Docs in Thessaloniki 2015: March 18 - 22, 2015 

Docs in Thessaloniki is your cost effective fast track to the European and international documentary market, and through the new outreach program also an opportunity for you to find new ways of reaching your audiences. In Thessaloniki you will develop your project, network with colleagues and pitch to financiers in a relaxed and constructive atmosphere. Submission deadline for projects is on January 16, 2015. If you want to take part in the forum without a project, you can apply as well.

Docs in Thessaloniki is your cost effective fast track to the European and international documentary market, and through the new outreach program also an opportunity for you to find new ways of reaching your audiences. In Thessaloniki you will develop your project, network with colleagues and pitch to financiers in a relaxed and constructive atmosphere. Submission deadline for projects is on January 16, 2015. If you want to take part in the forum without a project, you can apply as well.

You will be pitching to 12-15 leading financiers

Docs in Thessaloniki concludes with two days of pitching
During the pitching sessions all participants pitch their projects to a panel of international financiers from leading broadcasters. Pitchers have seven minutes to present their projects. The visual material in form of a trailer or promo has to be included in these seven minutes. After the pitch the panel has seven minutes to give feedback.

The pitching session is followed by scheduled individual meetings between the pitching teams and the financiers. The meetings are for in-depth discussions about further development and possible future collaboration.

The panel will consist of financiers from leading broadcasters and funders. We expect to have 12-15 financiers present for the Docs in Thessaloniki panel. We will announce the panel participants as soon as they have confirmed their participation.
Kathrin Brinkmann, ZDF/ARTE, Germany
Madeleine Avramoussis, ARTE GEIE, France
Lars Säfström, SVT, Sweden
Hanka Kastelicova, HBO Europe, Hungary
Jenny Westergård, YLE, Finland
Claudia Schreiner, MDR, Germany
Jan Rofekamp, Films Transit, Canada

Soon we will post information about more confirmed panel participants.

Outreach workshop
Top projects take part in the outreach workshop

In connection with the 2015 edition of Docs in Thessaloniki EDN is launching a new outreach workshop, which is tied to this pitching forum as well as Lisbon Docs. The new format will create a synergy between the two events, by selecting the top projects from each forum and bring them together in this post-event session taking place as an online workshop.

Focus for the session will be how the selected project teams can handle the increased need to combine new financing methods and alternative distribution methods with more traditional public funding sources. During the workshop the selected teams will strengthen the understanding of audience building and outreach for their projects in development. Through the online workshop the participants will:
· Learn about tools for audience engagement
· Sharpen their distribution strategy
· Get individual feedback from outreach experts
· Enhanced promotion and distribution possibilities.

The participants will benefit from these added values without adding extra travel costs and expenses for the production teams, as the seminar will take place online. The workshop is scheduled as a three-day event in early December 2015.

Succesful projects

Projects previously pitched at Docs in Thessaloniki include:

Those who said NO Directed by Nima Sarvestani. Produced by Nimafilm in co-production with Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion, SVT, DR TV and ZDF in association with ARTE. Selected for IDFA Feature Length competition 2014.

My Life My Lesson Directed by Åsa Ekman. Produced by Oscar Hedin, Film and Tell, Sweden. Selected for IDFA Mid Length competition 2014.

Two Raging Grannies Directed by Håvard Bustnes. Produced by Christian Falch & Håvard Bustnes, Faction Film, Norway. Co-produced by EiE Film, Italy & Fridthjof Film, Denmark.

Everyday Rebellion Directed by The Riahi Brothers. Produced by Golden Girls Filmproduktion & Filmservices GmbH, Austria & Mira Film GmbH, Switzerland.

Gangster of Love Directed by Nebojsa Slijepcevic. Produced by Vanja Jambrovic, Restart, Croatia. Co-produced by Kloos & Co, Germany; Subcultura Films, Romania & ZDF/ARTE, Germany.

If you want to have an impression of previous editions of Docs in Thessaloniki we have gathered a selection of photos at our EDN Facebook Page here.

How to participate

You get a large international network

The deadline for submitting your project for Docs in Thessaloniki is January 16, 2015.

You submit your project by sending a written 2-page presentation of your project accompanied by visual material.

The 2-page presentation
Your written 2-page presentation should include the following elements:
- Project info: project title, status of the project, expected time of delivery, length, & format
- The film: depending in the nature of the project this can include the story, characters, visual approach, directors note, etc.
- Contacts: name of producer, production company, director and contact information
- Profiles: short CV & filmography of company and director
- Financing: budget sum (total sum for the production, not the whole budget) and brief financing plan.

You can submit your 2-page presentation by email to: submit@edn.dk

The visual material
We prefer receiving applications accompanied by visual material; either as material already shot for the submitted project or as a previous work. You submit your visual material by including a link to an online streaming facility like Vimeo or YouTube when you email your 2-page presentation.
Participating without a project

If you currently do not have an international project in development but want to know more about making documentary projects for the international market, gain a network of international colleagues and meet leading international financiers you can of course still take part in Docs in Thessaloniki. Simply apply as a participant without a project. You will take part in all seminars and all sessions on equal terms with the selected project teams.

To apply for as a participant without a project, please send your C.V. and a short motivation for your participation to submit@edn.dk. You can apply up until the start of the workshop, but as seats are limited, early applications are preferred.

Participation fee

Please note that there is no fee for submitting your project to Docs in Thessaloniki.

If your project is selected or if you want to participate without a project, the price for being part of Docs in Thessaloniki is:
- 300 Euro for the first person connected to a project
- 200 Euro for second or third person connected to a project
- 200 Euro for observers

EDN members receive a 20% discount.

Besides the whole five-day pitching workshop and forum the participation fee includes all lunches and coffee breaks, dinner on the first evening and a festival pass for the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

EDN Contact Person
Ove Rishøj Jensen
ove@edn.dk
Phone: +45 3313 1122

Docs in Thessaloniki is organized by EDN in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival-Images of the 21st Century.

Docs in Thessaloniki is supported by the EU program Creative Europe.

http://www.edn.dk/activities/edn-activities-2015/docs-in-thessaloniki-2015/