Sunny Side of the Doc, the international documentary marketplace held in La Rochelle, France, is about to open its 37th edition, but it almost didn't happen. The event faced a near-cancellation after the 36th edition due to the loss of a key European grant. However, the Centre National du Cinéma (CNC), an agency of France's Ministry of Culture, stepped in with financing, and Documentary Campus, a nonprofit with deep experience in training media professionals, partnered with Sunny Side to ensure its survival. This near-cancellation, as Aurélie Reman, managing director of Sunny Side, notes, highlighted the importance of a standalone market for documentary with a global vision and an international reach. It also underscored the need for more advocacy for documentary storytelling, especially in a period of conflicts, disinformation, and polarization around the world.
The 37th edition of Sunny Side will be a slimmer, reimagined version, focusing on delivering market intelligence to 2,000 professionals from Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world. The main objective is to provide independent producers and distributors with the strategic insights they need to navigate the industry. Reman emphasizes the importance of agility and collective thinking in renewing financing models and collaboration patterns among broadcasters, producers, distributors, authors, and filmmakers.
One of the key aspects of this year's Sunny Side is the introduction of the Copro HUB, which will facilitate co-production meetings around thematic issues, Speed Dating between buyers and distributors, and the Meet & Match program developed with Documentary Campus. This will enable over 100 new projects to access the right partners in targeted meetings. The Copro HUB will also feature case studies that will be presented every morning to kickstart the day, illuminating how successful documentary productions came to be and how they managed to build high-quality international co-productions.
One of the most successful international co-productions of the last year is Mr. Nobody Against Putin, directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by the film's protagonist, Pavel "Pasha" Talankin. The film was produced by BBC Storyville, Made in Copenhagen, ZDF/Arte, and Pink Productions and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in March. Helle Faber, CEO of Made in Copenhagen and a producer of Mr. Nobody Against Putin, will explore lessons drawn from her experience on the film in one of Sunny Side's keynote addresses, offering a candid view of a market in flux.
Faber will reflect on how producers can adapt, what new partnerships may emerge, and what must change for bold, globally relevant documentary stories to continue reaching audiences. The opening day keynote on Monday, June 22, will be delivered by Ben Zand, Founder and CEO of Zandland, who will explore what truly connects with audiences today and how creators can build lasting engagement across an increasingly fragmented media landscape. A major part of that media landscape is YouTube, which represents a distribution platform for documentary makers, as the PBS series Frontline and Independent Lens have recognized.
Reman emphasizes the need to tackle or better understand YouTube in terms of its real potential for creators and traditional players who now need to integrate that factor into their ecosystem. Keynoter Ben Zand will shed light on the convergence of TV and digital, describing how creators can build lasting engagement around high-quality content. This is a crucial topic in today's media landscape, where creators are now able to produce feature films and collaborate more with TV channel producers and distributors.
Sunny Side of the Doc may have wobbled after its 36th edition, but the event has been given a stronger foundation for its 37th edition. This is welcome news for the documentary community, as it will provide a platform for producers and distributors to strategize and collaborate, ensuring the continued growth and success of documentary storytelling.
