Sunny Side 24

Liz Gibbons will sit alongside fellow Beeb commissioners in La Rochelle on a panel named Meet the Execs (Tues 25 June 4pm), during which the BBC toppers will give Sunny Side delegates an insight into just how and why they greenlight films and programmes. The execs will also talk about their perspectives on co-production and acquisitions. Gibbons explains more to BDE.

Since his appointment as Head of Documentary at Screen Australia in January, Richard Huddleston has been relishing the opportunity to act as “chief cheerleader” for the sector. “It has been fascinating; it has been rewarding; it has been challenging. Above all, being head of documentary filmmaking at a national funding agency, it’s an absolute privilege,” he tells BDE.

For the second year the 3-part Ex Oriente Series programme, dedicated to developing and supporting innovative docuseries projects from Central and Eastern Europe, kicks off at Sunny Side of the Doc. Six projects are selected. The programme continues in October 2024 at DOK Leipzig and in March 2025 at the East Doc Platform in Prague. The lead tutor is Ruth Reid, who is joined by Chris Westendorp, Catherine Chevassu, Malin Hüber, and Samuel Joyce.

It’s a decade now since Elizabeth Klinck, the renowned archive producer and copyright clearance specialist, approached Sunny Side of the Doc together with a small team of history producers to suggest that “history and archive” should be included as a key part of the festival alongside its other strands. This year, as she tells BDE, she will host two debates; on ‘Archives, AI and Ethics,’ and ‘Archives at Risk.’

ShareDoc founder Anne Marie Borsboom talks to Business Doc Europe about her QR code initiative that enables immediate financial engagement by audiences as soon as the credits roll. “We exist to amplify the social impact of documentaries for the protagonists/charities involved in the project,” she says. “We believe in guiding the audience towards immediate action while bridging the gap between the documentary industry and documentary lovers.”

The new Sunny Side of the Doc award bears the name of the Java Films founder, who passed away in 2023 and “who always loved coming to La Rochelle.” The €3,000 prize will be awarded to a project in the Global Issues or New Voices pitch that "best engages with the humanitarian issues of today or inspires us to make a difference."

“The migration crisis, feminism in Latin America, ancient cultures and political conspiracies” are the themes explored in the Chilean projects presented at La Rochelle this year. The project Unwelcomed by Amilcar Infante and Sebastián González is selected for the Impact Campaigns Pitch section. Meanwhile, María Wood Producciones and Cábala Films attend with some their latest projects, with both seeking co-production and sales.

Nine Polish projects will be presented at Sunny Side of the Doc 2024 by some of the country’s leading doc production houses, including Silver Frame, Kijora Film, Smart Films, AP Mañana and Short Docs Media. The delegation arrives under the aegis of Polish Docs Pro, led by Barbara Orlicz‐Szczypuła, Director of KFF Sales & Promotion and Katarzyna Wilk, Head of Polish Docs.

“What makes us really unique is that we are the only pure market dedicated just to documentary,” underlines Sunny Side’s Mathieu Béjot ahead of the event’s 35th roll-out, the core of which is the presentation of 42 new projects across seven themed strands. “Part of our mission also is to make sure that there's renewal in the industry, and that you don't hear the same pitches from the same companies.” Sunny Side of the Doc 2024 runs June 24-27 in La Rochelle, France.

This year, 42 projects from 21 countries will compete for the Best Pitch Prize. The selected projects will be presented across seven thematic pitch sessions. Australia will be back in force 2024, with a total of seven documentary projects. Five further projects are selected for the Innovation WIP support programme dedicated to innovative documentary creation. Sunny Side of the Docs runs June 24-27 in La Rochelle, France.