Thessaloniki Pitching Forum: March 5-9, 2023
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum is the co-producing and co-financing platform of the TiDF for creative and TV documentaries, as well as for new media documentaries (virtual and enhanced reality). The participants have the opportunity to discuss their projects, to receive feedback and advice during a two-day lab and prepare for pitching with the help of documentary professionals. Then, they pitch their projects to a panel of industry professionals and have one-on-one meetings with financiers, international decision makers and representatives of the international audiovisual sector.
This year’s selection features 14 projects from Albania, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, North Macedonia, Latvia, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Ukraine and the United Kingdom:
Director / Producer: Ana Otasevic - Dar Mar Films, Serbia
Director: Lesia Diak, Producer: Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin - FILMWAYS, Ukraine, Romania
Director: Roy Cohen, Producers: Roy Cohen - Roy Cohen Films, Serge Gordey - Temps Noir, Israel, France
Director: Sacha Biazzo, Co-writer: Chiara Freddi, Producer: Francesco Piccinini - Deepinto Srl, Italy
Docuseries
Director: Angeliki Aristomenopoulou, Producers: Yuri Averof, Rea Apostolides - Anemon Productions, Vicky Miha - Asterisk*, Heather Millard - Compass Films, Greece, Iceland
Directors: Kiril Karakash, Svetislav Podleshanov, Producers: Kiril Karakash, Svetislav Podleshanov - OPIUM Film, Ieva Ūbele - Baltic Balkan Productions, Eno Milkani - Bunker Film+, North Macedonia, Latvia, Albania
Director: Muhammad Reza Azadi, Producer: Ali Haider - Filmkhaana, Maaria Sayed - Draw4Films, Pakistan, Italy
Director: Athanasios Vasileiou, Producers: Orlane Dumas - Les films de l'Aube Sauvage, Konstantinos Vassilaros - StudioBauhaus, France, Greece
Director: Judit Oláh, Producers: Inez Mátis - Pi Productions, Annika Mayer - Majmun Films, Anna Stylińska, Katarzyna Slesicka - My Way Studio, Hungary, Germany, Poland
Director: Alaa Dajani, Co-writer: Kesmat El Sayed, Producers: Kesmat El Sayed, Laura Kloeckner - SEERA FILMS, Egypt, Germany
Director: Zaina Erhaim, Producer: Brian Hill - Century Films, United Kingdom, Syria
CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator project
Director / Producer: Yolanda Markopoulou - Polyplanity Productions , Co-writer: Ioanna Valsamidou, Greece
VR Interactive Documentary
Director: Olga Gibelinda, Producer: Ivanna Khitsinska - Quatros Group, Ukraine
Director: Anna M. Bofarull, Producers: Anna M. Bofarull - KABOGA Art and Films, Rok Biček - CVINGER FILM, Spain, Slovenia
WORKSHOP TUTORS & MODERATORS
Ove Rishøj Jensen, Producer & Documentary Consultant, Paradiddle Pictures, Denmark
Brigid O'Shea, Documentary Consultant, Documentary Association of Europe - DAE, Germany/Australia
WORKSHOP TUTORS
Philippa Kowarsky, Producer & Documentary Consultant, Israel
Mila Turajlić, Director & Producer, Poppy Pictures, Serbia
Natalia Libet, Producer, Ukraine
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM - AWARDS
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award € 2000
ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award € 2000 to a Greek project by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation
Onassis Film Award € 5000 to a Greek project participating in the Agora (Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or Agora Docs in Progress)
MFI Script2Film Workshop Award Scholarship for the Doc Lab (worth € 2000)
DAE - Documentary Association of Europe Award Bespoke consultation on your project with an industry expert
Aylon Productions Digital Services Award Digital transfer of archival material up to 1 hour (2K)
Beldocs Networking Award Accommodation and free accreditation for the upcoming Beldocs International Documentary FF (May 9-13, 2023)
DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award 2 Co-Pro Market Observer Passes and Accommodation (Co-Pro Market Observer entails participation in the Open Programme)
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM - JURY
Eleni Chandrinou, Consultant & Producer - Cigale Films, Belgium
Nevena Milašinović, Sales and Acquisitions Executive - Lightdox, Switzerland
Sara Rüster, International Distribution Manager - Swedish Film Institute, Sweden
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM - PANEL
Natalia Arshavskaya, Current Time Tv, Czech Republic / USA
Iva Dimitrova, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Bulgaria
Victor Ede, Cinephage, France
Alexandra Garcia, The New York Times / Op-docs, United States
Soleil Gharbieh, AFAC - Arab Fund for Arts & Culture, Lebanon
Maëlle Guenegues, Cat&docs, France
Adel Ksiksi, Aljazeera, Qatar
Marketa Stinglova, Czech Television, Czech Republic
Inka Achté, Raina Films, Finland
Magdalena Borowska, TVP, Poland
Lefteris Fylaktos, ERT, Greece
Sanam Gharagozlou, MUBI, France
Devin Karambelas, WGBH, United States
Charlotte Gry Daae Madsen, STV - Sweden
Esther van Messel, First Hand Films, Switzerland
Ashley Smith, Sisyfos Films, Sweden
Alex Szalat, Docs Up Funds, France
