Sunny Side of the Doc Makes Global Pitch 2024 Official Selection

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Sunny Side of the Doc has revealed the 12 documentaries that make up the official selection for the fourth edition of its Global Pitch for Global Change, taking place on February 6 and 7.

Among the selected projects are Camels of the Sea, produced by India’s Elefant Films; For Venida, For Kalief, from the U.S.’s Abstract Nomadic Media; Forgotten Land, produced by Kenya’s Purple Mango Pictures; and Plastic Love!, produced by Japan’s Sybilla Patrizia.

The other titles to be presented during the Global Pitch are Radioactive Gold, from Singapore’s The Moving Visuals Co. and India’s Deepak Bara; Replica, from Australia’s Axel Rise Films and Denmark’s The Why Foundation; Sentient, produced by Australia’s In Films PTY; The New Climate Fairytale, from France’s Cinephage and Slovenia’s Petra Pan Films; Tough Old Broads, produced by Canada’s H2L Productions and Myna Ishulutak; Waiting for Winter, from Bangaldesh’s Noyakar Productions and France’s House on Fire; Water on Fire, produced by South Africa’s Uhuru Productions; and Widow Champion, from Kenya’s Afrofilms International and the U.S.’s 10th Street Films.

The call for entries opened last October and saw more 130 projects from 45 countries submitted. The 12 selected projects will be pitched to key international decision-makers, including NRTVE, IDA, S4C, BBC, PBS, TG4, NHK, Arte, German Films, Channel 4, RAI, ZDF, Mediawan, Sky Deutschland, Canal Curta, Little Dot Studios, France 24 and many more.

The winning projects will be selected by a jury consisting of Jane Mote (The Whickers), Patricia Finneran (The StoryBoard Collective) and Mohammed Saïd Ouma (Documentary Africa Fund). The winning project will receive a cash prize of €3,000, as well as two free market passes for the 35th edition of Sunny Side of the Doc, taking place from June 24 to 27.

“The deliberately broad theme of the Sustainable Development Goals has enabled us to receive an incredible diversity of high-quality projects from all continents,” said Mathieu Béjot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc. “In their own way, all the projects, whether selected or not, illustrate the acute awareness that people around the world have of the major issues facing the world today. Almost all the objectives are addressed in the projects, which is hardly surprising given that they are known to be highly interdependent, to the point where they may result in conflicting goals and achievements, as illustrated by several projects in the selection. And yet, only 15 percent of these objectives, which are essential to our very survival, are on the right track. It is therefore our responsibility to continue to provide a platform, such as the Global Pitch, for these impactful stories to find partners, so that the messages of the activists and whistleblowers they highlight can ultimately reach the public.”

The Global Pitch is sintered by AJB DOC Film Festival, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel.

Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, managing director of Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, commented, “Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and AJB DOC Film Festival are proud to sponsor the Global Pitch [for the] third year in a row. We understand the crucial urgency of documenting the journey toward sustainable development and a better life. Let’s collectively appreciate our planet through this platform provided by Global Pitch, understand its challenges and explore the paths where progress meets sustainability. Join us, make a difference and become a part of the solution.”