Sunny Side of the Doc Closes, Unveils Pitching Session Winners

Sunny Side of the Doc’s 34th edition has wrapped after welcoming over 2,000 participants to La Rochelle and handing out awards to its pitch winners.

The four-day event saw participants from 64 different countries attend, along with 1,000 companies, 90 exhibitors and 300 international decision-makers, including major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, sales agents, funders and museums. It also welcomed delegations from Spain, Canada, Australia and China.

“It’s an immense pleasure to have brought together international industry leaders in La Rochelle to promote and celebrate the genre, especially this year as France is celebrating the year of the documentary,” said Mathieu Béjot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc. “Sunny Side of the Doc is asserting its unique status as the international market place for all forms of storytelling and documentary.”

“Now more than ever, documentary has established itself as the key genre for channels and platforms’ broadcast programming,” Béjot continued. “Our theme focused on viewers has confirmed the public’s appetite for the genre, especially among younger audiences. While being instructive, informative and a source of entertainment all at the same time, documentary must also be engaging. As such, Sunny Side has strengthened its actions around impact campaigns, in particular by introducing a new dedicated pitching session.”

The best global issues pitch went to This is a Quiet Love, produced by Curious North Productions (Ireland) and directed by Garry Keane. Science’s Forgotten People, produced by France’s Good to Know and directed by Laurence Thiriat, was awarded for the best science pitch.

The best arts and culture pitch was given to Fatma Said—Reviving a Forgotten Treasure, from Germany’s 3B-Produktion and director Ralf Pieger. In the new voices category, Life in the Shadows, produced by Afghanistan’s Kamay Film and directed by K.D., won.

In the new impact campaigns pitch, Berlin Producers Media’s The Pickers, directed by Elke Sasse, was selected as the winner. The nature and conservation pitch saw The Kimberley, from Australia’s Wild Pacific Media and director Nick Robinson, awarded as the best. The history pitch winner was Vietnam—Our Voice Unheard, from LOOKS Film & TV Produktionen (Germany) and directed by Lucio Mollica.

The innovation section of Sunny Side of the Doc saw lots of participants. Maïté Labat, innovation and digital experiences programmer at Sunny Side of the Doc, said, “There were many wonderful encounters around immersive experiences this year. Creators, project leaders, producers, broadcasters and cultural institutions from around the world passionately exchanged ideas around new and innovative storytelling and documentary forms.”

PiXii Festival, which used to run alongside Sunny Side of the Doc, will now take place from October 19 to 22. The next edition of the Global Pitch will take place February 6 to 7, 2024, and the 35th edition of Sunny Side of the Doc is already scheduled for June 24 to 27, 2024.