Nick Cunningham

Billed as a keynote on Global Co-production in an Age of Uncertainty, Danish Helle Faber (Made in Copenhagen) delivered a riveting account of how, together with PINK in Prague, she produced the Oscar-winning Mister Nobody Against Putin by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin. Yes, co-pro can be unbearably frustrating and time-consuming, but this film was different. “Mr. Nobody Against Putin could not have been made by a Danish company alone, nor a Czech company alone. It could only be made because people in different countries chose to share the responsibility, not only for a film, but for a human being,” Faber said.

London’s Finsbury Park Picturehouse will host a July 11 one-day celebration of the creative impact of Smartphone Filmmaking - from no-budget DIY shorts to internationally acclaimed feature films. “Why I’m so fired up by smartphone filmmaking, beyond the dynamism and inventiveness, are the things it enables you to shoot which would be way harder or even impossible any other way.” says Adam Gee, Co-founder of SMart and Head of Documentary Campus Masterschool.

For the 25th edition of FIFDH, organisers are looking for 12-16 completed films with an impact campaign, as well as projects in advanced production that wish to develop such a campaign. From October 2026 to February 2027, human rights filmmakers will be trained to craft and refine their campaigns before being connected during Impact Days (7-9 March 2027) with major impact players operating both internationally and within Geneva’s network of organisations, policymakers, and philanthropists.

Archive is in the frame at SSD on June 24, as top US doccer Louise Rosen moderates two sessions of fundamental interest to attendees. The morning Archives and New Alliances event will offer up three examples of how to monetise archive content, while the afternoon Archive Showcase session “reimagines the archive pitch as a creative encounter.” During the latter event, participating companies (Reuters, British Pathé and Getty Images) will muse on the stories out there as yet to be discovered, all emanating from “a recent discovery…a newly restored [archive] gem.”

A 30-year industry veteran with previous top-level postings at both ARTE and Netflix, Mark Edwards will replace Bastien Gauclère who is moving to Bolivia to oversee French film and audiovisual policy for the Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela). The next edition of Fipadoc Pro will run January 25-28 2027 in Biarritz.

New Zealand’s Doc Edge Festival, running June 24 to August 2 across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, will showcase 87 films and immersive projects, including 28 world premieres, 12 international premieres and 23 Asia Pacific premieres. “Doc Edge continues to bring the world's most compelling documentary storytellers to Aotearoa,” says Dan Shanan, Executive Director. “We're excited to welcome filmmakers and subjects from around the world whose work explores everything from political resistance and artificial intelligence to grief, identity, music, conflict and social change."

Gaëtan Bruel, president of France’s National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), announced June 22 the launch of a new documentary market in Strasbourg in June 2027. “By establishing itself in Strasbourg, at the heart of Europe, this market will ambitiously carry the core values of documentary: rigor, diversity, and openness to the world,” he commented.

The Visions du Réel Foundation announced June 22 the appointment of Anne Delseth as Artistic Director and Co-director of the Festival. A member of the Selection Committee since 2023 and a recognised figure in the Swiss and international film industry, Anne Delseth will take up her position at the end of August 2026. She will succeed Emilie Bujès who, after nine editions at the helm of VdR, will take over as Artistic Director of the Geneva International Film Festival.

Espresso Media, the UK-based independent factual sales outfit, heads to Sunny Side of the Doc with a new slate spanning factual entertainment, premium science, true crime, world affairs, social documentary and history. “In a challenging distribution landscape for independent factual producers, it matters to us that we keep championing ambitious, high quality documentary work across every genre we operate in," comments Colette Webber, Acquisitions Manager.

One of the cornerstones of Japanese broadcaster NHK’s offer at Sunny Side 2026 will be its new documentary about the completion of the Tower of Jesus on Antoni Gaudi's spectacular Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. The new film, exec-produced by NHK’s Masumi Hoshino, will premiere in Japan on June 28 before its international roll-out. “The fact that we were granted exclusive access to film the Sagrada Família, and to document its construction continuously over such a long period of time, represents a major strength for NHK,” Hoshino tells Business Doc Europe.