DocNomads Academy and Alumni Event held in Budapest 2025

The sixth DocNomads Academy Seminar and the ninth DocNomads Alumni Event were held in the 13 and 14 of February at the conference hall of Premier Kultcafé in Budapest.

The sixth thematic seminar of DocNomads Academy, which aims at extending the boundaries of the regular curricular programme of DocNomads by focusing in specific thematic within an intensive one-day format of lectures and presentations, this year was held under the overarching topic “Ethical and practical questions when filming under restricted conditions”.

The first part of the seminar was lectured by guest participants Apolena Rychlíková and Katerina Vrbová, respectively the director and the editor of “Limits of Europe” (2024) which served as the case study for their masterclass on the proposed thematic. The second part of the seminar was led by renowned Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa who presented a masterclass on his filmmaking methods in relation to his recent film “The Invasion” (2024) which was filmed for over a 2-year period to portray the life of the civilian population as a statement of Ukrainian resilience under the Russian invasion.

The Alumni Event, which already became a prominent feature amidst the thematic activities organized in Budapest at the moment of gathering the current enrolled classes in the transition between curricular semesters, also became a customary occasion for a reunion with the growing number of DocNomads alumni.

As one of the most participated Alumni Event since its inception in 2016, this year counted with the attendance of alumni representing the whole 13 classes of DocNomads programme up to date. Contributors to the event’s programme were Tanya Haurylchyk (DN2), Christina Zachariades (DN5), Charlotte Müller (DN6), Angeline Teh (DN10), Afsaneh Salari (DN2), Zlata Veresniak (DN10), Pedro de Filippis (DN5), Atsushi Kuwayama (DN4) who presented the current state of development or production of the most recent documentary projects they have been involved, thus sharing their professional experiences with the event’s audience congregating students, teachers, alumni, co-workers and friends. The event concluded with the projection of Marching in the Dark (2004), a feature-length documentary by Kinshuk Surjan (DN4), followed by a Q&A with the director.