The Last Days of Kabul Wins MIPDoc Pitch

LOOKSfilm’s The Last Days of Kabul—Life and Death of a Republic has been chosen as the winner of this year’s MIPDoc Pitch.

Hailing from Germany, the project features unprecedented access to former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. It revisits the last 100 days of Kabul before its fall to the Taliban in 2021 through personal stories and flashbacks to 20 years of war.

The project was pitched against Men of Dishonor, from Fandango (Italy), producers of the hit series Gomorrah. The project presents an unfiltered portrait of a notorious criminal gang, interviewed by their own victims.

Also in contention, Quincy Jones: Music Man, from EFFERVESCENCE (France), unveils the journey of the eponymous producer behind Ray Charles, Donna Summer and Michael Jackson’s biggest hits. It features unique archives and exclusive interviews with modern artists such as Pharrell Williams, Travis Scott and Erykah Badu.

From Bars Media Documentary Film Studio (Armenia), the pitch Selfless is a 12-part series that takes viewers to some of the most dangerous places in the world and shows the daily lives of those individuals who are on the frontlines when it becomes too dangerous even for the Red Cross and the United Nations.

Unheard of, from French Dog Films (U.S.), tells the story of the U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team. They have never lost a game in 15 years of international competition, winning seven consecutive gold medals and a 38-game streak while outscoring their opponents 174 to 15.

The Last Days of Kabul will selected by a jury that was comprised of Lauren Billingsley, senior manager of global acquisitions at National Geographic; Kristina Hollstein, director of acquisitions and co-productions for doc, children and youth at ZDF Studios; Jack Oliver, head of co-production at Sky; Perrine Poubeau, deputy head of international co-productions and acquisitions for France Télévisions; and Tracy Beckett, commissioning editor for co-production and acquisitions at PBS Distribution.