Pour rendre compte du quotidien des Gazaouis depuis la riposte israélienne au 7 octobre, la grand reporter Martine Laroche-Joubert a piloté à distance les reportages de Shrouq Aila, journaliste palestinienne qui filme et témoigne dans ce document rare.

Global crises and a scandal of international proportions are among the hot topics attracting documentary buyers ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Le Havre, where Java Films is presenting a compelling and timely lineup.

Romanian director Raisa Razmerita’s Electing Miss Santa pitched in the Docu Rough Cut Boutique strand of CineLink, the industry platform of the Sarajevo Film Festival, was one of the stand-out projects of this year’s event, according to international attendees.

During the busy days of La Rochelle’s Sunny Side of the Doc, we sat down with Kathryn Bonnici, Head of Acquisitions and Development at the Paris-, London- and Barcelona-based firm Java Films, which is one of Europe’s key players selling non-fiction content. Our conversation covered several subjects, including the company’s latest slate of projects, its activities at the Nouvelle Aquitaine gathering and the current climate for doc sales.

Java Films will present a new award at Sunny Side of the Doc 2024. Named the Roch Bozino Engagement Prize, the award bears the name of the Java Films founder, who passed away in 2023 and “who always loved coming to La Rochelle.”

There are certain images that immediately have more than a whiff of a scam about them. It’s the beige hotel walls and busy carpeting; the fold-down seats; the pulldown projector and pop-up banners. Its the overly enthusiastic speaker bellowing into a mic, suggesting that the audience needs to whoop and holler more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, after all!

The documentary draws a parallel between the history of global taxation and the fight of the 14 "Jedi" of tax justice, including Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Piketty and Eva Joly.

The metaphor of Jedi knights standing against the dark forces of globalization works. The International Monetary Fund is formal: multinationals deprive states of nearly 600 billion dollars in legitimate taxes each year by taking advantage of the absence of global regulation. Yet, public money is lacking to combat global warming, food insecurity, pandemics and the abysmal increase in inequalities. Once again, it is developing countries, whose resources are plundered without fair compensation, that are the first victims of this "heist of the century". But faced with the omnipotence of multinationals, the Jedi knights are going on the attack.

A year on from the passing of Java Films founder and Managing Director, Roch Bozino, Java Film’s new director, Anne Simounet, explains how the company has adjusted. Other changes in the company include the recruitment of Marine Prévot to support sales in Asia, Eastern Europe and French-speaking territories.