25/04/2024 - The 35th edition of the international documentary market will unspool 24 – 27 June in La Rochelle, with close to 2,200 professionals in attendance

The crossroads for the funding of international documentary co-productions and for the circulation of programmes in a convivial seaside setting, Sunny Side of the Doc (now directed by Aurélie Reman) has unveiled the line-up for its 35th edition, which is set to unspool between 24 and 27 June in La Rochelle. Shining bright at the heart of this event - which over 2,200 professionals are expected to attend - are the seven themed pitching sessions for which 42 projects have been selected this year. Hailing from 23 countries (out of 320 submissions coming from 60 regions), 55% of these projects are the work of women directors. The European countries represented in the selection are Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Romania, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

There’ll be one new addition to this year’s agenda in the form of the Innovation WIP line-up, which will consist of five projects and which aims to support the creation of all non-linear documentary forms (podcasts, video games, immersive technologies, digital arts and virtual worlds).

The programme put together by Mathieu Béjot (Sunny Side’s Strategy and Development Director) also includes the usual presentations given by French broadcasters of their line-ups and another by Japanese firm NHK. The Meet the Executives sessions, meanwhile, will shine a light on the needs of the BBC, Sweden’s public network SVT, National Geographic and Love Nature/Blue Ant. Likewise worth a mention are the many keynote speeches, panel discussions and case studies in the offing, notably dedicated to new writing, innovation, impact and possible uses of artificial intelligence. Last but not least, in a context of sharply declining investments in documentaries on the part of streaming platforms and an overall fall in investments from historic broadcasters, a session examining alternative finance options, from FAST economy through to funding from brands, is set to unspool.

The selection is as follows:

Global Issues Pitch

Buka Bukal – Rhoda Robert Ao
Production: EarthStar Films (Australia)

Inside Gaza – Hélène Lam Trong
Production: Agence France Presse (France)

Silence of The Lams – Ciaran Deeney
Production: EZ Films (Ireland)

Tales and Sentences – Alexandre Donot
Production: Little Big Story (France)

Water On Fire
Production: Uhuru Productions (South Africa), Lu Films (France)

Yesterday’s Weirdness – Ben Lawrence
Production: Shipton House Pty Ltd (Australia)

Nature & Conservation Pitch

Eagle Man – Nick Robinson
Production: Wild Pacific Media (Australia)

Empalikino – Eric Mwangi
Production: Ripple Productions Ltd, WildlifeDirect (Kenya)

Fields of Gold
Production: Riverbank Studios (India), National Geographic Society (USA)

Frontline Rangers – David Cook
Production: Regen Studios, New Dream Productions, Margee Brown (Australia)

Mirador, Soundscape Through Japan - Azusa Maruyama
Production: NHK Enterprises (Japan)

Snow Globe – David Sampliner
Production: Hazel Pictures (USA)

Sciences Pitch

Ancient Baby Beasts – Ari Cohen
Production: Rotating Planet Productions (Canada)

Artificial Intelligence: The Great Pompeii Puzzle – Paolo Santoni & Martin Blanchard
Production: Elephant Adventures (France)

Destination Proxima Centauri – Ruth Chao
Production: Somadrome Films (Spain), Little Big Story (France), Nordic Eye Productions (Sweden)

Marina Heat Waves: When The Deep Blue Sea Tuns Red – Jacquse Mitsch
Production: Good to Know, Saint Thomas Productions (France)

The Brain Garden – Randall Wood
Production: Storyland Pty Ltd, Windfall Films (UK), Yuzu Productions (France), Genepool Productions (Australia)

Unconventional Gardeners – Alessandro Bernard & Paolo Ceretto
Production: Zenit Arti Audiovisive (Italy), Dirk Manthey Film (Germany)

History Pitch

How To Stop A War – Frankie Fenton
Production: Kathryn Kennedy (Ireland), Spring Films Ltd (UK)

Letters From Irak – Mauricio Zattoni
Production: Ocean Films (Brazil)

One Inch Eastward – Irina Maldea
Production: Sandu Films (Romania), Akajava Films (Ireland), Smarty Pants Shooter (Bulgaria)

Our Sister Angela – Back Power in the GDR – Jascha Hannover & Katharina Warda
Production: Florianfilm GmbH (Germany), Dare Pictures (UK), La Lutta (USA)

The Curse of Sugar – Mathild Damoisel
Production: Hauteville Productions (France), Wonder Maria Films (Portugal), Inicia Films (Spain)

The Lost City of Sanxingdui – Jacques Malaterre
Production: Imagissime (France)

Arts & Culture Pitch

Call Me Sinsorga - Marta Gómez Calderón & Paula Iglesias
Production: Al Borde Films (Spain)

Edgar Hilsenrath The Masturbator – François-Xavier Destors
Production: Solent Production (France)

Niemeyer 4 Ever – Aurélia Makdessi
Production: Special Touch Studios (France), The Attic Productions (Lebanon), Mayana Films (Germany)

Paradise Camp: Homecoming – Keiran McGee & Yuki Kihara
Production: Pilum (Australia)

Proserpine and the Others – Francesco Masi & Mariangela Barbanente
Production: GA&A Productions (Italy)

The Shape of Blue – Sybilla Patrizia
Production: Intuitive Pictures inc. (Canada)

Impact Campaign Pitches

Every Other Girl - Abdoulie B. Jarju
Production: Cinatrix Media (Gambia), Iamnativ (Uganda)

London You Don’t Know Me – Ivan Korvin
Production: Korvin Production LDA (Portugal)

Our Land, Our Freedom [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Meena Nanji & Zippy Kimundu
Production: Twende Films (USA), Afrofilms International (Kenya), Muiraquitã Filmes (Portugal)

The Myths of Monsters
Production: Gather Together (Malaysia)

Unwelcomed – Sebastian Gónzalez Méndez & Amilcar Infante
Production: Amilcar Films (Chile)

Yurlu Country - Yaara Bou Melhem
Production: Illuminate Films (Australia)

New Voices Pitches

A Satellite For Buru Laï – Antonin Lechat & Suium Sulaimanova
Production: Gedeon Programmes (France), Dreampixies (Switzerland)

Confessions of a Female Gamer - Dolya Gavanski
Production: Agitprop Ltd/Balkan Documentary Center (Bulgaria), Thea Films (Bulgaria), Dare Pictures (UK)

Dreams of The Wild Oaks – Marjan Khosravi
Production: Seven Springs Pictures (Iran), Lukimedia (Spain)

Fenced - Gabriella Garcia Pardo
Production: Jonna Mckone (USA)

Show Up - Andrew Brukman
Production: Spier Films (South Africa), Labyrinth Films (Netherlands)

Solo – Amine Boukhris
Production: Donia Films (Tunisia), Dynamo Production (France)

Innovation WIP

Follow The Carnation – Catarina De Sousa & Lui Avallos
Production: Isadora Pedro Neves Marques & Rodrigo Moreira (Portugal/Brazil)

Animals Talk – Gordon
Production: Little Big Story Lab (France), A_Bahn (Luxembourg)

Coral Island – Simon Rouby
Production: Risette, Miyu Productions (France)

Uncanny Reverie - Wen Liu & Alexander Hackl
Production: Studio M.A.R.S (Austria)

Atlas Cinema – Maria Arlais & Raphaël Rialland
Production: Etrange Miroir (France)

(Translated from French)