HIGHBIT Announces New Documentary on Eastern European Cinema

HIGHBIT has announced production of a major new documentary exploring the evolution of independent cinema across Eastern Europe from the 1990s to the present day.

Four Countries, Forty Voices

The film features interviews with over forty directors, cinematographers, and producers from across the region — tracing how political upheaval, cultural identity, and limited resources shaped a generation of bold, uncompromising filmmakers.

• Ukraine — Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Nariman Aliev, Kateryna Gornostai
• Poland — Jerzy Skolimowski, Małgorzata Szumowska, Jan P. Matuszyński
• Romania — Cristian Mungiu, Radu Jude, Cristi Puiu
• Czech Republic — Jan Svěrák, Agnieszka Holland (as longtime collaborator)

These are filmmakers who learned to make cinema out of what was at hand — and in doing so, reinvented what cinema could sound and look like for the rest of the world.

— Project description

Production Timeline

Principal photography begins this summer, with a festival premiere planned for early 2027. The documentary is being produced in partnership with several European public broadcasters as part of HIGHBIT's ongoing commitment to non-fiction storytelling.