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Movies & TV

13th Jun 2023

Irish filmmakers win Netflix documentary competition

Rory Cashin

Netflix documentary

Their new Netflix documentary sounds incredibly powerful and timely.

For the second year of their Netflix documentary competition, the chosen topic for the entrants was “Connection”. Filmmaking teams pitch their ideas to Netflix in the hope that they’ll receive £30,000 (€35,000) to produce their eight to 12 minute long documentary.

Five winning teams are then chosen, and they’ll be placed within a special Netflix documentary bootcamp, filled with specialists who will assist in all aspects of the project’s production, from legal to creative to HR to finance.

This year, one of the winning filmmaking teams was Anna Rodgers and Zlata Filipovic from Ireland, for their project titled TWO MOTHERS. Here is the synopsis for their Netflix documentary:

“After losing a baby late in pregnancy, Cathy turned to surrogate Ivana in Ukraine who safely carried her twins in 2019. The two mothers developed an unusual bond. When the war broke out, Cathy felt compelled to cross the border into a warzone and carry out the family of the woman who had carried hers.

“Knowing Ireland only recognised the birth mother in law, Cathy chose to risk bringing Ivana and her three children to live together in their small cottage in rural Wicklow and forge a life together as an unusual family. This is a film about their relationship.”

The other winners and their Netflix documentary titles and synopses are as follows:

  • Anna Snowball & Abolfazl Talooni – IRANIAN YELLOW PAGES, Iranians in London, trapped between two cultures, search for connection by placing weird and wonderful adverts in the Iranian Yellow Pages.
  • Caroline Williamson & Troi Lee – TURN UP THE BASS is the remarkable story of Troi Lee (aka ‘DJ Chinaman’), a deaf DJ and pioneer of the UK’s deaf rave scene, as he puts on his 20 year anniversary show.
  • Logan Rea & Krishna Istha – FIRST TRIMESTER follows a transgender performance artist as he interviews hundreds of potential sperm donors live on stage in a quest to find the perfect connection, one that will enable him and his partner to start their family.
  • Olivia Smart – BLACK PEOPLE CAN’T SWIM, Drowning isn’t an option as three people tackle their biggest fear.

Read more:

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Movies,Netflix,TV