{"id":19755,"date":"2023-06-14T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2023-06-15T09:51:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T13:51:06","slug":"event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunny Side of the Doc returns to La Rochelle next week, bringing international documentary-makers and buyers together for an in-person, four-day market. Running from June 19 to 22, this year\u2019s market is putting the focus on viewers\u2014who\u2019s watching what, what platforms they\u2019re viewing on and more. Mathieu B\u00e9jot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc, speaks to TV Real<\/em>\u00a0about what to expect at the upcoming event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we decided to focus on the viewers because we felt that they are key in our business,\u201d B\u00e9jot says. \u201cAfter all, you write, develop, produce and air documentaries so that they can be viewed by different target audiences. But we felt that they are sometimes neglected in the documentary world,\u201d especially in more recent times.<\/p>\n

B\u00e9jot points out that when producers used to solely deal with linear broadcasters, the broadcasters already had a relationship with their audiences. \u201cThe producers didn\u2019t really have to think about that,\u201d he says. \u201cBut nowadays, with changes in consuming habits, changes in behavior with all the platforms, with FAST channels, we feel that it\u2019s more and more essential that from a very early stage, people think about who they are writing for. And for us, it\u2019s a way of answering some of the key questions: Who\u2019s watching what? Where? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

This particularly applies to young viewers\u2014those who no longer primarily watch traditional, linear television. \u201cWe have one session really dedicated to younger audiences,\u201d B\u00e9jot notes. \u201cThe idea is to know how to reach them, where to reach them, and with what kind of storytelling and formats. To give you an example, a lot of people say that the old style of documentaries with voiceover really don\u2019t make it with younger audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLinked to that, we will talk about serialized documentaries as well,\u201d he says. \u201cWe think it\u2019s part and parcel of trying to find new ways of getting people interested in documentary and getting their attention, especially younger audiences who\u2019ve grown up with drama series and who are used to different narrative codes and styles. We\u2019ll have a session with Netflix, for instance, looking at how you can write, produce and edit, always thinking with the viewers in mind. How do you write the beginning\u2014the first minute\u2014of a show to make sure you grab people\u2019s attention? So, a nitty gritty of how to make sure that the stories are relevant these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another main theme of this year\u2019s event that ties into its overall focus on viewers is impact campaigns. Sunny Side of the Doc will feature a dedicated pitching session for producers looking for impact partners\u2014not looking for financing, but for NGOs, foundation and impact producers who can help to create an impact campaign. Though impact and distribution are sometimes seen as contradictory, B\u00e9jot says, the market will include a talk about how the two can be mixed successfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the documentary sector, not in drama,\u201d he notes. \u201cThe end result is not always to make as much money as possible, otherwise I think people would produce different kinds of programs, but really changing people\u2019s behavior, changing their way of thinking, raising awareness for some topics. A call to action sometimes is very, very important, but how do you make it coincide with the fact that you need to recoup your investment and make a bit of money to invest in new documentaries?\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the industry talks and showcases, Sunny Side of the Doc will again host seven pitching sessions: the five main specialist factual categories (Science, History, Arts and Culture, Nature and Conservation, and Global Issues), as well as New Voices and Impact Campaigns. Six projects were selected for each category out of 320 submissions received from 56 countries.<\/p>\n

The chosen projects cover a wide range of topics, with climate change in particular proving to be a popular theme. \u201cThe impact of climate change is everywhere, in every single section,\u201d B\u00e9jot says. He notes that this wasn\u2019t a huge surprise, as the Sunny Side of the Doc Global Pitch that took place in February was centered on the topic. That being said, \u201cwe were really amazed that a lot of submissions, whether in the Arts and Culture category, in Science, Nature and Conservation, New Voices, Impact\u2014climate change is everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another major trend B\u00e9jot makes note of is documentaries moving away from exclusively using official archives to featuring more personal archives. This \u201cmeans being able to tell stories from the point of view of people<\/em>, not just the official point of view,\u201d he says, which ties into the main focus on audiences. Sunny Side of the Doc is working on a focus on Australia and plans to center more on First Nations in the future. \u201cTypically, when you talk about audiences that you need to conquer, First Nations and underrepresented groups don\u2019t necessarily watch traditional media, so how do you reach them? What kind of stories do you tell them? It\u2019s interesting because last year, we did a session on de-colonizing archives. It\u2019s very much linked to that new archives [trend] and new ways of telling stories for First Nations\u201d and other underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n

In terms of buyers signed up to attend, Sunny Side of the Doc expects to see over 2,000 attendees, just like last year. \u201cWe have all the traditional broadcasters from Europe,\u201d B\u00e9jot says. \u201cNHK will be there, PBS will be there. Canadians are really strong as usual. We have people from Brazil, from Chile. The Chinese are coming back after a couple of years where they couldn\u2019t travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the PiXii Festival, which usually runs alongside Sunny Side of the Doc, B\u00e9jot and the team made the decision to permanently move it to October. \u201cIt was a little confusing for some people who didn\u2019t quite know whether it was a public festival or a B2B festival,\u201d he notes. \u201cIn terms of programming, obviously you don\u2019t show the same kind of experiences if you\u2019re addressing a professional crowd versus a general audience. We were trying to do both, and that\u2019s the best way of not doing any of them really well. So, we\u2019ve decided in June to focus on the B2B events.\u201d<\/p>\n

B\u00e9jot stresses, however, that the innovative side of Sunny Side will still be present. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at all the forms of storytelling in documentary: traditional linear documentaries, immersive content, VR, AR, etc.\u201d Multiple industry talks are scheduled for those interested in curating more immersive experiences with their content.<\/p>\n

Though this year\u2019s Sunny Side of the Doc covers many topics through its various talks, pitching sessions and showcases, the most important facet remains: \u201calways, always putting the viewers at the core of our thinking,\u201d B\u00e9jot says.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mathieu B\u00e9jot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc, on what to expect at the upcoming event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":19756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[4566,1076],"class_list":["post-19755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-mathieu-bejot","tag-sunny-side-of-the-doc","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nEvent Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mathieu B\u00e9jot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc, on what to expect at the upcoming event.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-14T12:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-15T13:51:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/SunnySideoftheDoc2022-0623.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/\",\"name\":\"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-14T12:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-15T13:51:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. She can be reached at jstalcup@worldscreen.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/jamiestalcup\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL","og_description":"Mathieu B\u00e9jot, director of strategy and development at Sunny Side of the Doc, on what to expect at the upcoming event.","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/","og_site_name":"TVREAL","article_published_time":"2023-06-14T12:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-15T13:51:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/SunnySideoftheDoc2022-0623.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jamie Stalcup","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamie Stalcup","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/","name":"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 - TVREAL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-06-14T12:00:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-15T13:51:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/event-preview-sunny-side-of-the-doc-2023\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Event Preview: Sunny Side of the Doc 2023"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/","name":"TVREAL","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb","name":"Jamie Stalcup","description":"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. She can be reached at jstalcup@worldscreen.com.","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/jamiestalcup\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1412"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}