting point and talk about experiencing the war from a distance..

22 March, 16.30, Dagmar Teatret

27 March, 16.30, Dagmar Teatret

28 March, 17:30, Bremen + event
After the screening, the authors of the book ‘The Palestinian’ will read excerpts from personal accounts that make up the book and share their experiences of being Palestinian in Denmark.

30 March, 14.30, Kunsthal Charlottenborg+ event
Head of Communications at the Red Cross, Klaus Nørskov, introduces the film, which is followed by a conversation between psychologist Mustafa Yajousi and journalist and film director Nagieb Khaja. Also experience the VR works ‘Sense and War’ and ‘If War Comes to You’ after the screening.

EGYPT

50 METRES
Youmna Khattab / Egypt, Denmark and Saudi Arabia / 2025 / World Premiere / 72 min
Deeply charming Egyptian debut from an outswimming pool in Cairo where an adult daughter’s relationship with her good-natured father is universally recognisable about life’s big questions. 

24 March, 19.15, Dagmar + event
Join us for a festive evening as we celebrate the world premiere of ’50 Meters’ by Yomna Khattab. After the film, we’ll offer a beer from TO ØL.

26 March, 21.15, Kunsthal Charlottenborg

30 March, 14.15, Dagmar Teatret

GEORGIA

9-MONTH CONTRACT
Ketevan Vashagashvili/ Georgia, Bulgaria, and Germany / 2025 / World Premiere / 79 min
Nine months of pregnancy for 14,000 dollars? A long friendship between director and protagonist evolves into a film about surrogate motherhood and dignity in an unregulated industry in Tbilisi. The team is CHANGE alumni. 

26 March, 19:00, Cinemateket + Q&A with director

29 March, 14:30, Park Bio + debate
After the film screening, we invite you to a debate about surrogacy and the ever-important question of ethics and inclusion when it comes to surrogacy and women’s reproductive rights.
Language: Danish

30 March, 16.45, Kunsthal Charlottenborg

UKRAINE

SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH
Olha Zhurba / Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden and France / 2024 / 95 min
Olha Zhurba paints a panoramic picture of life in Ukraine during Russia’s tragic war. An elegiac masterpiece from one of the country’s most talented filmmakers. 

20 March, 16.45, Empire Bio

22 March, 14.00, Grand Teatret

28 March, 19.30, Røde Kors frivillighus + talk
Meet experts on Ukraine and migration at the Red Cross Volunteer House. CPH:DOX presents a special cinema over five days at the Red Cross Community House. For this screening, meet Head of Asylum Anne La Cour, former delegate in Ukraine Julie Bergstrand-Christensen, country manager in Ukraine Jakob Harbo, program manager in the Migration and Refugee Section, Christel Voldby Winther, head of the asylum centers Kasper Koch and Ganna Goloktionova from Mental Health Psykosocial Support Centre.
Language: Danish

30 March, 12.00, Kunsthal Charlottenborg + talk
What is it like to be a young Ukrainian while the war rages? Conversation between four youth ambassadors from the Ukranian-Danish Youth House and journalist Emil Rottbøll.
Language: English

EGYPT

THE BRINK OF DREAMS
Nada Riyadh & Ayman El Amir / Egypt, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia / 2024 / 102 min
Winner of the Documentary Award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. A group of lively Egyptian girls start a theatre troupe using the city streets as a stage to share their dreams and opinions. 

19 March, 19.00, Grand Teatret

21 March, 17.30, Gloria Biograf

29 March, 11.00, Statens Museum for Kunst

F:ACT AWARD 

Together with the Danish Union of Journalists, IMS sponsors this year’s F:ACT AWARD. The award honours films that operate in the space where investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking.

The nominated films for the F:ACT AWARD 2025 are:  

INDUSTRY

CPH:FORUM 

At CPH:FORUM, top producers and highly acknowledged directors from all over the world take the stage to pitch 30 carefully selected projects of documentary features and series in the intersection of non-fiction, fiction, visual art, journalism and science.  

CHANGE 

CHANGE is our co-production training course for documentary filmmakers made in collaboration with CPH:DOX, EAVE and the National Film School of Denmark. 

The training course consists of three week-long workshops culminating at CPH:DOX where the filmmakers present their projects at the industry section of CPH:DOX: the CPH:Forum which is an international market of TV-stations, distributers, sales agencies, co-producers and funders. 

Eight documentary films in the making are presented by the producer and director – and the films are coming from all the European Neighbourhood Countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. 

The first CHANGE group presented their films in March 2022 – and this year we are with group number four. 

INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS

CPH:DOX welcomes delegations of producers from all around the world enriching our industry programme and benefitting from our specially curated networking events and tailored mentorship programmes. 

BAGHDAD FILM INSTITUTE (IRAQ) 
The Baghdad Film Institute is an Iraqi institute dedicated to training, development, capacity building and knowledge empowerment in Iraq’s film and media sectors. Focused on advancing the technical and professional skills of filmmakers, it integrates global expertise with local narratives to promote high-quality storytelling, foster industry networks and empower the creative economy. 

Participants: 

  • Mohammed Alghadban 
  • Noor Zidane 
  • Hayder Helo 

UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE & DOCUDAYS UA (UKRAINE) 
Led by the Ukrainian Institute in collaboration with Docudays UA, the Ukrainian delegation presents five filmmakers who aim to promote their new projects. 

The Ukrainian Institute is a public institution affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Docudays UA is the leading documentary film festival in Ukraine. 

Participants: 

  • Darya Bassel, Docudays UA 
  • Iryna Kyporenko, Ukrainian Institute 
  • Eugene Rachkovsky, Tabor 
  • Kateryna Ptashka, Eleron Pictures 
  • Kateryna Yahodka, producer 
  • Regina Maryanovska Davidzon, Real Pictures 
  • Svitlana Nikolienko, Mir and Co Production 

IMS’ support to documentary filmmakers from the MENA region and the Eastern European countries is funded by the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme, New Democracy Fund and SIDA.

IMS has supported hundreds of documentary films since we started our documentary programme more than 15 years ago. See our film catalogue and read more about why and how we work with documentary filmmakers here: Documentary film | IMS (mediasupport.org)

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