It was a successful wager on the part of the Sunny Side of the Doc team, the helmers of the international documentary and narrative experiences market whose La Rochelle-based physical edition had to be cancelled as a result of the health crisis, replaced by a 31^st Digital Edition which unspooled from 22 – 25 June. With 950 companies, 1,700 accredited professionals, 350 stands and pavilions in the virtual market, and nigh-on 100,000 page views on the platform (including the video library, accommodating 1,360 projects and programmes), the market aroused a great deal of interest, also capitalising on the 4^th PiXii Festival which is dedicated to digital installations and narrative experiences at the crossroads between documentary, culture and immersive technologies.

Worth a mention among the winners of the six themed pitching sessions – in which programme organisers, buyers and international distributors were able to form an opinion on 42 projects in search of funding and hailing from 17 countries - is the victory in the Arts & Culture category of The Mayor, Me, Mussolini and The Museum, written by Piergiorgio Curzi and Sabika Shah Povia (and set to be directed by the former), a production bringing together Italian firm Road Television and French group Illégitime Défense.

In the Social Issues category, meanwhile, it was Olha Zhurba’s Roma (working title) which reigned triumphant. This production steered by Ukrainian firm Moon Man, Dutch outfit Tangerine Tree and Denmark’s Final Cut For Real will tell the tale of a Ukrainian teenager transitioning to adulthood against a turbulent existence (his life on the street, spent drifting and committing minor crimes).

Likewise featuring among the victors is The Tiger Mafia [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Karl Ammann and Laurin Merz (produced by Swiss group Hook Film) in the Wildlife pitching session, Irish project Kozak by David Burke (produced by Dot TV & Films), which plunges us into Latin America in the History category, A Perfect Spy by France’s Rémi Laine (produced by Little Big Story) in the Archives Storytelling pitches, and Behind Lucy by Luis G. Juanes
(steered by Spanish outfit) in the Science category.

For reference, the connected.sunnysideofthedoc.com platform will be open to accredited individuals (as are the pitching sessions) until 30 June, with the latter subsequently enjoying access, as of 1 July (and via the market’s official website), to all projects, programmes of the event and replays of conferences and round tables.

The winners are as follows:

Best History Pitch
Kozak – David Burke
Production: Dot TV & Films (Ireland)

Best Social Issues Pitch
Roma (working title) - Olha Zhurba
Production: Moon Man (Ukraine), Tangerine Tree (the Netherlands), Final Cut For Real (Denmark)

Best Wildlife Pitch
The Tiger Mafia [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] - Karl Ammann, Laurin Merz
Production: Hook Film (Switzerland)

Best Arts and Culture Pitch/ West Lake IDF Award
The Mayor, Me, Mussolini and The Museum - Piergiorgio Curzi and Sabika Shah Povia
Production: Road Television (Italy), Illégitime Défense (France)

Best Archives Storytelling Award
A Perfect Spy - Rémi Laine
Production: Little Big Story (France)

Best Science Pitch
Behind Lucy - Luis G. Juanes
Production: Somadrome (Spain)

Best Digital Experiences Pitch
Ancestral secret VR - Maria Jose Diaz, Francisca Silva
Production: Galgo Storytelling (Chile)

Special Prizes

East Doc Market Award
Pure Unknown [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Valentina Cicogna, Mattia Colombo
Production: Jump Cut (Italy), Sisyfos Film (Sweden), Amka Film Production (Switzerland)

Dox Box Mentoring Prize
System Terror - Astrid Schult
Production: Tondowski Films (Germany)

AIDC Award
Long Live My Happy Head - Austen McCowan, Will Hewitt
Production: Melt the Fly (Scotland)

Meeting Point Vilnius Award
Roma (working title) - Olha Zhurba

IMZ Award
E. is for Escovado : The Sheila E. Story
Production: Jennifer Steinman Sternin and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

DAE Talent Encouragement Award
Pure Unknown - Valentina Cicogna and Mattia Colombo

Festival Invitations

Dok.fest Munich
Roma (working title) - Olha Zhurba

Movies That Matter
Pure Unknown - Valentina Cicogna, Mattia Colombo

Doc Leipzig
Pure Unknown - Valentina Cicogna, Mattia Colombo

Wildscreen Festival
Tiger Mafia - Karl Ammann, Laurin Merz

Hot Docs
Long Live My Happy Head - Austen McCowan, Will Hewitt

World Congress of Science & Factual Producers
Behind Lucy - Luis G. Juanes

Jackson Wild Summit
Tiger Mafia - Karl Ammann, Laurin Merz