Anna Shishova-Bogolubova graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in Modern Russian History in 2008, before going on to study for my second degree in documentary filmmaking in VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow). She graduated in 2013.

From 2012 to 2013 Anna participated in exchanging program between VGIK and SADA (Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Sweden). In 2016 Anna participated in AFS international documentary workshop organized by the U.S. Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Anna’s diploma film “Katia” got “Laurel” National Award in cinema and television for Best Art Film in 2013 and went on to win numerous awards at Russian and international film festivals. Anna’s second documentary “On the Edge” won a Jury Prize at Artdocfest IFF in 2014. The film international premiere was at Krakow IFF.

Over the last couple of years Anna’s husband and fellow filmmaker Dmitry Bogolyubov collaborated on a documentary feature “Town of Glory” that has been made with the support of ZDF ARTE and Czech TV.

Anna’s latest film “The New Greatness” follows Anna (17), an ordinary teenager who dreamed of making life in Russia better. In March 2018, she was arrested and incarcerated on fabricated charges of extremism. Three years later, her mother continues her desperate fight to prove her daughter’s innocence.

Anna Shishova-Bogolubova's new documentary The New Greatness won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut.

“The New Greatness” premieres in New York on 24th May 2022 at the Human Rights Watch IFF.

Films on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user23105053

The New Greatness: https://ff.hrw.org/film/new-greatness-case

Anna Shishova-Bogolubova graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in Modern Russian History in 2008, before going on to study for my second degree in documentary filmmaking in VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow). She graduated in 2013.

From 2012 to 2013 Anna participated in exchanging program between VGIK and SADA (Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Sweden). In 2016 Anna participated in AFS international documentary workshop organized by the U.S. Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Anna’s diploma film “Katia” got “Laurel” National Award in cinema and television for Best Art Film in 2013 and went on to win numerous awards at Russian and international film festivals. Anna’s second documentary “On the Edge” won a Jury Prize at Artdocfest IFF in 2014. The film international premiere was at Krakow IFF.

Over the last couple of years Anna’s husband and fellow filmmaker Dmitry Bogolyubov collaborated on a documentary feature “Town of Glory” that has been made with the support of ZDF ARTE and Czech TV.

Anna’s latest film “The New Greatness” follows Anna (17), an ordinary teenager who dreamed of making life in Russia better. In March 2018, she was arrested and incarcerated on fabricated charges of extremism. Three years later, her mother continues her desperate fight to prove her daughter’s innocence.

Anna Shishova-Bogolubova's new documentary The New Greatness won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut.

“The New Greatness” premieres in New York on 24th May 2022 at the Human Rights Watch IFF.

Films on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user23105053

The New Greatness: https://ff.hrw.org/film/new-greatness-case

Duncan Cowles is a BAFTA Scotland Award winning documentary filmmaker whose short films The Lady with the Lamp, Soft Toffee, Radio Silence, Directed by Tweedie, Isabella, Alexithymia, Taking Stock, Just Agree Then & In the Company of Insects have been selected for various film festivals internationally winning a selection of awards, and gaining significant online exposure through platforms such as Short of the Week, Vimeo Staff Picks, BFI Player, It’s Nice That and more.

Website: https://www.duncancowles.com/

Films on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/duncancowles

Barak Heymann of the Heymann Brothers, makers of multi award wining Mr Gaga, Who's Gonna Love Me Now? and High Maintenance, discusses films, stories and the complex art of documentary.

Recorded via Zoom.

Website: www.heymannfilms.com

Cinema verité legend Albert Maysles of the Maysles Borthers. Creator of Salesman, Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter and many more...

Recorded at a crowded bar at the Sheffield Documentary International Film Festival in June 2011.

Films: http://mayslesfilms.com

“A simple work of genius. I have never seen a feature film like this. The dogs are not being used by the human filmmakers to tell a human story — we are here to let the dogs tell us their story, even if we haven't a clue what's going on inside their heads.”

Michael Moore

Whether through bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of three stray dogs provides a window into the overlooked corners of Turkish society. Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal lead us on inconspicuous journeys throughout Istanbul, allowing for unusual and unvarnished portraits of human and canine life.

Through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on solitary adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds refuge with the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.

Recorded via Zoom.

Winner of Jury Prize: Best International Feature Film at Hot Docs International Film Festival 2020. Screened at CPH:DOX 2021.

Film: https://dogwoof.com/stray

Website: https://www.elizabeth-lo.com/

A musicologist investigates the link between Nazi manipulation and all the music we listen to today. Does the obscure theory hold true?

Why did the Nazis change the standard frequency of the tone A from 432 to 440 Hertz? A curious historical footnote turns out to have the most unexpected ramifications, as long as you approach it with an open mind. And that is exactly what Norwegian documentary veteran Gunnar Hall Jensen does, as he investigates the strange theory in the company of musicologist and singer Laurie Amat. Sound is both information and emotions – precisely what the Nazis dreamed of controlling. They imagined that their new tone standards would make the masses aggressive and easy to manipulate. Today, 440 Hz is the standard for all music we listen to. What sounds like an absurd joke at first turns out to be something more in a film that follows the vibrations in an open (and musical!) form. Encounters with international music psychologists and sound experts unravel the strange micro-history in an epic format. One thing is certain: you will never listen to the world around you with the same ears again.

Recorded via Zoom.

Screened at CPH:DOX 2021.

Website: https://www.nfi.no/eng/film?name=oh-it-hertz&id=2014

Mira Burt-Wintonick is an award-winning radio producer and filmmaker living in Montreal. She is best known for her work on CBC's WireTap and as co-creator/senior editor of CBC’s Love Me, a podcast about the messiness of human connection. She recently directed Wintopia, a feature documentary film about her late father, filmmaker Peter Wintonick, and his search for Utopia. Wintopia won the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Feature at DOXA festival in 2020. Mira's audio work has aired on This American Life, The Truth, BBC's Short Cuts and The Heart, among others.

Recorded via Zoom.

Website: http://mirabw.com