Docu Rough Cut Boutique, the program for documentaries in post-production from Southeast Europe and the Caucasus, has announced its selection for the 2025 edition. Known for its boutique format, the program selects only five projects each year.
Organized by the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Balkan Documentary Center, the initiative unfolds across three working sessions: Sofia (March), Cluj (June), and Sarajevo (August). The first two of these sessions will be held for directors and editors. The final session in Sarajevo will culminate in a CineLink Industry Days presentation on 17 August, where teams will work to secure sales agents, broadcasters, and festival placements for their premieres.
A jury of industry professionals—including Eugen Kelemen (Avanpost), Marcel Maiga (DOK Leipzig / German Films), and Margje de Koning (Movies That Matter), Nora Sarak (Institute of Documentary Film), and Tereza Bona Keilova (Warner Brothers Discovery)—award several prizes: the Avanpost Award (€20,000 in-kind post‑production services), the HBO Award (€2,000 cash), the East Silver Caravan Award (€3,500 distribution support via IDF), the DOK Leipzig Preview Award (invitation to present at DOK Leipzig), and a Movies That Matter Award (presentation slot at the festival). In addition, all projects from both Docu Rough Cut and Work in Progress compete for the CineLink Impact Award, a €20,000 in-kind grant for impact campaigns juried by representatives from NEON International, Misfits Entertainment, and Tribeca Enterprises.
Selected Projects for 2025
We Shall Live Together
Director: Damir Markovina
Country: Croatia
A deeply personal reflection on a father’s political defiance and exile in post-war Bosnia, exploring generational trauma and the weight of historical memory.
Cordon
Director: Anton Mezulić
Countries: Croatia, France
A coming-of-age story set in a divided Croatian town, where nationalism, family expectations, and a fractured past shape a young footballer’s uncertain future.
About the End of the World (The Gods Must Be Mistaken)
Director: Jakob Krese
Countries: Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Croatia
A multi-generational dialogue about resistance, revolution, and the cost of political conviction, told through the lens of a Yugoslav family’s history.
Lost and Found: Romania’s Hidden Adoption Market
Director: Laurentiu Garofeanu
Country: Romania
When a young Canadian woman who was sold as an infant in post-Ceaușescu Romania returns to reclaim her identity, she uncovers the machinery that trafficked the sister she never knew, one of 30,000 children “exported” for adoption.
The Great Reset
Directors: Akar Peter, Ambrus Fatér
Country: Hungary
A bold exploration of power dynamics in fine dining, following a woman’s attempt to transform a Michelin-starred restaurant into a radically democratic space.
