02/02/2026 - 14 projects from 17 countries in Southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond have been selected for the Pitching Forum, while the lab returns for the second year

The industry arm of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TIDF), Agora, will take place from 8-12 March and has revealed its selection of 14 documentary projects in development for this year’s Thessaloniki Pitching Forum. Supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme and operating in close collaboration with the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE), Agora continues to consolidate its role as a key networking hub and co-production platform, bringing together around 500 international professionals from across the global documentary sector.

The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum remains a vital platform for documentary projects at the development stage, fostering co-financing and creative partnerships across a broad geographical area that encompasses Southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean region, Western and Northern Europe, and parts of the Middle East and North Africa. The forum has consistently supported projects that have gone on to premiere and travel widely on the international festival circuit, reaffirming Agora’s position as an incubator for ambitious, internationally minded documentary cinema.

This year’s selection places a strong emphasis on themes such as displacement, companionship, mental health, speaking truth to power, and the revelation of unspoken or suppressed histories. Among the most prominent names featured is the award-winning Seamus Murphy, returning to Thessaloniki following his acclaimed work A Dog Called Money [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which premiered in the Berlinale Forum and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sheffield Doc/Fest. Also featured is Michele Fornasero, who has previously produced The Secret Drawer [+see also:
film review
interview: Costanza Quatriglio
film profile] and Samia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yasemin Şamdereli, Deka Moh…
film profile], and who this time returns to the Agora as a director. Meanwhile, Polish producer Monika Braid comes back to the forum with No Mother’s Land by Wiktoria Szymanska-Davis, following the success of Closure [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Michał Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Sundance Directing Award), which was pitched at Agora last year.

Agora also continues its commitment to innovation through the return of the Agora XR Lab. The five selected XR works explore myth, memory and lived experience through immersive environments, AI-driven interactions and hybrid documentary forms. Among the highlights is Idle Hands by Gregoris Rentis, co-produced by France’s Atlas V, one of the leading studios in immersive storytelling, known for projects such as Goliath (Venice Immersive Grand Jury Prize) and Notes on Blindness VR [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: James Spinney, Peter Middle…
film profile] (IDFA DocLab Award). The lab positions itself at the crossroads of cinema, technology and performance, offering creators a space to experiment with new narrative tools while remaining grounded in documentary ethics and research.

The selected projects are as follows:

Thessaloniki Pitching Forum

Ashes – Da Ham Al Saad (Syria/Norway/France)
Production: Bård Kjøge Rønning (Bel Studio), Alhomam Alasaad (Antipode Films)
Co-production: Celine Nusse (Zadig Production)

Who We Are – Sophie Ataya (Germany)
Production: Thomas Kaske, Marion Schmidt (Seera Film)

Of the Trees Unmoved – Nino Benashvili (Georgia/Germany)
Production: Tekla Machavariani (Nushi Film)
Co-production: Eva Blondiau, Elmar Imanov (Color of May)

The Last Class – Michele Fornasero (Italy)
Production: Alice Drago (Epica Film)
Co-production: Francesca Portalupi (Indyca)

You Little Box – Mert Kaya (Turkey/Belgium)
Production: Enis Köstepen, Gizay Akdoğan, Mert Kaya (Loudcat Film)
Co-production: Vincent Coen, Guillaume Vandenberghe (Glasgow)

Voices – Persefoni Miliou (Greece)
Production: Persefoni Miliou (Per Se Productions)

The Beautiful and the Damned – Seamus Murphy (Ireland/France/Germany)
Production: David Rane (Soilsiú Films)
Co-production: Catherine Siméon (Faites un voeu), Heino Deckert (Ma.ja.de)

Pivot – Vasia Ntoulia (Greece)
Production: Marina Danezi (Laika Productions)
Co-production: Antonios Vallindras, Tasos Koronakis

My Father Killed Bourguiba – Fatma Riahi (Tunisia/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/France)
Production: Dorra Bouchoucha (Nomadis Images)
Co-production: Lina Chaabane, Fatma Riahi, Omar Ben Ali (SVP Production)

Entr’Actes – Yuriy Shylov (Ukraine/Belgium)
Production: Olha Tuharinova (Kshtalt Productions)
Co-production: Barbara Dyck, Maarten Bernaerts (Salto Productions)

Momtski Kamen – The Rock of the Girl – Maria Sidiropoulou, Cloe Bruhat (Greece/France)
Production: Maria Sidiropoulou (Thunderbird Productions)
Co-production: Rebecca Obadia (Maison Femme)

No Mother’s Land – Wiktoria Szymanska-Davis (Poland/UK)
Production: Monika Braid (Braidmade Films)
Co-production: Sonja Henrici (Sonja Henrici Creates)

Unwanted Past – Thanassis Vassiliou (Greece)
Production: Konstantinos Vassilaros (StudioBauhaus)

Nava Mama – Ana Vijdea (Romania/France)
Production: Ana Vijdea, Ana Gheorghe, Cosmin Nicoara (Remora Films)
Co-production: Louis Beaudemont (Les Steppes Productions)

Agora XR Lab

Mystis – Tatiana Collet Apraxine (Georgia)
Production: Alina Mikhaleva (Less Media)

Lifta, a Life Not Forgotten – Sohail Dahdal (Palestine/UAE)
Production: Sohail Dahdal (Fifth Wall)

Idle Hands – Gregoris Rentis (Greece/France)
Production: Mando, Myrto Stathi (BYRD)
Co-production: Arnaud Colinart (Atlas V)

A Dangerous Journey – Lucija Stojević (Spain)
Production: Andrés Bartos Amory, Lucija Stojević (Noon Films SLU)

Nothing Is Ever Really Lost – Anna Szylar (Poland)
Production: Pola Komarowa (Monster Mind Studio)