The New Greatness, directed by Russian director Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova, is currently in development as a Russian (Ethnofund NPO), Croatian (Nukleus Film) and British (Roast Beef Productions Limited) production. So far, the project has received financial backing from the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe and the Dutch IDFA Bertha Fund.

The New Greatness is a story about two ordinary teenagers, Anya and Masha, who dreamed of making life in Russia better. They were brutally snatched from their families and incarcerated on charges of extremism. The film follows this family’s tragic story from two perspectives as their parents embark on a desperate struggle to prove their daughters’ innocence. One is a first-hand account of the events, and the other, a sober and unbiased attempt to analyse what is happening by following the independent investigation of the case undertaken by journalist Vasily Polonsky.

The New Greatness is among the 21 projects from 18 countries to appear at Hot Docs Forum, this year, for the very first time, held online. The programme received more than 463 project applications. In a live online pitching session, the filmmakers will present their projects to leading world distributors (Netflix, A24, HBO Documentary Films, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Al Jazeera English, ARTE France, EBS Korea, ESPN, Lucas Film, The National Geographic and others), while the pitching footage will be available to accredited professionals at the Doc Shop platform. The participants will be competing for the First Look Pitch Prize, awarded by philanthropic supporters of and investors in documentary film, and the Corus – Hot Doc Forum Pitch Prize, awarded to the best Canadian project. 

A full list of projects participating at the Hot Docs Forum is available on the following link. 

In addition to the Forum, the Hot Docs Market includes the Deal Maker programme, featuring one-on-one project pitching sessions with distributors, while a list of chosen projects will be announced on 8th April. Find out more about different Hot Docs Market programmes here. 

The Market normally takes place during Hot Docs – Canadian International Documentary Festival, the biggest documentary festival in North America held in Toronto. This year’s 27th edition was supposed to be held 30th April – 10th May, but the event has been postponed until further notice.

Find out more about the festival and its industry programme at the official festival website.