The first online edition of Global Pitch, a 2-day pitch forum organised by Sunny Side of the Doc where emphasis was placed on strong stories with international impact, awarded its Grand Prize 3 February to The Hungarian Playbook produced by Florian Schewe of Film Five (Germany) and directed by Bence Máté.
The logline reads how the film “follows the heroic struggle of a handful of young journalists against the propaganda machine of [Hungarian] prime minister Viktor Orbán, which is becoming a role model across national borders. They are insiders who turned against the system.”
The prize, sponsored by Real Stories and Off The Fence is valued at €3,000 and includes two full passes for the next edition of Sunny Side of the Doc, scheduled for June 2021.
The jury citation noted how The Hungarian Playbook “stood out in its coverage of a timely and urgent story that’s not only important in Hungary but in all of Europe and across the globe. The project speaks to the threat posed by the rise of far right movements and autocratic leaders in countries around the world, and the courage of journalists fighting both within and outside the system.”
“Of course I want to thank the Hungarian prime minister, who made this possible,” joked director Máté during his acceptance speech.
More than 320 professionals from 52 countries including 86 international decision-makers from 29 countries (53% from the European Union, 25% from North America and 22% from the rest of the world) attended the Global Pitch presentation of 12 investigative and current affairs documentary projects “that decipher our world’s status, inspire change and shed light on future paths.”
Sunny Side of the Doc director of strategy and development Mathieu Béjot hailed the “strong, bold, impactful, daring and sometimes extremely risky projects” that were pitched over the two days.
“In a word we have seen documentary at its best, and this is exactly what we mean at Sunny Side of the Doc when we created out motto for 2021: storytelling matters. Also, despite the general Zoom fatigue it has been great for us that there is room for a highly curated online event that provides access to, and interaction, with relevant industry peers.”
