Docs in Thessaloniki 2019
March 1 - 5, 2019. Thessaloniki, Greece.
Docs in Thessaloniki is your cost effective fast track to the European and international documentary market, combining on-site and online market opportunities. In Thessaloniki you will develop your project, network with colleagues and pitch to financiers in a relaxed and constructive atmosphere. The Docs in Thessaloniki Digital Extension makes the pitched projects more accessible to financiers than ever before. And through the specially designed outreach program you will have an opportunity to find new ways of audience engagements. The deadline for submitting projects is January 31, 2019.
Docs in Thessaloniki consists of a five-day program, where 21 selected documentary projects will be developed, re-written and pitched to a panel of international financiers. For a selected group of top-projects the new outreach programme will offer you an opportunity to develop your outreach strategy, optimise distribution plans and enhance audience engagement.
The first three days are focusing on development
The participating project teams are working on their projects’ structure, style and focus of the content as well as the presentation and pitching techniques. This is done by working in small groups under guidance from international experts and through highly informative seminar sessions. At the end of the workshop each project is re-written and presented to the participating financiers in a 2-page presentation. The tutors of the workshop are:
Paula Vaccaro, Producer, Pinball London, UK
Flora Gregory, Independent Consultant, UK
Arash Riahi, Producer, Director & Dramatic Advisor, Golden Girls Filmproduktion, Austria
Joëlle Alexis, Editor, Israel
Brian Hill, Producer & Director, Century Films, UK
Robert Bahar, Producer and Director, USA
Present from EDN will be:
- Ove Rishøj Jensen, EDN Film and Media Consultant
The full list of tutors participating in the event will be announced here as soon as possible.
Docs in Thessaloniki concludes with two days of pitching
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You will be pitching to
12-15 leading financiers & experts
During the pitching sessions all participants pitch their projects to a panel of international financiers from leading broadcasters. Pitchers have seven minutes to present their projects. The visual material in form of a trailer or promo has to be included in these seven minutes. After the pitch the panel has seven minutes to give feedback.
The pitching session is followed by scheduled individual meetings, where the pitching teams will meet with financiers and experts. The meetings are for in-depth discussions about further development and possible future collaboration.
The panel will consist of financiers from leading broadcasters and funders. In addition we will have a group of experts on distribution and rights. So far the follow panelists have confirmed their participation:
Madeleine Avramousis, ARTE GEIE, France
Aleksandra Derewienko, Cat&Docs, France
Flemming Hedegaard, DR, Denmark
Depi Vrettou, ERT, Greece
Jan Rofekamp, Films Transit, Canada
Frédéric Pfyffer, RTS, Switzerland
Lars Säfström, SVT, Sweden
Jenny Westergård, Yle, Finland
Natalia Arshavskaya, CurrentTime.tv, Czech Republic
Fabio Mancini, RAI, Italy
Debra Zimmerman, Women Make Movies, USA
Paulina Tervo, Lyfta, Finland
Adel Ksiksi, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Qatar
We expect to have 12-15 financiers and experts present for the Docs in Thessaloniki panel. Further panelists will be announced in this section as soon as the names have been confirmed.
Docs in Thessaloniki Digital Extension
In addition to the financiers present on-site for Docs in Thessaloniki the new digital extension of the pitching forum will make the 21 selected projects accessible to a wider group of financiers.
Shortly after the onsite pitching forum we will have the digital extension of the forum available. With detailed information about the projects, the pitch pilots and the recordings of the actual pitch in Thessaloniki, the digital extension provides world wide financing opportunities for the projects pitched at the forum.
Master Class with Paulina Tervo
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Paulina Tervo
As part of the Docs in Thessaloniki program, EDN is presenting a master class with Paulina Tervo from the educational digital platform Lyfta.
"DOCUMENTARY MEDIA FOR GLOBAL CITIZENS"
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 17:30 – 19:30 at the Pavlos Zannas Theater, 5th floor of Olympion Cinema.
In Europe documentary has for decades lacked well-functioning structures for efficient educational distribution. But digital platforms now bring a whole new perspective to reaching schools. During this master class Paulina Tervo, Co-CEO at Lyfta, provides valuable insights that can help you reach new audiences and build an income from educational distribution.
Media literacy and distribution for younger audiences have for some years been strategic targets within European media development. Building a stronger sense of digital citizenship for future generations and stimulating creativity through media have been central in the considerations for our future media landscape.
During this session Paulina Tervo from Lyfta will talk about using innovative digital distribution in an educational context. During the presentation she will touch upon:
- What is Lyfta’s platform and how it functions
- How to make documentary media function for schools
- How to adapt documentaries to educational purposes
Be inspired about making innovative and excellent resources for your next documentary and create valuable impact for the next generation of global citizens. And get to know how these new opportunities can be part of your market strategy.
About Lyfta
Lyfta supports teachers in tackling complex themes and global topics in the classroom. It is a subscription-based digital platform, where teachers and pupils can access documentary media matched with curriculum-based lesson plans. Lyfta is currently used in over 350 schools in the UK, Finland and the US.
Projects selected for Docs in Thessaloniki 2019
The following projects have been selected to take part in Docs in Thessaloniki 2019:
Climate Exodus | P: David Baute | D: David Baute | Tinglado Film | Spain
Dear Future | P: Christiana Cheiranagnostaki | D: Christiana Cheiranagnostaki | Greece
Democracy at Risk | P: Jennifer Deschamps | D: Sylvain Pak | KM | France
Do Not Come Home | P: Milos Ljubomirović, Danilo Lazovic | D: Milos Ljubomirović, Danilo Lazovic | Cinnamon Films | Serbia
Engel | P: Sophie Schoukens | D: Peter Woditsch | Sophimages | Belgium
Globus | P: Magdalena Borowiec, Tatiana Matysiak | D: Clara Kleininger | SQUARE Film Studio | Poland
Gold Miners | P: Liisa Karpo | D: Inka Achté | Napafilms | Finland
Inhabitants | P: Armine Anda, Mery Aghakhanyan | D: M. Aghakhanyan | Renaissance Films | Armenia, France, Germany
Intimate Outsiders | P: Roser Corella, Ana Catalá | D: Roser Corella | Moving Mountains Films | Germany
Magaluf Ghost Town | P: Bernat Manzano | D: Miguel Ángel Blanca, Raúl Cuevas | Boogaloo Films S.L. | Spain
Nenets: People at Risk | P: Valérie Montmartin | D: Sergio Ghizzardi | Little Big Story | France
Phoenix | P: Daire Collins | D: Daire Collins | Ireland, UK, Romania, Spain, Germany
Safe Passage | P: Anna von Dziembowska | D: Daniel Druhora, Charly W. Feldman | Victoria Films | UK, Russia
Scrap | P: Stacey Tenenbaum | D: Stacey Tenenbaum | H2L Productions Inc. | Canada
The Exit of a Train | P: Ada Solomon | D: Radu Jude, Adrian Cioflanca | Micro Film Romania | Romania
The Happiest Chief | P: Photini Economopoulou | D: Avra Georgiou | Oh My Dog Productions | Greece
The Raaby Mystery | P: Thorvald Nilsen | D: Stian Indrevoll | Screen Story Bergen | Norway
The Republic | P: Murat Baykara | D: Mustafa Unlu | Kutup Ayisi Documentary Productions | Turkey
The Settlement | P: Carlota Coloma | D: Alex Sardà | 15-L. Films S.L. | Spain
Trazos | P: Vincent Gazaigne | D: Ines Compan, Maria Isabel Ospina | Talweg Production, Medio de Contencion producciones | France, Colombia
Download the Docs in Thessaloniki flyer
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Docs_in_Thessaloniki_2019_Flyer.jpg |
Outreach workshop
- Top projects take part in the outreach workshop
In connection with the 2019 edition of Docs in Thessaloniki EDN is offering a dedicated outreach workshop, which is tied to this pitching forum as well as Lisbon Docs. The format will create a synergy between the two events, by selecting the top projects from each forum and bring them together in this post-event session taking place as an online workshop.
Focus for the session will be how the selected project teams can handle the increased need to combine new financing methods and alternative distribution methods with more traditional public funding sources. During the workshop the selected teams will strengthen the understanding of audience building and outreach for their projects in development. Through the online workshop the participants will:
- · Learn about tools for audience engagement
- · Sharpen their distribution strategy
- · Get individual feedback from outreach experts
- · Enhanced promotion and distribution possibilities.
The participants will benefit from these added values without adding extra travel costs and expenses for the production teams, as the seminar will take place online. The workshop is scheduled as a three-day event in early December 2019.
Succesful projects
Projects previously pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki include:
Debut | Directed by Anastasia Miroshnichenko. Produced by Viktar Labkovich, PervajaKinoVideo Company, Belarus | Selected for IDFA First Appearance, 2017. Pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki 2016.
Hobby Horse Revolution | Directed by Selma Vilbunen. Produced by Elli Toivoniemi & Venla Hellstedt, Tuffi Films, Finland | Selected for HotDocs, Visions du reel, DOKLeipzig and many other festivals in 2017. Pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki 2015 as Hobby Horse Sisters.
The Other Side of the Wall | Directed by Pau Ortiz. Produced by María Nova López, Intactes, Spain and Emiliano Altuna, Tatiana García and Carlos Rossini, Bambú Audiovisual, Mexico | Winner of Best International Feature Documentary Award at HotDocs 2017. Pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki 2015 as Outside of Prison.
Ultra | Directed by Balazs Simonyi. Produced by Lászlo Józsa and Balazs Simonyi, Speak Easy Project, Hungary. Co-produced by HBO Europe | Selected for Visions du reel, Sarajevo Film Festival and many more in 2017. Pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki 2015
If you want to have an impression of previous editions of Docs in Thessaloniki we have gathered a selection of photos at our .
Participating as an observer
We are also accepting applications from participants without a project who can take part as observers.
If you currently do not have an international project in development but want to know more about making documentary projects for the international market, gain a network of international colleagues and meet leading international financiers you can of course still take part in Docs in Thessaloniki. Simply apply as a participant without a project. You will take part in all seminars and all sessions on equal terms with the selected project teams.
To apply for as a participant without a project, please send your C.V. and a short motivation for your participation to . You can apply up until the start of the workshop, but as seats are limited, early applications are preferred.
Participation fee
Please note that there is no fee for submitting your project to Docs in Thessaloniki.
If your project is selected or if you want to participate without a project, the price for being part of Docs in Thessaloniki is:
- - 350 Euro for the first person connected to a project
- - 250 Euro for second or third person connected to a project
- - 250 Euro for observers
EDN members receive a EUR 100 discount for the first person connected to a project and 50 Euro for the second and third person of the project team (if attending with more than one person)
Besides the whole five-day pitching workshop and forum the participation fee includes all lunches and coffee breaks, dinner on the first evening and a festival pass for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
EDN Contact Person
Ove Rishøj Jensen
Phone:
Docs in Thessaloniki is organized by EDN in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.