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The German docfest is looking for ambitious and creative documentary and animated documentary projects, as well as doc series in development or early production, to be submitted by 15 July. “The two-day gathering (27 - 28 Oct) facilitates the financing of new creative documentary projects and offers exclusive access to the multifaceted German and international non-fiction markets,” write organisers.

Following its July 4 theatrical release in the UK and Ireland, Swipe Films’ A Sip of Irish, directed by Frank Mannion (also producer and company MD), will be released across digital platforms Amazon Prime, iTunes and Microsoft on July 14. This is ahead of Swipe Films’ release of the film both in US cinemas and on VOD on October 24. “There are over 82 million people around the globe with Irish heritage, so they are our target audience,” says Mannion. “With the help of our international distributors, we should be able to turn our screens green every St Patrick's Day!”

The deadline for submissions to Forum’s Producers Connection, Forum Pitch, DocLab Forum and Rough Cuts is imminent: July 25 2025. Additionally, the IDFA Bertha Fund announced its selection for the IBF Europe – Minority Co-pro scheme, awarding €240,000 to six doc projects. “It was inspiring to see so many more meaningful, equitable, and director-centred collaborations being created worldwide, and it definitely made our selection work both difficult and rewarding,” says IBF Exec Director Selin Murat of the submissions she received.

The 2025 Sunny Side of the Doc pitch award winners were announced June 26 during the event’s closing ceremony. Over four days, the market gathered 2100 participants from 60 countries, over 1000 companies, 85 exhibitors, and 260 international decision-makers including major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, distributors, financiers, and museums from around the world. All winners…

Award-winning US docmaker Dawn Porter delivered a stirring keynote on the final day of Sunny Side 2025 during which she demonstrated how, through use of archive, history can (perhaps must) be told in many ways, and from myriad perspectives, but always with precision. “I can assure you that the reports [in the US] of the attack on truth and journalism…are not exaggerated,” she said. “We are not only tasked with telling history stories, but with making sure that the history that is told is not erased or distorted.”

Sitting on a potential goldmine of approximately 25% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves, the third-largest uranium reserves, and 20% of rare earths, Greenland is an icy Eldorado that today sparks all sorts of ambitions. “It's not the beauty of the landscapes which interests Donald Trump,” Jean-Yves Cauchard, co-director of Greenland, told the SSD professional audience of his latest project.

Mathare Fathers spotlights the lives of three single fathers from the vast Mathare slum (Nairobi, Kenya) who have left behind a life of crime to start a new one as single fathers. “Today, masculinity is at the crossroads,” says co-director Mattias Grosin says. “But these guys, they're building something so strong and beautiful together with the kids in one of the world's most harsh places. Love has become a lifeline.”

Leading documentary associations from the UK, Canada and the US announced this week in Sheffield the formation of a new international alliance to coordinate support for independent documentary film. IDA Director of Programs Abby Sun said: “We can all see the present and coming challenges to the sector on a political, financial and technological level. I know that together we are stronger, both in the US and internationally. Doc makers are some of the most resourceful, committed and agile people in the industry and right now we all need to pull together.”

“Are you sure about this, who’s going to want to watch a film about leftovers and creepy crawlies? It’s gross!” Producers Julien Adam (Capa Presse) and Sally Blake (Films a Cinq) invited the professional audience at Sunny Side into the loamy world of the compost bin during the pitch for their new doc project, Compost, The Hidden Treasure of our Waste, directed by Guilhem Touzery.

One of the Seven Wonders of the World is revisited using latest technology, with a promise to unravel the final secrets of the iconic Lighthouse of Alexandria. Gedeon Programmes’ The Lighthouse of Alexandria Decoded, directed by Laurence Thiriat, will be, producer Coraline Roch suggests, “a cinematic journey that will captivate global audiences and let them witness the reverse of the Wonder thought lost forever.”