The website grew out of an initiative formed at the 7th goEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany, last April. The various papers presented by experts at the workshop confirmed the need for stronger networks in the documentary field.
SEEDOX.org was initiated by goEast Festival Director Christine Kopf and Southeast Europe Expert Bernd Buder. Among other features, its new website provides analyses of documentary filmmaking in Southeast Europe from the 1990s to the present day, a database offering a selected filmography, and addresses of producers, festivals and institutions in the region.
"When we first researched for data and basic information about Southeasterrn European documentaries, we found out that there are only a few systematic sources, especially in the English language," Buder said in an email exchange with FNE. "One of our main goals is to improve this situation: to make basic information available, and thus to raise the interest in docs from the region and, hopefully, an awareness of cooperation and of the need to establish serious funding in the region itself."
In cooperation with Jugoslovenska Kinoteka and the Goethe-Institut Belgrade, SEEDOX.org will present a program on the situation of young documentary makers in Serbia at the Belgrade Cinema Museum on Dec. 10-11.
