2026_FORUM_LETTER TO ALVIN_Main still[59]

Source: CPH: Dox

‘Letter to Alvin’

Feature documentary projects from the directors of Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989, and Apolonia, Apolonia and are among those selected for CPH:Forum, the financing and co-production event of the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), It will take place from March 17-19 in Denmark.

The Forum will present 30 documentary projects spanning early to late development and production. In total, 101 directors and producers representing 23 countries will participate. 

Lea Glob, whose Apolonia, Apolonia won the IDFA international competition in 2022, is behind CPH: Forum project Letters of Hope, which sees Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk follow the scars of war across Ukraine’s wounded landscapes, carrying her own trauma into a global fight to recognise ecocide as a war crime.

David Borenstein, one of the directors of Mr. Nobody Against Putin, which premiered at Sundance last year, will attend with Living In Our Heads, produced by Helle Faber of Denmark’s Made in Copenhagen.

Details of the project are being kept under wraps and will be made available during the pitch in March, suggesting it will be another politically sensitive film. Mr Nobody Against Putin was about a Russian schoolteacher and shed light on the indoctrination of the country’s children.

Sweden’s Göran Hugo Olsson is one of the directors of Letter To Alvin about the life and work of Alvin Baltrop, a largely unrecognised but important African American artist who chronicled the LGBTQ+ experience at the fringes of New York’s waterfront in the 1970s and 1980s. Olsson’s Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 world premiered out of competition at Venice in 2024.

As part of CPH:Forum, the CPH:Roughcut selection will showcase five upcoming films at the rough-cut stage that are aiming to premiere in 2026. They include Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir’s anticipated Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me. 

For the fifth year, the Change program will present documentary projects and filmmakers from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

CPH:Forum has confirmed200 financiers and industry representatives will take part this year, including streaming execs from Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and HBO Europe; broadcasters Arte, ZDF, VPRO, BBC, France Télévisions, National Geographic, POV, NHK, Al Jazeera, and Rai. 

“The 2026 CPH:Forum selection tells the story of the times we live in through the lenses of filmmakers who challenge the status quo, take risks and engage in dialogue with the world. We envision this edition as not just a showcase, but as a vital space where the transformative power of documentary in defending democracy and fostering understanding in these challenging times is revealed once again, “ said Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry and training at CPH: Dox. 

CPH:Forum 2026 projects

  • Artifacts Of War (Sp-Chilel), Dir. Jorge Caballero. Prod. Anna Giralt Gris, Diego Pino Anguita
  • Blackest Ever Black (Ire-UK), Dir. Roisin Agnew. Prod. Alison Millar, Jack O’Brien, Roisin Agnew
  • Bromansky (Fin-Fr-Den-Nor), Dir. Arthur Franck. Prod. Sandra Enkvist, Anders Lindström, Rémi Grelletty, Sara Skrodzka, Thorvald Nilsen, Esther Nissen
  • The Calling (Den), Dir. Beniamino Barrese. Prod. Harry Vaughn, Beniamino Barrese
  • Children Of The Moon Land (Slov-Cz-Fr), Dir. Roman Ďuriš. Prod. Richard Šimeček, Michal Sikora, Albin Bourgeois
  • Cosmofonia (Fr), Dir. Verena Paravel. Prod. Florence Cohen
  • Dark Horse (Swe-Kenya-US), Dir. Lauren DeFilippo, Sam Soko. Prod. Amanda Pollak
  • The Day After (Fr-Israel), Dir. Yuval Orr, Aziz Abu Sarah. Prod. Margaux Missika, Liel Maghen
  • Director’s Cut [working title] (Rom-Den), Dir. Radu Ciorniciuc. Prod. Tereza Šimíková
  • The Elephant In The Room (US), Dir. Marley McDonald. Prod. John Cardellino
  • Everything Is Red And Grey (Pal-Can), Dir. Shourideh C. Molavi, Shrouq Alaila. Prod. Shourideh C. Molavi, Henry Plavidal, Laura Poitras
  • Face Value (US), Dir. Faye Tsakas. Prod. Riel Roch Decter
  • God Of The In-Between (India-US), Dir. Archana Phadke. Prod. Aman Mann, Shaunak Sen, Jim Wilson
  • Green Gold (Fr-US), Dir. Ivonne Serna, Sélim Benzeghia. Prod. Geoffrey Livolsi, Alex Pritz, Will N. Miller, Sélim Benzeghia
  • Joud (Ger-Neth), Dir. Diana El Jeiroudi. Prod. Diana El Jeiroudi, Orwa Nyrabia
  • Last Standing Women (Ger), Dir. Talal Derki. Prod. Charlotte Reekers, Talal Derki
  • Last Weekend In October (US-Nig), Dir. Nosarieme Garrick. Prod. Chioma Onyenwe
  • Letter To Alvin (Swe), Dir. Hilton Als, Göran Hugo Olsson. Prod. Tobias Janson, Melissa Lindgren
  • Letters Of Hope (Arm), Dir. Lea Glob. Prod. Sigrid Dyekjær, Eric Holland, Konstanze Speidel, Mstyslav Chernov
  • Living In Our Heads (Confidential) (Den), Dir. David Borenstein. Prod. Helle Faber
  • Matrescence (UK), Dir. Kathryn Ferguson. Prod. Eleanor Emptage, Rosie Crerar
  • My Father The Iceman (Pol-Den), Dir. Łukasz Kowalski. Prod. Anna Mazerant, Łukasz Kowalski, Signe Byrge Sørensen
  • The Niki De Saint Phalle Documentary Project (Fr), Dir. Matt Wolf, Svetlana Zill. Prod. Emma Lepers
  • Queens Ballroom (US-Fr-Bel), Dir. Hansen Lin, Siyi Chen. Prod. Hansen Lin, Siyi Chen, Clara Vuillermoz, Laurence Buelens
  • Skeptics (US), Dir. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz. Prod. James Doolittle, Thomas Lennon
  • State Of Immortality (Den-US), Dir. Piotr Winiewicz. Prod. Henrik Underbjerg
  • Sweet Mystery Of Life (US), Dir. Robert Greene. Prod. Bennett Elliott, Susan Bedusa, Douglas Tirola
  • The Silent Network (Den-Nor), Dir. Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Noa Agnete Metz. Prod. Vibeke Vogel, Nina Leidersdorff, Malthe Koch
  • Untitled UNRWA Archive Documentary (Can), Dir. Benedict Moran, Ramzy Haddad. Prod. Benedict Moran, Ramzy Haddad
  • We Are Volcanoes (HK-Nor), Dir. Sharon Yeung, Natalie Chao. Prod. Sharon Yeung, Jillian Schlesinger

CPH:Roughcut projects

  • The Dawn Of The Post Plantation (Neth-Bel-UK-DRC-US-It-Indo), Dir. Ced’art Tamasala, Renzo Martens. Prod. Lea Fels, Isidoor Roebers 
  • Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me (Mor-Fr-Den-Nor-Chile), Dir. Asmae El Moudir. Prod. Emma Lepers, Monica Hellström, Asmae El Moudir
  • Rescue (Den-It-Ice-Ger), Dir. Sine Plambech. Prod. Sofie Husum Johannesen, Andreas Dalsgaard, Tereza Šimíková
  • The Siege Of Paradise (Ire-Switz), Dir. Gar O’Rourke. Prod. Andrew Freedman, Ken Wardrop, Jessie Hayden, Luzius Fischer, Philipp Ritler
  • War On Women (Estonia-Rom-Ger), Dir. Maris Salumets. Prod. Elina Litvinova, Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Gregor Streiber, Maris Salumets

 

Change projects

  • 10 Things [WT] (Georgia-Fr), Dir. Niniko Lekishvili. Prod. Ana Kvichidze, Irina Gelashvili, Estelle Robin You
  • 3 Daughters (Mol), Dir. Ana Gherciu. Prod. Ana Gherciu
  • Life On Mars (Armenia), Dir. Mery Aghakhayan. Prod. Karina Simonyan
  • My Home (Azerbaijan), Dir. Ulviyya Ahmadova. Prod. Nijat Dadashov
  • My School Is Seized (Ukr), Dir. Halyna Lavrinets. Prod. Oleksandr Ivanov
  • Sounds Of Revolution (Georgia-Fr), Dir. Nikoloz Bezhanishvili. Prod. Nikoloz Bezhanishvili, Victor Ede
  • Total Mess (Swe-Ukr), Dir. Oleksandra Horiienko. Prod. Alex Shiriaieff, Kateryna Yahodka
  • UXXR: Is There Sex After The USSR? (Armenia), Dir. Lilit Movsisyan. Prod. Sona Margaryan 

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