What We Do
Over the past decade, our relationship with Truth has shifted dramatically as reality becomes increasingly online and reporting exists alongside fake news. With the advent of A.I., the role and craft of documentary filmmaking feels increasingly insecure.
This Berlinale, come join us at Brotfabrik, open to everyone! Through a hands-on workshop, panel discussion, and break-out groups, industry leaders and documentary filmmakers will come together to explore “What is Truth” today, and strategize how we can collectively adapt and reclaim narrative authority. After the panel discussion, intimate breakout groups that will allow participants to exchange their own experiences and ideas. The day concludes with drinks giving everyone space to connect, reflect, and carry the conversation beyond the room.
Co-hosted with Minorities in Film, “Global Artist Assembly: Non-fiction & Truth” will take place in the early evening. Stay tuned for the announcement of our panelists!
Helmed by a group of industry experts and filmmakers, this panel discussion will establish
how truth and facts are increasingly contested, shaped by belief, politics, and technology. AI can generate images and films that look real, while real footage can be dismissed as fake. The panel will explore how non-fiction as a practice and a craft can adapt, reclaim narrative authority, and continue to hold power to account in this shifting landscape.
Small group discussions will allow participants to exchange experiences and ideas, and how these issues affect us in our day-to-day lives as practitioners and conscious citizens.
Meet the wonderful panelists who will be joining us at the event:
Alfredo Castro Ortigoza is a Mexican documentary and fiction film editor based in Berlin, Germany. With over 25 years of experience in audiovisual production, including editing and directing, he has worked across a wide range of genres such as documentary, fiction, video art, and animation. His primary focus is documentary editing and dramaturgy, with extensive experience shaping projects built around complex and large-scale archival material. His most recent work includes editing the German documentary Riefenstahl, which explores the life and legacy of the artist, filmmaker, and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century.
Heidi Brandenburg is an acclaimed filmmaker best known for her critically acclaimed debut documentary, When Two Worlds Collide, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film captures a defining moment in Peru’s modern history with unprecedented access and cinematic urgency. Respected for its balanced perspective, the film became a polemic centerpiece in Peruvian political discourse and earned recognition on five continents, screening at top-tier international festivals. Heidi is driven by a deep commitment to human-centered storytelling at the intersection of social and environmental issues. Through Hairless Dog Films, she has provided creative and editorial consultation on story structure, business development, and negotiations for projects including Gaming Wall Street, Juan Leon, Mafer, and Ser Hamlet.
Emma Strauss is a Hungarian documentary filmmaker and journalist whose work appears in outlets including ARTE/ZDF, Al Jazeera, Le Nouvel Obs, Global Witness, as well as several Hungarian independent media platforms. Based between Budapest, Kyiv, and Berlin, she works across film, text, and photography to tell underreported stories from Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Hungary and Ukraine. In her homeland, her reporting focuses on Russian political influence, disinformation campaigns, and the rise of right-wing politics. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she has been reporting extensively on the war, with a particular focus on its impact on civilians, especially women.
Stephen Bergson is an archive specialist and producer with decades of experience in film, TV, and factual programming. He has worked on award-winning projects, including Unit 731: Did the Emperor Know?, Sleeping Beauty Rediscovered, Turner Broadcasting’s Cold War, ABC’s Emmy-winning The Century, and Death of a President (Emmy). A frequent writer on archive-led documentaries, Stephen has worked extensively with found content across a wide range of media. He has a deep understanding of media convergence across platforms and a tech-informed perspective on the industry’s ongoing changes. The complex interplay between factual reporting and creative storytelling has long been—and continues to be—the driving fascination and cutting edge of his work.
Almagul Menlibayeva was born in 1969 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and is a contemporary artist and curator. She works mainly with multi-channel video, photography, and multimedia installations. Her work has been exhibited internationally at various biennials and triennials, as well as in galleries and museums. She was awarded the top prize at Kino der Kunst in Munich and the L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Ministry of Culture. She lives between Germany and Kazakhstan.