The 2010 edition of Dokufest in the ancient city of Prizren, Kosovo, starts tomorrow, July 31, and runs through the 8th of August. Like many small areas with nascent film industries, lucky local audiences and international guests will get a chance to partake of a program containing 156 films from 34 different countries, a truly international selection of the best of world nonfiction film. Because of where Prizren is located, audiences will also get to take advantage of warm-weather screenings amongst the naturally beautiful terrain--a river does, indeed, run through it. (Pictured, one of three open-air theaters at the festival, the new Fortress Cinema, installed on the highest peak of the town.)
Executive director, Aliriza Arënliu, visionary artistic director, Veton Nurkollari, short film programmer, Samir Karahoda, and their team have put together a fantastic program with five competitions, a look at the best of international cinema (out of competition), a special strand of films from Finland (have we figured out that something special is happening in Finland, yet?), a spotlight on Afghanistan, a Zelimer Zilnik retrospective, a shorts program by Philippine wunderkind, Khavan De La Cruz, Cities on Speed, and much more. As well, there is special programming for kids, workshops, and tours of the local area. Sean Farnel, Hot Docs' head of programming, has called Dokufest "one of the best festival experiences I've ever had."
Look for impressions, wrap-ups, and reviews here on SIM, Hammer to Nail and in DOX Magazine from the new Republic of Kosovo.
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