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dok.incubator preview is an exclusive showcase of eight fine-cut documentaries just before their premiere. This year, the event takes places in Amsterdam on November 12 and online on November 28 (invitations only).
When the state is oppressing you, you can count on your sisters.
Every third woman in the world will have an abortion, that’s a fact. But in Poland, the abortion ban protects a fetus over a woman’s life. Luckily, there is “Abortion Dream Team”, four bold women running a hotline to support their sisters in need.
Working around the clock, they brag on TikTok about facilitating 100 abortions a day and shock people with the slogan "Abortion is OK!”. They gather a huge following empowering hundreds of thousands of women while pissing off all conservatives and the government.
This dangerous battle leads to a complete burnout of one team member and to the Political prosecution of another, threatening her with three years in prison. As the women reach their breaking point, will the mission and sisterhood of Abortion Dream Team survive?
Director: Karolina Domagalska
Editor: Laura Pawela
Producers: Anna Stylińska, Katarzyna Ślesicka, Kristoffer Rus
Producer's contact: stylowa@dokincubator
Sales contact: TBC
Produced by: Paprika Studios
Co-produced by: My Way Studio
Estimated date of release: January 2024
Amber is one of the many happiness agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way?
Can you measure happiness? The country of Bhutan invented Gross National Happiness to do just that, and Amber is one of the agents who travels door to door to meet people and see how they feel. But he hasn’t gotten around to measuring his own happiness level. Still living with his mother at the age of 40, he’s nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love. But as one of the Nepali minority who were deprived of their citizenship, Amber isn’t the most eligible bachelor. We embark with Amber on his bittersweet journey to encounter Bhutanese from all walks of life. At the end of the road we are reminded of the fragility and beauty of our own happiness. No matter where we live.
Directors: Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbo
Editor: Peter Sass
Producers: Noemi Veronika Szakonyi, Mate Artur Vincze
Co-producer: Arun Bhattarai
Producer's contact: vinczemate@dokincubator
Sales contact: Cinephil, Shoshi Korman, shoshi@cinephil.com
Produced by: Match Frame Productions
Co-produced by: Sound Pictures
Estimated date of release: January 2024
Ex-convict Dalibor (23) tries to save his family and break a generational cycle of trauma and abuse while becoming a fakir in local shabby circus.
When the prison gates open after two years, kind-hearted Dalibor (23) is greeted by his damaged family. The only one missing is his younger brother Kevin (12), who lives with their abusive alcoholic father. Dalibor confronts his father and helps his mom with the fight for Kevin’s custody to spare him from further abuse. Caught up in a vicious circle of pain, Dalibor finds refuge in a shabby wandering circus. There, he learns to heal his scars by becoming a fakir.
Director: Roman Ďuriš
Editor: Jakub Fišer
Producer: Simona Bago Móciková
Co-producers: Michal Sikora, Adrianna Rędzia
Producer's contact: simona@brightsight.sk
Sales contact: N/A
Produced by: Bright Sight Pictures
Co-produced by: Lonely Production, Lumisenta Film Foundation
Estimated date of release: February 2024
My sister Nasreen is passionate about two things: her family and her singing. But her arranged marriage is falling apart and singing is forbidden for women in Iran.
Growing up in a loving middle-class family in Tehran, my older sister Nasreen used to fill our apartment with her beautiful voice. She loved music and gave me the courage to become a filmmaker. Today, Nasreen is trapped in an arranged marriage to Mohamad, who disapproved of her singing. She’s a housewife with two kids, suffering from depression and loneliness. As she struggles with her identity, her lost passion for singing ignites--a passion forbidden to women in Iran. Filming my sister for the past seven years, this was my turn supporting her. Nasreen takes steps towards her dream as she breaks free from her marriage. Her emancipation inspires change, not only in her children but also in me, our other sister, our mother, and hopefully our country.
Director, editor, producer: Leila Amini
Producer: Afsaneh Salari
Co-producer: Vadim Jendreyko
Producer's contact: afsaneh@docmaniacs.com
Sales contact: N/A
Produced by: Docmaniacs
Co-produced by: Mira Film
Estimated date of release: May 2024
We follow Gosia for 2 years through her ups and downs as she fights to be heard and understood in a society where any form of „otherness” is met with brutal rejection.
Gosia’s schizophrenia has kept her away from home for most of her adolescence. After 7 years in and out of mental hospitals she is returning to her family and friends. All she wants is a chance at ordinary life just like any other young woman. But how do you get by when inner voices are a threat to you and your loved ones? And how do parents cope with the constant fear of losing their child?
Director: Małgorzata Imielska
Editor: Grażyna Gradoń
Producers: Adrianna Rędzia, Janusz Skałkowski
Co-producer: Agnieszka Balicka
Producer's contact: ada.redzia@gmail.com
Sales contact: N/A
Produced by: Kalejdoskop Film Studio
Co-produced by: Polish National TV
Estimated date of release: January 2024
The Bandit Radio offers convicts a chance to tell their own stories, but for Mina – running a prison based radio show proves to be a bumpy ride.
Mina believes in two things: the power of words and the right to have a second chance in life. This has led her to create a groundbreaking prison-based show: The Bandit Radio. But it's one thing to believe, it's another thing to make it work in a society that couldn’t care less. For the convicts Dennis and Josh, the radio is a lifeline. For Rune, an ex-convict filled with volatile anger, Mina goes beyond her mandate. Where others see uncontrolled violence, Mina sees a familiar armor. As different as they are, she recognizes herself in him.
Between the difficult rehabilitation of her beloved convicts, and bureaucratic roadblocks, Mina realizes that the task may prove impossible. But her determination makes her go on at the cost of her personal life.
Director: Kari Anne Moe
Editor: Karsten Meinich
Producer: Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Producer's contact: gudmundur@fuglene.no
Sales contact: N/A
Produced by: Fuglene
Estimated date of release: January 2024
A team of ageing Ukrainian cheerleaders hold on to their friendship as each navigates the trauma of war in her own way.
With the recent escalation of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the seemingly unbreakable bond of a vibrant cheerleading team of 50+ year old women called "Nice Ladies" is challenged. They face impossible choices between motherland and grandmotherhood, between staying and leaving. Core team member Sveta flees with her family to the Netherlands, while captain Valia and coach Nadia stay behind in the repeatedly bombed city of Kharkiv. Torn apart, the ladies try to keep contact to hold on to their sanity amid terror, heartbreak, and the plague of Sveta's survivor’s guilt. Will the team be able to reunite, save their sisterhood, and find a common language through the emerging scars of war?
Director: Mariia Ponomarova
Editor: Annelotte Medema
Producer: Rogier Kramer
Producer's contact: rogier@labyrintfilm.nl
Sales contact: TBA
Produced by: Labyrint Film
Co-produced by: TABOR Production
Estimated date of release: early 2024
A Swedish filmmaker discovers the story of two female race-car drivers who became world famous in the 60’s. Through their adventures caught on 8mm film she goes on a journey of self-discovery.
Filmmaker Milla Bergh (36) has never driven a car in her life. But after meeting Ewy (94) one of Sweden's first professional race car drivers, she starts dreaming of getting a driver’s license. Milla finds Ewy’s diary from 1962. She gets drawn into the story of how Ewy and her co-driver Ursula rise to fame as they are signed by the Mercedes-Benz racing team.
The same year they win the world’s most dangerous race “Argentina Grand Prix” as the only female team ever participating, shattering society's expectations on what a woman is capable of. Ursula filmed their adventures with her 8mm color camera, leaving us with hours of incredible material. Inspired by her two role-models, Milla questions her own place in life: Is she in the passenger's, or driver's-seat?
Director: Milla Bergh
Editors: Mikael K. Ebbesen, Dominika Daubenbüchel
Producer: Martin Bergh
Producer's contact: martin@escathon.se
Sales contact: N/A
Produced by: Escathon
Estimated date of release: January 2025
