Sunny Side of the Doc Unveils 2024 Selection

Sunny Side of the Doc has unveiled the 42 projects from 21 different countries that make up the official selection for its 35th edition, taking place June 24 to 27.

The projects were selected from 320 submissions from 60 countries, over 55 percent of which were directed by women. The chosen submissions come from territories all over the world, including Australia, Kenya, Japan, the U.S., Brazil, Chile, France and the U.K., among others.

“The 2024 selection is rich and balanced, and should satisfy the expectations of broadcasters while making room for promising projects that are more unexpected and in need of international exposure,” said Mathieu Béjot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc. “The work started last year with the first season of our Australian focus resulted in a record number of high-level submissions, and the final selection includes no fewer than seven Australian projects. This 2024 selection reflects our ambition to ‘Map the Future,’ and stands out for the diversity of views and treatments around major social issues—conflict, migration, climate change, the place of women, disability, the impact of technology, etc.—all of which have in common a desire to question the role and place of human beings in our environment and an ambition to have a social impact.”

In the global issues category, the selected projects are Bukal Bukal from EarthStar Films (Australia); Inside Gaza from Factstory and AFP—Agence France Presse (France); Silence of the Lams from EZ Films (Ireland); Tales and Sentences from Little Big Story (France); Water on Fire from Uhuru Productions (South Africa) and Lu Films (France); and Yesterday’s Weirdness from Shipton House (Australia).

The nature and conservation category picks are Eagle Man from Wild Pacific Media (Australia); Empalikino from Ripple Productions and WildlifeDirect (Kenya); Fields of Gold from Riverbank Studios (India) and National Geographic Society (U.S.); Frontline Rangers from Regen Studios, New Dream Productions and Margee Brown (Australia); Mirador, Soundscape Through Japan from NHK Enterprises (Japan); and Snow Globe from Hazel Pictures (U.S.).

The selected projects in the sciences category are Ancient Baby Beasts from Rotating Planet Productions (Canada); Artificial Intelligence: The Great Pompeii Puzzle from Elephant Adventures (France); Destination Proxima Centauri from Somadrome Films (Spain), Little Big Story (France) and Nordic Eye Productions (Sweden); Marine Heat Waves: When the Deep Blue Sea Turns Red from Good to Know and Saint Thomas Productions (France); The Brain Garden from Storyland (Australia), Windfall Films (U.K.), Yuzu Productions (France) and Genepool Productions (Australia); and Unconventional Gardeners from Zenit Arti Audiovisive and Dirk Manthey Film (Italy).

The chosen history titles include How to Stop a War from Kathryn Kennedy (Ireland) and Spring Films (U.K.); Letters from Iraq from Ocean Films (Brazil); One Inch Eastward from Sandu Films (Romania), Akajava Films (Ireland) and Smarty Pants Shooter (Bulgaria); Our Sister Angela—Black Power in the GDR from Florianfilm (Germany), Dare Pictures (U.K.) and La Lutta (U.S.); The Curse of Sugar from Hauteville Productions (France), Wonder Maria Films (Portugal) and Inicia Films (Spain); and The Lost City of Sanxingdui from Imagissime (France).

In the arts and culture category, selected titles are Call Me Sinsorga from Al Borde Films (Spain); Edgar Hilsenrath the Masturbator from Solent Productions (France); Niemeyer 4 Ever from Special Touch Studios (France), The Attic Productions (Lebanon) and Mayana Films (Germany); Paradise Camp: Homecoming from Pilum (Australia); Prosperine and the Others from GA&A Productions (Italy); and The Shape of Blue from Intuitive Pictures (Canada).

The six projects for the impact campaigns category are Every Other Girl from Cinatrix Media (Gambia) and Iamnativ (Uganda); London You Don’t Know Me from Korvin Production LDA (Portugal); Our Land, Our Freedom from Twende Films (U.S.), Afrofilms International (Kenya) and Muiraquitã Filmes (Portugal); The Myth of Monsters from Gather Together (Malaysia); Unwelcomed from Amilcar Films (Chile); and Yurlu Country from Illuminate Films (Australia).

A Satellite for Buru Laï from Gedeon Programmes (France) and Dreampixies (Switzerland); Confessions of a Female Gamer from Agitprop/Balkan Documentary Center (Bulgaria), Thea Films (Bulgaria) and Dare Pictures (U.K.); Dreams of the Wild Oaks from Seven Springs Pictures (Iran) and Lukimedia (Spain); Fenced from Jonna Mckone (U.S.); Show Up from Spier Films (South Africa) and Labyrinth Films (Netherlands); and Solo from Donia Films (Tunisia) and Dynamo Production (France) are the picks for the new voices section.

The winners in the specialist factual categories—global issues, nature and conservation, science, history and arts and culture—will receive a cash prize of €3,000 ($3,200). The winners for new voices and impact campaigns, part of the focus of the year, will be awarded €2,000 ($2,100).

The five innovation WIP projects are Follow the Carnation from Isadora Pedro Neves Marques & Rodrigo Moreira (Portugal, Brazil); Animals Talk from Little Big Story Lab (France) and A_Bahn (Luxembourg); Coral Island by Risette and Miyu Productions (France); Uncanny Reverie from Studio M.A.R.s. (Austria); and Atlas Cinema from Etrange Miroir (France).