"After a thorough analysis, Doc Services has made the decision not to organise a 2026 edition of Sunny Side of the Doc. This difficult but necessary decision is the result of a combination of different factors: the loss of the main European grant and the decrease in structural economic support as well as organisational constraints that no longer allow the team to offer an event worthy of the challenges faced by the global audiovisual ecosystem."

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This was written in a press release sent out today by Doc Services, the organiser of the international documentary market Sunny Side of the Doc, constituting a bolt from the blue in the documentary industry landscape and brutal evidence of the current tensions that are having an impact on the sector. This year’s event drew more than 2,000 participants from over 70 countries to La Rochelle, and its 37th edition was meant to unspool from 22-25 June next year.

This cancellation augurs a highly uncertain future for the event, which was also underlined by the press release: "This turning point marks the end of a cycle and perhaps the beginning of a new one, which can only be envisaged through a reorganisation process. If the event were to return from 2027 onwards, it would be founded on a project led by the documentary industry itself. A new chapter can be written, and it would appear to be more indispensable than ever." Watch this space…