João Pedro Prado and Anton Yaremchuk presented their upcoming documentary The Wars We Play to a room full of industry decision-makers in Riga, Latvia, following five days of intensive workshops and exchange at Baltic Sea Docs, held from 31 August to 5 September – one of the most prestigious international forums for documentary filmmakers in the Baltics, with a strong focus on Eastern Europe.
The project had first been selected at DOK.forum Munich in May, where their pitch earned them an invitation to the Riga lab. There, they worked under the guidance of seasoned mentors including producer Darya Bassel (Ukraine), editor Phil Jandaly (Canada/Sweden) and documentary developer Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), among others.
At its core, The Wars We Play asks whether football can endure war. The film follows FC Shakhtar Donetsk, where a Brazilian newcomer and a Ukrainian amputee share the same jersey yet embody radically different experiences of the country’s full-scale invasion.
Baltic Sea Docs is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and the Creative Europe Media programme.