Sunny Side 25

Executive producer Salla Kozma (pictured) announced June 19 the launch of her new Monaco and Finland-based film and TV production company Pig & Horse Productions. She also announced a “dynamic slate” of high-quality documentaries and unscripted formats, foremost among which is the high-end doc Reflections of Gaugin which “delves into the mystifying world of infamous art, wealth and power.”

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.

Eight projects will be presented in La Rochelle, four of which are competing within Sunny Side’s themed pitch sessions. The other four are at various stages, from development through to post-production. The projects are represented by Polish Docs Pro which delivers wide‑ranging promotion of the Polish documentary scene at a slew of international events throughout the year.

Four documentary changemakers from diverse backgrounds united during the Sunny Side of The Doc ‘Sunny Ladies: Let’s get powered up!’ session. Dawn Porter, Director of Trilogy Films (US), Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual at Channel 4 (UK), Andrea Rawlins, Director and Producer at Capa Presse (France) and Rafaella Costa, CEO of Manjericão Filmes (Brazil). Business Doc Europe reports.

Java Films will once again present the €3000 Roch Bozino Engagement Award at Sunny Side 2025, in honour of the company’s late founder. The prize will be given to a project within the Current Affairs & Investigation or New Voices pitches. Highlights of Java’s SSD slate include Zelensky (directed by Yves Jeuland, Ariane Chemin and Lisa Vapné), which received a Special Screening at Cannes. In addition, the company’s new DocRoom initiative (YouTube) boasts 80,000 views across 70 countries for its first offering, Lie to Me by Bår Tyrmi and Dag Mykland.

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.”

In the ‘Meet NHK’ session at Sunny Side of the Doc, Shin Yasuda, Head of International Co-productions and Acquisitions at NHK, presented a selection of current and future projects and, together with members of his team, highlighted his company’s acquisition and international co-production opportunities. NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) celebrates is 100th anniversary in 2025.

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…

18-year-old Abhilesh's uncle wants him to succeed in the wrestling academy so as to further his political career, but the boy just isn’t cut out for fighting, torn between duty and an unspoken yearning for something more. “In today's world, when wars are being waged by hyper-masculine men, our film quietly explores how masculinity isn't about following rigid ideas of social expectations but can be found in vulnerability, empathy and the courage to express yourself beyond your assigned roles,” Jadhav told the La Rochelle audience.

Exiled Gazan filmmaker Wafa Jamil delivered an impassioned pitch for her highly personal documentary that explores the themes of displacement, resilience and identity. “I'm carrying on not just as a filmmaker, but as a mom, as a daughter and a sister having a family surviving a genocide,” she told the professional audience in La Rochelle.