The word “documentary” comes from the Latin word “docere” which means “to teach”. Perhaps for this reason, many attribute to ‘documentary’ cinema the function of teaching, informing or explaining reality, emphasizing ‘content’ to the detriment of ‘form’.

I prefer to refer to the documentary as “Cinema do Real”, as an artistic expression, whose objective is to evoke emotions, raise questions, stimulate reflection and capture the complexity and mystery of human life. The “Cinema of the real”, like art, is only possible through the mastery of cinematographic language, that is, of FORM. In my view, Form defines content.

During the Masterclass, I will do a detailed analysis of my filming and editing process, focusing on the fundamental elements of cinematographic language: narrative structure, camera work, concept of time and rhythm in editing, character development.

María Augusta Ramos

María Augusta Ramos (Brazil) studied documentary film in Amsterdam and has been a guest at festivals worldwide since the start of her career. Her films have received multiple awards. In 2013, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights honored Maria Ramos with the Marek Nowicki Prize for her examination of the subject human rights.

The work of writing and rewriting in documentary film.

It is often said that in editing the only rule is that there are no rules: we have to preserve the freedom of our imagination and, furthermore, each project is unique. But then how to draw a roadmap? Starting from the case study of the feature film “Amazona”, and other examples, I would like to talk about the paths that lead a film to its final form. It will be a reflection on the method and strategies to build emotions and meaning through montage.

Gustavo Vasco

Gustavo Vasco (Colombia) is an anthropologist from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota (2005) and filmmaker from La Femis film school in Paris (2010), Gustavo Vasco has worked as an editor on multiple film and television projects that have traveled the world in various festivals and exhibition platforms. In the documentary field he has worked on the feature films “Todo comenzó por el fin” by Luis Ospina, “Pizarro” by Simón Hernández, “Amazona” by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck, “Señorita María, la falda de la montaña” by Rubén Mendoza, “La casa de Mama Icha”, by Oscar Molina, “Suspensión” by Simón Uribe, “Cantos que inunda el río” by Germán Arango and “Amor rebelde” by Alejandro Bernal. He was also the chief editor of the Netflix original documentary “Diomedes, el ídolo, el misterio y la tragedia”. He recently edited with Anne Fabini the new project by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck, “”Alis”, which premiered at the Berlinale 2022 where it won the Teddy Award in the documentary category and the Crystal Bear in the Generation section. For the film “Todo comenzó por el fin”, he was awarded the Macondo Award – given by the Colombian Film Academy – for best editing in 2016. With “Amazona” he again received the Macondo award for best editing in 2018. He has served as a professor at the Film School of the National University of Colombia, the Central University in Bogota, the Javeriana University in Bogota and the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. He is a founding member of the Colombian film festival in Paris “El perro que ladra” and is a founding member of the Colombian Association of film editors E.C.C.A.

The Documentary Pitching proposes a training path for 10 projects from Latin America. The objective is to enhance their creative possibilities and provide opportunities for their financing and positioning in the international market.

Documentary Seminar participants have access to the Documentary Pitching and the Pitching Series as observers.

The Pitching Series seeks to generate opportunities for the financing of series projects in Latin America that seek to complete their budget through pre-sales or international co-productions.

Documentary Seminar participants have access to the Documentary Pitching and the Pitching Series as observers.

ALIS is a film at once radically simple in form and deeply emotional and evocative. In the Masterclass we are going to deconstruct the creative process of the film to understand how from the first idea, from the motivation, from our questions and from the exploration with the protagonists, the filmic device, the narrative proposal, and the ethical and aesthetics that shaped the film.

Clare Weiskopf

Award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Clare has spent more than twenty years working on social issues ranging from the armed conflict in Colombia and sexual violence as a weapon of war to the global spread of cumbia music. Her debut Amazona premiered at IDFA, was distributed in 11 countries and was nominated for the Goya Awards. Alis just premiered in the Berlinale and won the Crystal Bear in the Generation Plus 14 and a Teddy award. She was twice a winner of the Colombian National Journalism Award. Her projects have been supported by Ibermedia, Sundance, Catapult, IDFA Bertha Fund, Chicken&Egg, Tribeca, and the Colombian Film Fund. She has directed several documentaries and doc series for TV channels. She is a founding member of Casatarantula. Clare has been a teacher of filmmaking in several universities and frequently is invited as a jury in film funds.

Nicolás van Hemelryck

Award-winning filmmaker with a background as an architect and photographer. His work reflects on how the way we tell stories determines how we relate with everything around us. Co-founder of the production company Casatarantula and the distribution and promotion agency DOC:CO. His latest film ALIS premiered at the Berlinale, where it won the Crystal Bear and the Teddy Award. AMAZONA, his first feature film, was nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya and Fenix Awards. His films have been selected at Berlinale, IDFA, HotDocs, Bafici, Guadalajara, Havana, Cinema du Reel, Dok Leipzig, Sheffield, DocNYC and have been distributed in several countries. Nicolás has co-produced with France, Romania, Scotland, Chile, Brazil and USA, and his work has been supported by Ibermedia, Sundance, Catapult, the IDFA Bertha Fund, Chicken & Egg, Tribeca, Proimagenes, the Romanian Film Center and Señal Colombia. Nicolas has been selected for La Fabrique Cinema at the Cannes Film Festival, Dok Incubator, EAVE, IDFAcademy, GoodPitch, Tribeca Network, Campus Latino and IFP. Nicolas is a member of EAVE, the Colombian Film Academy, Global Impact Producers and Cinema 23. As a cinematographer he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Fenix Awards. As a photographer his work has been exhibited in America, Europe and Asia. Nicolás has been a film advisor and professor at EICTV and in various national venues, and has been a jury member for film competitions.