Sunny Side of the Doc Reveals 2021 Official Pitch Selection

Sunny Side of the Doc has confirmed the official Pitch Selection for the 32nd edition of the event, as well as the XR experiences shortlisted for the fifth edition of PiXii Festival.

This year, 42 projects from 18 different countries (Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., the U.S.) will be presented during six themed sessions and tailored one-to-one meetings at Sunny Side. The event will be held online from June 21 to 24.

In keeping with Sunny Side of the Doc 2021’s central theme #StorytellingMatters, the projects selected highlight stories that affect the planet, shake convictions and incite change for the future. Seventy-two percent of the projects selected are created or produced by women. The event’s partners include RTBF for the Global Issues Pitch, PBS International for the History Pitch, Science & Vie TV for the Science Pitch, West Lake International Documentary Festival for the Arts & Culture Pitch, The Redford Center and Love Nature for the Wildlife & Conservation Pitch and Ubisoft for the Immersive Experiences Pitch.

“Not only do the works submitted offer wide range of diversity in terms of geographical origin, subjects tackled and the voices that shares them, but this 2021 vintage also brings the opportunity to discover bold and untold stories from different perspectives that we’re not used to seeing,” explains Mathieu Béjot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc.

This year, Netflix and Sunny Side of the Doc have collaborated to present the “New Voices Award,” a newly created prize for up-and-coming voices in the industry.

Lorraine Sullivan, manager of creative talent investment and development in EMEA at Netflix, said: “Diversity and inclusion unlock our ability to innovate and to be creative. This is a cultural value at Netflix, and we know that inclusion behind the camera exponentially increases inclusion in front of the camera. That’s why we are committed to supporting new talent and allowing people to discover the world through a different perspective.”

This year’s PiXii Festival continues its strategy to drive networking, co-creation and collaboration between professionals from the creative and cultural industries around XR. A selection of seven XR films (360, 3 DoF and 6 Dof) as well as a podcast/vodcast series will be available from June 7 to 30 via a dedicated video library. For the first time, in cooperation with leading cultural sites in La Rochelle, the event is expanding its offer to the general public, who can take part in nine immersive experiences from the official selection (Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark) at the Natural History Museum, Musée du Nouveau Monde, Tour de la Chaîne (CMN), the Aquarium and the city’s SNCF train station.

Ubisoft will present “Georges Méliès: virtual fantasies” out of competition, a virtual reality experience designed especially for the Musée Méliès, the new movie museum by Cinémathèque Française.

Stéphane Malagnac, PiXii development executive, said: “Immersive technology is a fantastic way to help more people better understand crucial themes like the climate emergency, women’s rights, migration and social change.”