Taking place primarily at the French Institute in Prague from March 14 to 19, the East Doc Platform 2025 open programme offers free access to engaging lectures, panel discussions, and film screenings—all held in English. Attendees – documentary enthusiasts, professionals, and industry newcomers alike – will “have the chance to explore the art and business of documentary filmmaking from multiple angles, gaining valuable insights from experienced directors, producers, and industry experts.”
This year’s edition delves into themes such as international co-productions, archival research, AI ethics, and the evolving role of broadcasters. Experts, including Claas Danielsen, Jesper Osmund and Mirjam Wiekenkamp, will share their knowledge about financing, storytelling, and festival strategy. Meanwhile, discussions on VR storytelling and emerging distribution models will highlight the latest developments in immersive formats. “With its diverse and thought-provoking content, East Doc Platform remains an essential space for learning, networking, and exploring the future of documentary filmmaking,” organisers write. See agenda below.
East Doc Platform event also unveiled details of the prizes and jurors for 2025. Core to these are the East Doc Platform Award for the best project in development and production; the The Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award worth €50,000, which is intended to foster creative collaborations in series co-production and empower independent producers; and the Silver Eye Award that supports directors with an innovative approach and which offers a year-long festival distribution service through the East Silver Caravan, valued at €3,500. Click here to see all prizes and jurors.
FULL LIST OF EVENTS IN THE OPEN PROGRAMME
FRIDAY, MARCH 14 2025
- Lecture by Claas Danielsen: The Spark of Originality: Each film project marks a fresh journey into unknown territories that can only succeed if the perfect team comes together and has a clear vision of its destination. How to shape an idea into a film that sticks out? How to develop a realistic financing strategy, choose trustworthy co-production partners, develop a convincing distribution strategy and launch the film successfully? Claas Danielsen, co-founder of Documentary Campus, former Director of DOK Leipzig and Head of the MDM Film Fund, shares his observations and experiences when it comes to developing, financing and distributing ambitious films and series for an international audience.
SATURDAY March 15 2025
- Panel discussion: Mr. Nobody against Putin (2025, DK, CZ) Inspirational discussion with the filmmakers behind the feature length documentary Mr. Nobody against Putin directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, produced by Made in Copenhagen in co-production with PINK. Danish – Czech co-production film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in World Cinema Documentary Competition 2025, awarded World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award and continues an exciting festival journey screening in international competition of One World Film Festival in Prague. What were the greatest challenges throughout the project the producers, crew and directors were facing? How does international co-production with many major broadcasters involved works in practice? Panelists: David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, director, Radovan Síbrt and Alžběta Karásková, producers PINK; Lucie Kon, commissioning editor BBC Storyville.
- Lecture by Jesper Osmund: Pitch trailer seminar Jesper Osmund will elaborate on how to make a compelling pitch trailer for your documentary project by showing examples and offering concrete advice. Jesper Osmund is an acclaimed film editor, narrative consultant, and tutor. With a career that began in fiction, Jesper found his calling in documentaries, embracing the creative freedom of editing without a script.
SUNDAY, MARCH 16
- Panel: Archives, Ethics & AI This inspiring panel will introduce the proposed guidelines from the APA and foster an open discussion on the ethical challenges and resposibilities faced by documentary filmmakers and producers. Key topics include the use, regulation, and rapid development of AI tools, as well as transnational policy-making in this evolving field. Panelists: Stephen Bergson – Archival producer, representative of the Archival Producers Alliance (APA), presenting the APA – Best Practices for Use (fall 2024), Lucie Králová – Documentary filmmaker, founder, and guarantor of the Future Memory Lab program, moderator – Tomáš Bojar. Other invited guests will be confirmed.
- Lecture by Mirjam Wiekenkamp, NOISE Film & TV: Festival Publicity 101 A publicity campaign is an essential part of launching your film into the world. But how does this work? What kind of materials do you need? How do you write a good synopsis? What makes a good film still? Which information should be included in a press kit? And what can be expected when it comes to press? International film publicist Mirjam Wiekenkamp (NOISE Film & TV) will share her ins and outs on publicity campaigns and get you ready to rock the festival circuit.
- Czech Docs: Coming Soon…What is new in the sphere of Czech documentary filmmaking, and what can we look forward to in the future? Five upcoming Czech feature-length documentaries will be presented by their producer-director team to an audience consisting of the general public, representatives of leading international film festivals, sales agents, distributors and other film professionals. The event is organized in cooperation with the Audiovisual Producers’ Association (APA). Moderated by Ivana Formanová (KineDok). This year’s projects are: Who Is Missing Today? (dir. Květa Chaloupková), Land of Fire (dir. Nikola Klinger), How Long Until We Die Out? (dir. Juliana Moska), Wasteland Chronicles (dir. Viera Čákanyová, Lucia Kašová, Barbora Sliepková), Death of Death (dir. Davis Simanis).
- SCREENING: Movements of a Nearby Mountain and Q&A with the filmmaker Sebastian Brameshuber In a remote, abandoned industrial site near a centuries-old ore mine in the Austrian Alps, a self-taught mechanic runs a business exporting used cars to his native Nigeria. As he pursues his lonely day-to-day activities with wondrous serenity, past, present and future begin to overlap, and memories of a lost friendship resurface against the backdrop of a mysterious promise of everlasting resources. The screening will be accompanied by a Q&A with the director Sebastian Brameshuber.
TUESDAY, MARCH 18
- Masterclass by Sebastian Brameshuber: Navigating Truth and Ethics in Documentary Filmmaking Documentary films on social issues raise important global questions, but they also present filmmakers with challenges related to ethics, authorship, and staying true to real-life stories—along with key questions of production and distribution. How can you tell powerful and truthful stories while maintaining credibility? How do you navigate artistic vision with respect for your protagonists? And how do you create a film that makes a real impact? Join documentary filmmaker Sebastian Brameshuber (Movements of a Nearby Mountain, In, Over & Out) for an inspiring masterclass.
- Panel discussion: New Opportunities for VR Distribution Virtual reality is transforming the way we tell stories, offering audiences unique and immersive experiences. What are the current trends in VR filmmaking? How is its distribution evolving, and how can new audiences be reached? What technological and creative innovations are shaping the future of this medium? Explore the rapidly developing landscape of VR distribution in this insightful discussion on new opportunities in the field. Leading experts Ondřej Moravec (Brainz Immersive), Sara Fatucci (Unframed Collection), and Gabriella Chihan Stanley (vrisch) will share their experiences and visions in this panel discussion. Together, we will explore successful projects and discover new ways to harness the potential of VR and push the boundaries of audiovisual storytelling. The panel discussion will be moderated by a XR, Web3 and immersive experiences expert and the founder of Holky v Metaverse Julie Šislerová.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19
- ALL THE MONEY FOR CULTURE State funding for the cultural sector is a crucial component, especially in the context of artistic and documentary filmmaking. Whether in production, distribution, or the festival circuit, very few can operate without government support in Central Europe. But what specific funding opportunities—such as subsidies, grants, and public funds—are available not only to filmmakers but also to organizations and institutions that bring their films to audiences Focusing on the Visegrad region, this panel discussion will explore these questions with representatives from various areas of the film industry in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. This event is supported by the International Visegrad Fund and is organized in partnership with One World Festival.
