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Circle Women Doc Accelerator has selected four documentary projects by women and gender-expansive filmmakers for its annual showcase at the upcoming Cannes Docs program of the Cannes Film Market.
The selection marks the sixth consecutive year that the international training program has presented works-in-progress from its alumnae during the market event.
This year’s lineup features a mix of established talent and emerging voices, including award-winning director Mina Keshavarz (“The Art of Living in Danger,” “Profession: Documentarist”), first-time feature director Anna Khazaradze (producer of “9 Month Contract,” which recently earned recognition at CPH), and newcomers Ramona Mos and Rachel Close, whose projects have attracted support from noted production companies Fünfer Films (Germany) and Manifest Film (Romania).
The four films selected for the showcase are:
“Berliner” (Georgia)Director: Anna KhazaradzeProduction company: 1991 Productions (Georgia)The film follows Nana, a Georgian translator in Berlin who serves as a crucial link for asylum seekers, helping them share their stories and navigate the challenges of starting new lives. As German authorities push toward remote translation systems, both Nana’s profession and her personal connections face an uncertain future.
“Dear” (Germany/Norway)Director: Ramona MosProduction companies: Fünfer Film (Germany) and Stray Dogs (Norway)A personal documentary chronicling the director’s six-year journey with her mother and close friends through cycles of courage, despair and resilience. Their quest for justice evolves into a testament to preserving reality and solidarity in the face of overwhelming challenges.
“Hope Against Hope” (Norway/France)Director: Mina KeshavarzProduction companies: MinDoc Film Production, FolkFilms (Norway) and Ici et La Production (France)Spanning 25 years, this intimate documentary examines how political and social conflicts shape personal identity through the filmmaker’s own story.
“Something Familiar” (Romania/U.K.)Director: Rachel CloseProduction companies: Manifest Film (Romania) and My Accomplice (U.K.)While helping a fellow adoptee locate her birth mother, British-Romanian filmmaker Rachel Close investigates her own family history, launching an international search for missing sisters and uncovering a legacy of abuse. The documentary explores the creative potential of self-authorship as a means to confront past traumas and create new narratives.
The Circle Women Doc Accelerator showcase has established a track record for identifying breakthrough documentaries. Previous selections include Lin Alluna’s “Twice Colonized,” which won the top prize at Docs-in-Progress 2022 before premiering at Sundance and opening both CPH and Hot Docs; Maja Prelog’s “Cent’anni,” winner of the 2021 Docs-in-Progress award; and Anna Nemet’s “Beauty of the Beast,” which received the Nordisk Panorama Award in 2020.
Other notable alumni include Maka Gogaladze’s “Ever Since I Knew Myself,” which was awarded at Cannes Docs 2023 and premiered in the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Réel 2024, and Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc’s “Tata,” which debuted at TIFF in 2024 before screening and winning awards at festivals worldwide.
“We are happy to present the four cinematic, personal and political films by Circle alumni in Cannes 2025 for the sixth time. This showcase will also mark the celebration of Circle seventh’s birthday,” said Biljana Tutorov, Circle’s program director. “We are ready to step in to a new cyclus with a great community of more than 120 doc and fiction women and gender-expansive filmmakers who have developed their projects in Circle. Together we work to expand the notion of a safe space we co-created together, inspired by new possibilities and technologies.”
Tutorov added: “This year we will highlight another four talented filmmakers from across the world, navigating and negotiating the personal, political and ethical issues in their films. We invite you to meet four distinct and idiosyncratic works: from cinema verité and black & white drama to mixing archives and virtual reality, interrogating the nature of memory and image, and the complexity of the present moment between life and destruction.”
The showcase will take place May 18.
Circle operates two key initiatives: Women Doc Accelerator, a year-round training program open to projects and professionals at all stages, and Fiction Orbit, an intensive residential workshop for mid-career filmmakers developing scripted projects launched in 2023.
The program is co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA and organized under the patronage of Eurimages, with Wake Up Films (Serbia) serving as the organizing entity. Circle’s partners include When East Meets West, IEFTA, DAE Documentary Association of Europe, and numerous other film industry organizations.
