The story behind those eyes - Interview with Niina Brandt, the director of My Secret Forest

Thursday, 21 December 2017.
Lauri loves walking in the forest, listening to the songs of birds, and let his mind wander around thoughts which later become poems. The viewer can easily feel the protagonist's inner peace in the documentary film My Secret Forest. Besides observing the daily routine of a young man living with autism, the film brings into focus his complex personality, his way of thinking and creativity. We...

Listening to the Sounds of the Forest

Thursday, 14 December 2017.
It is a real discovery to listen to the imaginative and delicate thoughts of Lauri, a privilege for which we should thank Niina Brandt, the director of My Secret Forest. Presented this year at Verzio, it is a poetical story of love, silence, deep and powerful feelings, self-determination and understanding.

The reality of Chinese irreality - A talk with David Borenstein, the director of Dream Empire

Thursday, 14 December 2017.
David Borenstein, a scholar of Chinese received his training in anthropology at the City University of New York. He went to China with Fulbright Scholarship to study urbanization and real estate speculation. It was the high time of real estate investments: villages disappeared into thin air and new, luxurious metropolises were built instead. He became friends with Yana who was ambitiously getting...

The essence of sport was lost in Israel: A talk with Maya Zinshtein, the director of Forever Pure

Friday, 1 December 2017.
Forever Pure grabs your attention from the beginning until the very end, triggering in you feelings that you don't know what to do with when the lights are on again. As Maya Zinshtein suggests, these complex feelings should be put into actions to change things for the better.

Faces covered in dust

Monday, 27 November 2017.
When watching Dust, we can discover different layers of meaning. The first that unfolds is a distant world of a distant country. Children aged 8-10 that carry heavy bricks becomes a natural sight after a while and the viewer does not question the legitimate nature of this reality.

FACES OF VERZIO // Astrid Danielson

Monday, 20 November 2017.
Verzio has a relatively small, but definitely enthusiastic team, who are working on preparing the festival for some intensive months, or some of them during the entire year. In this series of mini-interviews we would like to present some of the faces working behind the scenes, getting to know more about their relations to Verzio and to documentaries.

Iraqi Journal - Nori Sharif in the triangle of death

Saturday, 18 November 2017.
The opening film of the 14th Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival is Nowhere to Hide, an outstanding documentary directed by Zaradasht Ahmed, which takes us to the central part of Iraq, to the triangle of death, where we follow the life of nurse Nori Sharif for five years.

Nowhere to Hide from Verzio

Tuesday, 14 November 2017.
The opening film of Verzio tells the story of an Iraqi hospital nurse and how he survived the war between ISIS and the Iraqi militia. It is an expressive opening of a festival tackling contemporary social issues, and offering us to face burdens of the past as well as our own humanity.

FACES OF VERZIÓ /// Oksana Sarkisova, festival director

Thursday, 9 November 2017.
Verzio has a relatively small, but definitely enthusiastic team, who are working on preparing the festival for some intensive months, or some of them during the entire year. In this series of mini-interviews we would like to present some of the faces working behind the scenes, getting to know more about their relations to Verzio and to documentaries.