Sunny Side of the Doc & Eurovision Align in Documentary Initiative

GENEVA: Eurovision and Sunny Side of the Doc are teaming up to support European documentaries at the June 2016 event in La Rochelle.

For the first time, Eurovision's Documentary Group and Science & Knowledge Group will both attend Sunny Side of the Doc, held from June 20 to 23, 2016. More than 60 program managers from European public-service channels will be defending the best documentary projects with international potential on all subjects and themes.

The Documentary Group will hold its meeting on Monday, June 20, with its own pitching session featuring about 20 projects in current affairs, contemporary history, and art and culture. It will also present a few flagship projects during the Sunny Side of the Doc pitching sessions in the global issues, history, and arts and culture categories.

The Science & Knowledge Group will meet on Tuesday, June 21, to share experiences, screenings, and develop co-productions. Additionally, for the third year running it will join forces with the Sunny Side team to call for projects and hold a pitching session on a special day dedicated to science subjects, Wednesday, June 22.

Asta Dalman, the chairwoman of the Eurovision Science & Knowledge Group, and Axel Arnö, the chairman of the Documentary Group, stated, "Bringing these two major Eurovision groups to the Sunny Side of the Doc to develop documentaries promotes synergies between program managers, producers and directors for the strongest projects on the market and helps defend the values of public service broadcasting on the international stage."

"We are delighted to step up our collaboration with Eurovision this year and to welcome these two documentary groups," added Yves Jeanneau, the director-general of Sunny Side. "Sunny Side of the Doc is a favorite destination for European public service broadcasters as it enables them to join forces and attract new, non-European partners to projects they've selected."