Sunny Side of the Doc reveals its official pitching selection!

La Rochelle, 11 May 2023 - Sunny Side of the Doc, the most important event for the documentary community and international marketplace dedicated to linear and non-linear documentaries, today reveals the 41 projects from 23 different countries that make up the official selection for its 34th edition (19-22 June 2023, La Rochelle, France).

The international co-production stakes are high at the eagerly anticipated pitching sessions. These sessions will take place during the marketplace in front of more than 300 high-level international decision-makers, including major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, distributors, buyers and other investors looking for stories with the biggest impact. 

This year’s call for projects, which was launched in January, received an exceptional response from industry professionals around the world, with 320 documentary projects from 56 different countries (compared to 275 in 2022), 43% of which were led by female filmmakers. The pre-selection committee selected the 42 most inspiring and promising projects.

 

"We are delighted with the number, quality and diversity of issues, themes and formats of the projects submitted"

 

"We are delighted with the number, quality and diversity of issues, themes and formats of the projects submitted," says Mathieu Béjot, Director of Strategy and Development at Sunny Side of the Doc. “The selected projects come from 23 different countries and make us question major planetary issues, such as migration, women’s rights, disability, and of course the impact of climate change, which are present in all documentary genres. Stories great and small use history and humour to challenge our historic, scientific and cultural convictions by offering a diversity of perspectives, particularly from a large number of young directors and new voices. They aim to shake things up, as evidenced by the incredibly powerful projects proposed for the session dedicated to impact campaigns.“

Over four days in June, the 42 selected projects will have the honour of competing for the Best Pitch Award in each of the seven themed pitching sessions, sponsored by key industry partners, including PBS, Blue Ant Media & Love Nature, RTBF, Al Jazeera Documentary & AJB Doc, Waterbear Network, and CCTV9:

  • Specialist Factual [cash prize: €3,000] : Global Issues, Wildlife & Conservation, Science, History, Arts & Culture
  • Focus of the Year [cash prize: €2,000] over two specific pitching sessions: New Voices, Impact Campaigns.

All project leaders will receive support throughout the process, ranging from mentoring from industry experts - Irena Taskovski, présidente et fondatrice de Taskovski Films et #Docsconnect ; Petar Mitric, directrice des ventes, Taskovski Films ; Christilla Huillard-Kann, productrice, Elda Productions ; Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, réalisatrice ; et Khadija Benouataf, présidente de l’Impact Social Club - to exclusive access to a qualified and diverse professional audience. Everything is designed to increase and foster fruitful financial, creative and commercial co-production opportunities for these gems from the documentary genre of tomorrow.

New for this year, the winners of each category will be announced the morning after the pitching session, during the Awards Café on the Level-Up stage. This new gathering will allow participants to meet project leaders in a dedicated and friendly setting. At the end of the four-day market, the remaining special prizes and awards will be revealed and awarded during the closing cocktail reception – an opportunity to celebrate all the winners of the 34th festival edition.