Award Winners from seven pitch sessions were announced 27 June at the close of the 35th Sunny Side of the Doc. Over four days, the market hosted 2100 participants from 68 countries, over 1000 companies, 90 exhibitors, and 250 international decision-makers including major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, distributors, financiers, and museums from around the world, say organisers.
The event welcomed 40 delegations from countries such as Australia, Spain, Brazil, Canada, and a large number of participants from China once again this year, say organisers.
“With the main theme “Mapping the Future” and in a global context that is challenging for the sector, the market reaffirms its crucial role in supporting international co-productions and serves as a launch platform for all types of linear and non-linear projects. It also provides a space for discussions on new opportunities for distributing immersive and XR content,” organisers add.
Mathieu Béjot, Director of Strategy and Development at Sunny Side of the Doc, comments: “In the current context marked by societal polarization, the rise of extremism, and international geopolitical tensions, Sunny Side supports the powerful and impactful documentary genre more than ever. While preserving the DNA that has characterized it for 35 years, Sunny Side continues to diversify to include the entire documentary value chain. The market brings together impact actors, archives, and distributors who play an increasing role not only in the circulation of finished films but also in the pre-financing of projects.”
Among the winners, five women were awarded and three winners presented their first project (see complete list of the 2024 Pitch Sessions winners below.)
Highlights of the conference programme included keynotes from PBS, an XR artist, and First Nations Australian voices; the first showcase of Nigerian documentaries; Meet The Executives sessions with international channels; Industry talks on AI, archives, podcasts, new narratives, and women in documentary; and the line-ups from French channels and groups like France Télévisions, Arte, Canal+, TF1, M6, and Altice Media.
Sunny Side looking ahead to 2025
In the coming months, Sunny Side of the Doc will continue to open the event to different perspectives from new territories and emerging forms of storytelling while ensuring diversity and inclusion, say organisers.
Comments Aurélie Reman, Managing Director of Sunny Side of the Doc. “Today, our goal is to bring together at the end of June in La Rochelle documentary talents from five continents within an ever more resilient and determined community…Our event should be a real moment of reunions, exchanges, and debates on the crucial role that documentary plays in our societies. We have a strong commitment to supporting these new voices in the market to fully succeed in their entry onto the international stage. We will support them more structurally so they can find their place alongside more established producers, distributors, and broadcasters.”
2025 will therefore see the development of the Sunny Academy, a platform for sharing expertise and skills for new generations of storytellers worldwide. The next step in this initiative will be organizing the pitch sessions at the first LatAm Content Market in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from March 10-13, 2025. This partnership aims “to strengthen the co-production channel between America, Europe, and Africa by connecting today’s creative and production talents with key industry decision-makers.”
Upcoming Sunny Side of the Doc events are the PiXii Festival, 8th edition, October 17-20, 2024; La Rochelle & Rochefort Pitch sessions @LatAm Content Market, March 10-13, 2025 Sunny Side of the Doc; the 36th edition June 23-26, 2025, La Rochelle.
SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC 2024 PITCH SESSION WINNERS
- BEST SCIENCE PITCH Sponsored by PBS Distribution. THE BRAIN GARDEN. Produced by: Storyland PTY LTD. (Australia) Directed by: Randall Wood
- BEST NEW VOICES PITCH Sponsored by Al Jazeera & AJB DOC Film Festival. DREAM OF THE WILD OAKS. Produced by: Seven Spring Pictures (Iran) Directed by: Marjan Khosravi
- BEST GLOBAL ISSUES PITCH Sponsored by RTBF. INSIDE GAZA. Produced by: Factstory, AFP – Agence France Presse (France) Directed by: Hélène Lam Trong. Special Jury Mention: SILENCE OF THE LAMS. Produced by: EZ Films (Ireland) Directed by: Ciaran Deeney
- BEST ARTS & CULTURE PITCH Sponsored by Al Jazeera Documentary Channel & AJB DOC Film Festival. THE SHAPE OF BLUE. Produced by: Intuitive Pictures inc. (Canada) Directed by: Sybilla Patrizia
- BEST IMPACT CAMPAIGNS PITCH THE MYTH OF MONSTERS. Produced by: Gather Together (Malaysia) Directed by: Beatrice Leong
- BEST NATURE & CONSERVATION PITCH Sponsored by Blue Ant Media & Love Nature. EMPALIKINO. Produced by: Ripple Productions Ltd (Kenya) Directed by: Eric Mwangi
- BEST HISTORY PITCH OUR SISTER ANGELA: BLACK POWER IN THE GDR. Produced by: Florianfilm GmbH (Germany), Dare Pictures (United States), La Lutta (United States). Directed by: Jascha Hannover & Katharina Warda. Special Jury Mention: THE CURSE OF SUGAR. Produced by: Hauteville Productions (France) Directed by: Mathilde Damoisel
SPECIAL AWARDS WINNERS
- AIDC AWARD DREAM OF THE WILD OAKS. Produced by: Seven Spring Pictures (Iran) Directed by: Marjan Khosravi
- PITCH THE DOC AWARD A SATELLITE FOR BURU LAÏ Produced by: Gédéon Programmes (France) Directed by: Antoine Lechat & Suium Sulaimanova
- STUDENT CHOICE AWARD BA’S BOOK Produced by: Ina Fichman (Canada) Directed by: Ashley Duong
- IMZ AWARD NIEMEYER 4EVER Produced by: Special Touch Studios (France) Directed by: Aurélia Makdessi
- The Roch Bozino de l’engagement AWARD TALES AND SENTENCES. Produced by: Little Big Story (France) Directed by: Alexandre Donot-Saby
- IMPACT SOCIAL CLUB AWARD EVERY OTHER GIRL. Produced by: Cinatrix Media (Gambia). Directed by: Abdoulie B. Jarju
- BEST IMPACT MOVIE AWARD UNWELCOMED Produced by: Amilcar Films (Chili). Directed by: Sebastian González Méndez & Amilcar Infante
- INSTITUTE OF DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD A SATELLITE FOR BURU LAÏ. Produced by: Gédéon Programmes (France) Directed by: Antoine Lechat & Suium Sulaimanova
- DOCEDGE AWARD YURLU | COUNTRY Produced by: Illuminates Films (Australia) Directed by: Yaara Bou Melhem
- MOVIES THAT MATTER AWARD YURLU | COUNTRY Produced by: Illuminates Films (Australia) Directed by: Yaara Bou Melhem
- AL JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY INDUSTRY DAYS AWARD INSIDE GAZA Produced by: Factstory, AFP – Agence France Presse (France) Directed by: Hélène Lam Trong
