by Mila Turajlic (Serbia 2017)

For Serbian filmmaker Mila Turajlic, a locked door in her mother’s apartment in Belgrade provides the gateway to both her remarkable family history and her country’s tumultuous political inheritance. Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. IDFA 2017 – Best feature-length documentary.

by Luciana Kaplan (Mexico 2017)

Transportation is a burning topic of everyday life nowadays. Rush Hour follows three stories, three cities and three characters in different contexts but similar realities that survive long journeys and time of life lost. Morelia International Film Festival 2017 – Best Mexican Feature-Length Documentary. Screened at SXSW, Hot Docs, Documental Ambulante.

by Manuele Cecconello & Maurizio Pellegrini (Italy 2017)

The Mountain Pact was the first act in Europe through which equal pay between men and women was established. It took place in 1944 in Biella – the oldest textile district in Italy. Now a young fashion designer goes to Biella to trace back the roots of the fabrics he uses to create his own collections. He meets places, outputs and protagonists, such as Nino Cerruti and Argante. The former is the internationally renowned stylist and son to one of the signatories of the pact, the latter is a partisan commander and witness of what took place then.

“I met Joelle Alexis in a training session about how to do good teasers and when she looked at the teaser of the Mountain Pact she simply said: “nothing to say… perfect, professional”. Now I’m back to Rough Cut Service and I hope the film will impact equally good, but I know your full support and help will make the difference!”
Francesca Conti, producer.

by Anushka Meenakshi & Iswar Srikumar (India 2017)

A musical portrait of a community of rice cultivators in a village close to the India-Myanmar border. While working in the fields in small cooperative groups, the men and women sing together – songs that follow the seasons. Screened at IDFA and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Nominated for Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2018.

“One thing that really worked for us is that both Per and Iikka were acutely aware of what we wanted and they helped us get the best version of that. Having two mentors working on the film is an excellent idea. Sometimes they agree and sometimes they don’t, but all of this helps create more and more possibilities for us to play with as story tellers. Ideas and suggestions are one thing, but to be able to give them with a sense of humour and with a lot of love is of unbelievable help when one is questioning and doubting everything, which is pretty much what happens while editing. These people love documentaries, and it shows.
Creating a unique platform such as this, keeping it affordable and helping with suggestions on how to fundraise, putting us in touch with people, all of this has made it one of the most fulfilling experiences for us.”
Anushka Meenakshi & Iswar Srikumar, directors.

by Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar (Liberia, Kenya 2017)

Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman profile the life of Liberian activist Silas Siakor, a tireless crusader against illegal logging and a symbol of resistance for a new generation. Premiere at Toronto Film Festival 2017.

“We worked with Joelle Alexis and Iikka Vehkalahti on the documentary at a very critical stage in the edit. I can say with absolute certainty they contributed significantly to turning the film around. Their proposed solutions, big and small, brought clarity to the storytelling. We had got to a point in the edit where we had run out of ideas on how to improve the film. With their input, the edit gained momentum and the storytelling leaped forward. They are film rescuers! I am a big fan!”
Steven Markovitz, producer.

by Rati Oneli (Georgia, US 2017)

In his documentary debut, director Rati Oneli provides fascinating insights into a living environment in a ghost mining town Chiatura in western Georgia. It´s bleak industrial ruins appear at once colossal and like a film set. In a city where the sun never shines, it’s only the inhabitants that generate warmth. Premiere at Berlinale Forum 2017 and nominated for the Glasshütte Original Documentary Award. Heart of Sarajevo Best Documentary at Sarajevo Film Festival.

by Jason O´Hara (Canada 2017)

Five years the filmmaker followed what is happening to the indigenous people and inhabitants of favelas in Rio De Janeiro when World Cup and Olympic Games were changing the city. Premiere at Hot Docs 2017. Magnus Isacsson Award at RIDM – Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal 2017.

“We were lost at sea when we turned to Rough Cut Service – so much footage shot over so many years and a drawn out editing process had muffled and blinkered our ability to see our material objectively as a cinematic experience. Iikka wrangled with us through finding a new structure – suggesting a completely radical approach that we trusted and flew with. And yet, at no point was it an imposition – the few things we wanted to keep, we kept, and otherwise were blown away at how much the new ideas, the new input, not only shaved off all the unnecessary junk and helped clear up confusions, it also gave us tons of fresh insights on how to tell our story, re-energized our own creative approach to the material.
Yael came in next and offered a subtler eye on the rhythms, the pacing, the filmic experience, bringing the scenes from rushed, pedestrian assemblies to living, breathing scenes. Such an incredibly valuable service!”
Katharine Asals, editor.

by Chang-Young Moon (South Korea 2017)

Shot during five years the film follows a young Rinpoche, who is living in Ladakh and waiting for the monks to come from Kham, China to take him to the monastery of his previous life. Completed in 2017. Grand Prix in Berlinale Generation. Best Feature Documentary and Best Editing Moscow International Documentary Film Festival DOKer.

by Hank Levine (Brazil, Germany 2017)

In six different countries shot documentary film on refugees, their lives and thoughts. Screened at São Paulo International Film Festival and Reykjavik International Film Festival.