We are very proud to announce that our latest documentary Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas, from director Joakim Demmer, is one of 15 films shortlisted by the European Film Academy for the Best Documentary 2017 award.
The award is often referred to as the European Oscars, and in the past only two Swedish documentaries has made it to the final shortlist selection – Searching for sugarman in 2013 and last year’s WG Film/Autoimages documentary Becoming Zlatan.
The director Joakim Demmer is happy and proud:
“It’s certainly at big honor to be nominated amongst many great documentaries. My hope is that this recognition will contribute to that the voices of the film will have an even bigger impact and that more people will get to see the film.”
Watch trailer “>here
Later this year five of these films will be nominated to officially compete for the European Documentary 2017 Award. The winner will be announced during the awards ceremony on 9 December in Berlin.
About EFA
Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy now unites more than 3,000 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting Europe’s film culture. Throughout the year, the European Film Academy (EFA) initiates and participates in a series of activities dealing with film politics as well as economic, artistic, and training aspects. The programme includes conferences, seminars and workshops, and a common goal is to build a bridge between creativity and the industry. Some of EFA’s events have already become an institution for encounters within the European film community.
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas
A documentary thriller about land grabbing and the global rush for farmland – the new green gold!
Around the globe, there is a massive commercial rush for farmland – the new green gold. One of the most profitable new spots for farming is Ethiopia.
Hoping for export revenues, the Ethiopian government leases millions of hectares of allegedly unused land to foreign investors. But the dream of prosperity has a dark side – the most massive forced evictions in modern history, lost livelihoods of small farmers, harsh repression and a vicious spiral of violence. Contributing to this disaster are the EU, the World Bank and DFID, providing billions of dollars in development money.
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas investigates these foreign land-investments and exposes their impact on people’s lives. In the pursuit of truth, we meet investors, development bureaucrats, persecuted journalists, struggling environmentalists and small farmers deprived of their land.