Behind the heavy stone walls of the glorious Han you’re welcomed by cooling shadows and the water murmur that instantly clarifies the mind. The afternoon song of muezzin slowly fades away, and you can hear children’s giggle and dogs barking somewhere in the distance. It’s too early for the stories on the canvas but the right time for stories under the shadow of the Fig tree. We sit down and form a circle. A summer breeze of Turkish tea, wild figs and watermelon spreads through the air. The stir of the spoon is melting the sugar cubes, a sound of a gentle clinging breaks the silence. Words and landscapes of experiences start to unravel – we hear about things astonishing, personal, funny, unbelievable…Who cares about reality, anyway, we ask ourselves. Then we turn silent, we’re sharing with honesty, we’re asking questions thrillingly, and we’re listening with our mouths open – until we finally find the answer. An answer that brings relief.

Location: Kurshumli An

Date: August 22, Friday
Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Why Do We Create Documentary Films?
Documentary filmmakers are much like farmers: a seed is planted, watered, and left to grow under the sun until nature takes its course.

Andrej Košak (Punk under the Communist Regime), Daniel Stopa (Through The Window), Michal Sikora (Lonely Production), Ortrun Bauer (Everyone Deserves a Slice of the Pie), Stefan Malešević (Soil and Wings), Truls Lie (Young Onion Award Jury), Victor Ede (Development workshop for creative documentary films).

Date: August 23, Saturday
Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Reality Check
When communication moves in two directions—listening and speaking—how do we recognize one’s sensibility?

Igor Prassel (Sliced Onion Award Jury), Ines Jokoš (Reel Reflections), James Berclaz-Lewis (Onion Award Jury), Jelica Jerinić (Sweet memories), Kapka Kassabova (Moral Approach Award Jury), Maureen Prins (Moral Approach Award Jury), Thomas Fürhapter (Cleaning & Cleansing), Vladimir Milisavljevic (Traces Are Mine But Not the Snow).

Date: August 24, Sunday
Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Florian Kofler (Vista Mare), Helle Hansen (Independent Documentary Film Consultant), Ivan Čojbašić (Downthere), Iber Deari (Antigona), Jean-Jacques Peretti (Sunny Side of the Doc), Julia Gutweniger (Vista Mare), Mara Prohaska (Young Onion Award Jury), Mirsad Abazi (Antigona), Vardan Tozija (Young Onion Award Jury), Veronika Fidrmuc Dvořáčková (Institute of Documentary Film).

Date: August 27, Wednesday
Time: 18:00 – 20:00

The Double Life of a Documentary Filmmaker
Boundaries between experimentation and craft phases.

Dorottya Marton (A Letter to the Editors), Eliza Petkova (Silent Observers), Jana Hunterová (The Landscape of Human Essence), Mark Edwards (Onion Award Jury),Monica Baptiste Gouffray (IDFA), Thanos Stavropoulos (Onion Seed Award Jury), Tuva Björk (Unanimal), Veselka Kiryakova (Silent Observers).

Date: August 28, Thursday
Time: 18:00 – 20:00

The Life of Inspiration
Self-competition as a quest for evolution.

Hanis Bagashov (Mushrooms Grow In Memory), Hubert Sauper (Masterclass), Jani Peltonen (Equal Dust), Ketevan Vashagashvili (9-Month Contract), Nikola Popovski (The Prespa Code), Tancrede Riviere (Writer).