A truly european hub...

While Sunny Side of the Doc is a truly international event, Europe is a core component of the market, making up about 80% of all participants and of the projects presented and pitched. With the ongoing support from the Creative Europe’s MEDIA programme, we're committed to encouraging european countries who are less represented on the international market to take part in our activities by handing out each year, special grants enabling them to participate at lower costs.

...bringing new voices

In order to achieve this, Sunny Side of the Doc has joined forces with key European partners active in the sector, to help identify these new voices in emerging European markets.

« It is extremely important to bring new voices and visions to the international documentary landscape, as they provide us with a deeper understanding of various topics, make us think about them and teach us how to behave. Giving these opportunities to new talent, through markets such as Sunny Side of the Doc, is absolutely fantastic as is it enables us, Broadcasters, Distributors, Film Festivals, State Funders and other Independent Producers to meet them and help them in their quest to tell the world their untold stories." - Lejla Dedic, AJBDOC Film Festival

2024 Grant recipients

In order to ensure more presence and better visibility for professionals and works, Sunny Side of the Doc has built a strong network of partners, pro-actively focused on PECO countries and provided incentives. This year, a new wave of talented filmmakers will have the chance to travel to La Rochelle and meet the documentary community thanks to our Europe's Got Talent grants programme.

Bitter Sugar

Radium Films (Georgia)
Selected in AJB DOC Industry Days - Bosnia-Herzegovina

Logline: Three brothers living in a dying industrial town in Georgia struggle to cope with life independently, as their parents have been forced to go abroad in search of work.

Lake

Graal Sa, rawDOCS (Greece)
Selected in Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival 2024 - Greece

Logline: Will the climate alarm and the imminent opening of the borders inspire cooperation between the three countries around the lake?

Not in the Business of Making Friends

Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin (Romania)
Selected in East Doc Forum 2024 - Czech Republic

Every Other Girl

Abdoulie B. JARJU (Gambia)
Selected for the Impact Campaigns competition, Sunny Side of the Doc 2024.

Logline: In rural Gambia, a filmmaker embarks on a deeply personal journey to confront the centuries-old tradition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), weaving together intimate family stories, cultural exploration, and a call to action against this harmful practice.

Follow the carnation

Catarina de Sousa, Lui Avallos (Portugal)
Selected for Innovation WIP, Sunny Side of the Doc 2024.

Logline: Follow the Carnation is a virtual reality experience that uses archives pre and post Carnation Revolution - which took place on April 25, 1974 - overthrowing the longest dictatorship in Europe, to reflect on the fragility of modern democracy.

Gohar goes home

Marina Shupac, Gohar Gyurjyan (Moldova)
Selected in Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival 2024 - Greece

Logline: Gohar, a young social worker, is set on the dangerous journey to return back home to the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). While she is driven by desire to help her community living under the blockade, her own life falls at risk. What is Gohar ready to sacrifice to be at home?

partners

A shared ambition
with our partners