Europe

Documentarian Greta Schiller takes in the 16th year of DocsBarcelona and its array of global docs ranging from the traditional to the cutting edge. Violence emerged as an important theme and many docs Schiller saw handled the topic with gripping storytelling approaches.

From speed typing to horse jumping, the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Rendez-vous With French Cinema serves up its 18th year from February 28th through March 10th. Kurt Brokaw chooses his favorites, at least one, he says, may make your heart melt "into your knees."

According to Film Festival Academy co-founder Tomas Prasek, "I have seen so much useless competition in areas where collaboration would have benefited both parties...everybody says, ‘How do other festivals deal with that?’ and that's exactly what people should be asking through some kind of platform." He recently told The Independent's Courtney Sheehan why professionals could benefit from playing on the same team.

Focusing on this year’s music documentary programming, LJ Kessels observes the accidental nature of finding one’s subject and the attention a filmmaker needs to have to bring about the story. This year she found a common theme among music docs: redeeming forgotten artists.

Hailed as one of the most important Israeli documentaries of recent years, Arnon Goldfinger's The Flat exposes family secrets and raises moral questions which Goldfinger recently discussed with a non-fiction theory class taught by USC's Michael Renov. Reported by Wendy Dent, who premieres her family-inspired film December 25 at IDFA.

Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw brings us a second consecutive year of critic's choices from Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, running March 1-11, 2012. His picks include Free Men, Unforgivable, Untouchable, 17 Girls, 38 Witnesses and The Well Digger’s Daughter.

Even though funding and distributing your doc can feel like a confusing quagmire, to some it's the new sexy. IDFA panelists have their say on the evergreen questions, including an announcement of a new source for financial support: BRITDOC.

The premise sounds like either a miracle or a gimmick: thousands of hours of visual and audio footage off a cell phone turned into a meaningful personal documentary. Yet Bosnian filmmaker Nedžad Begović's Mobitel (A Cell Phone Movie) manages to make cell phones ring like they're centuries old.

Tax incentives. Public and private funding. Transnational co-productions. During a year abroad to study regional film festivals and exhibition, Courtney Sheehan takes in Southeast Europe through the lens of presenters at the third annual industry Cinelink forum during the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Rendez-Vous With French Cinema starts its 16th year at Lincoln Center March 3-13 with 22 premieres. Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw checks in with his batch of critic's choices, including Potiche, Mozart's Sister, The Big Picture, and What Love May Bring.