René BOURDAGES

 

Vice President, Cultural Portfolio Management
Telefilm Canada (Canada)


What are your expectations and objectives for this 34th edition of Sunny Side of the Doc? What will be your highlights not to be missed during these 4 days of the market?

Learn. Connect. Collaborate.

There is an increased appetite to connect and meet new people as we come out of a global pandemic. Sunny Side of the Doc offers documentary filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world a place to gather and share in their experience, knowledge, and artistry of documentary storytelling.

This year, Telefilm is proud to sponsor two matchmaking events for countries like Germany and other strategic partnering countries.

Canada is making a big comeback with one of the largest delegations with nearly 50 people at the market this year. We also want to recognize our very own Ann Shin’s Dark Side of the Metaverse (Fathom Films) in the Global issues pitch section at #SSD23.

Audience is the main thread of the 2023 edition, why do you think this topic is crucial for you, your company and the documentary industry as a whole? In your company, which documentary audiences do you want to target and where?

Discovering new audiences is a priority for Telefilm. With more and more films debuting on platforms, we know collaboration with distributors, streaming services, digital providers and retailers as well as film festivals and markets are all important partnerships to enhance the discoverability and highlight the richness and creativity of this genre to the general public.

We are convinced that integrating new actors contributes to the vivacity of the sector. How would you present / explain - in a few words - Sunny Side of the Doc to those who do not know about the marketplace yet?

Sunny Side of the Doc is an ideal marketplace for international documentary and narrative experiences, enabling distribution and coproduction opportunities. With a strong Canadian presence, you can meet Canadian producers and companies at the Canada Pavilion (Stand B. 28).