Sunny Side of the Doc has announced the official selection of the third edition of Global Pitch. The two-day online project pitch event – sponsored by AJB DOC, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and WaterBear – is this year devoted to the theme of Climate Change: its consequences on our societies and the concrete solutions implemented around the world.
“Facing the climate emergency that affects us all and requires us to mobilize, the documentary genre can provide a constructive, verified and rigorous media treatment, write organisers.
Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, Managing Director, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, one of the Global Pitch sponsors says: “Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and AJB DOC Film Festival are proud to be part of the Global Pitch second year in a row. This event brings important topics from around the world to key decision makers. This year’s topic is about Climate Change, an opportunity to discover communities’ impact on Climate Change and the measures taken to prevent it. It’s never too late to start somewhere, so let’s start now.”
Following the Call for Entries launched last October, 100 projects were received from 37 countries, including significant participation from African countries such Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, organisers state.
“For the third edition of the Global Pitch, we are impressed by the strong commitment of the documentary community and the quality of the submissions and selected projects. It only goes to show how relevant and universal the issue of climate change is”, says Mathieu Béjot, Director of Strategy and Development at Sunny Side of the Doc. “Projects coming from all around the globe were extremely diverse in terms of themes, angles, treatment and format. Although we may feel we no longer need to address climate sceptics, dealing with climate change, finding justice and solutions is still an uphill struggle. Sunny Side wishes to contribute by giving greater exposure to 12 compelling stories.”
The two-day pitching session aims to facilitate international co-productions and funding for climate change documentary projects. During two days, the 12 selected projects will have the opportunity to pitch in front of more than 100 high-level international decision-makers representing major broadcasters, streamers, foundations, buyers and other funders. The participating companies confirmed to date are : National Geographic, Netflix, ABC Australia, PBS, ZDF Studio, Paramount Pictures, BBC, Arte, France TV, SVT Sweden, Off the Fence, Sundance, RTBF.
A dedicated jury of industry experts consisting of Khadidja Banouataf (Impact Social Club), Keisha Knight (IDA), Cleo Veger (Dogwoof) and Julian Etienne (Doc Society), will have the task of selecting the winning project which will receive a cash prize of €3,000.
