Within the project “Support for Media Pluralism and Freedom of Expression in the Republic of Moldova”, the Council of Europe, together with documentary department of the Public Broadcaster, Telefilm Chisinau supported 15 ambitious, young filmmakers to learn documentary techniques for human rights documentaries during a five-days’ course throughout 13-17 November.

The training seminars, “The Human Rights Documentary School for Filmmakers” have been conducted by international consultant and renown film director from Germany, Irene Langemann, as well as national experts who trained filmmakers on the visual and technical elements of film shooting. During the seminars, the participants have expanded their knowledge on technical and narrative design elements in human rights documentary production, with a particularly strong focus on storytelling, character portrayal, interview structure, dramaturgy, and the elaboration of pitching materials.

The activity lasted for five days and culminated with a pitching session facilitated by a jury composed of Council of Europe Secretariat, national film experts, and Telefilm Chisinau. Following the outcomes of the pitching exercise, the authors of three best documentaries’ synopsis will benefit from the support of the Council of Europe in the production of their respective documentaries until June 2024.

The Council of Europe is a long-standing partner of the Public Broadcaster in Moldova and its documentary department, Telefilm-Chisinau. Previous documentaries developed with Council of Europe support have reached international film festivals and won numerous awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021.