Nominations open for Thessaloniki Pitching Forum

What they are looking for?

• 12 -14 original feature-length documentary projects from Southeastern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa that combine artistic ambition and high visual quality. Amongst those 12 -14 projects, docuseries projects can be of shorter length.
• Projects by established as well as emerging directors, who should have directed at least one short film.
• Projects that are either produced or co-produced by a country within these regions or contain elements in the story that link them to these regions.
• Projects that have a producer and a director attached and could be at all stages of development.
• Do you have a documentary that is not from the eligible countries but you think Thessaloniki Pitching Forum is a good launching platform for you? You are welcome to apply. The selection committee will evaluate all submitted projects.

Funding Information

• Jury Awards:
  • IEFTA Best Doc in Development Award
    • €10.000 to a project in development at the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum.
  • ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award
    • €2.000 to a Greek project.
  • EURODOC Award
    • €1.000 and a EURODOC membership.
  • DAE Consultancy Sessions Award
  • Aylon Productions Digital Services Award
    • Digital transfer of archival material up to 1 hour (2K).
• Independent Awards:
  • Onassis Film Award
    • €5.000 to a Greek project participating in the Agora (Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or Agora Docs in Progress).
  • Mediterranean Film Institute Award
    • MFI Script2Film Workshop, which offers a DocLab scholarship worth 2,000 euro to an international project. (June – December 2025).
  • Beldocs Award
    • Accommodation and Accreditation for the next International Documentary Festival Beldocs in May 2025.
  • DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award
    • 2 Co-Pro Market Observer Passes and two festival accreditations (Co-Pro Market Observer entails participation in the Open Programme).
  • Sunny Side of the Doc
    • 2 accreditations and 500 euro towards travel expenses.

Eligible Countries

• Countries eligible to participate (as major production country or as a co-production country) are: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Selection Criteria

• Once a project has been selected, both director and producer are expected to be present during a two-day online preparation and project enhancement workshop taking place in mid January.
• Project holders also agree that at least one representative will attend the entire duration of the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum (Arrival: March 8/Rehearsal: March 9/Presentation: March 10/Awards: March 12/Departure: March 13/Online Meetings: March 14).
• The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum offers accommodation for 5 nights (in case both the director and the producer attend, they can cover one double room) and can reimburse part of the travel expenses per project team (receipts are required).
• Your project’s meeting schedule will be sent to you a few days before the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum begins. The schedule will be based upon requests from the invited industry professionals. Additional meetings are scheduled and curated by the Agora team and upon availability.
• Finished documentary projects sprung from the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum agree to mention their participation in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum by adding the program’s logo in their credits. Preferably, the following sentence should be mentioned in the credit list: “[film title] has been presented at the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum of the [festival edition] Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival [year]”. The logo will be sent to the filmmakers upon selection of the project.

Guidelines

• Their main focus in the selection procedure will be on projects that present a high possibility of being realised, combining this quality with artistic elements as well as its financial feasibility.
• Projects should have an international audience appeal.
• The application materials and subtitles should be in English.
• They accept only feature documentary projects (over 60 minutes), TV documentaries and docuseries may be of shorter duration.
• One production company or producer can submit up to two projects.
• A production company or producer can re-submit a project that was previously not selected, if there have been substantial changes in its development.
• A project should mention any other workshops and markets it has been previously presented and when, as well as any pending applications.
• The projects are evaluated by an international selection committee. The final selection is the result of the decision of each year’s selection committee together with the Head of Agora in accordance with the Festival administration.
• In the final selection they strive to maintain a balance between represented countries, regions, genders and addressed themes.
• The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum collaborates with the program CIRCLE Doc Women Accelerator, selecting each year one project that has participated in the programs. In order for a project to be considered, they must apply to the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum. The final selection is decided in accordance with the selection criteria of their program.
• The number of selected projects is up to fourteen (14).

Application Requirements

• The application must include:
  • Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Online Application Form:
    • Applicants should submit the online application form (in English) in order for the project to be considered for selection. Please make sure to complete the form thoroughly. Once you have completed the online form you cannot make changes. Elements from the application form will be used for communication purposes should your project be selected.
• ONE singular PDF file in English including the following:
  • Synopsis (1/2 page).
  • Reflections on the narrative construction and the visual concept (up to 1 page).
  • Total budget sum.
  • Financing Plan in Euro (Please indicate text, amount in EURO, % and status: confirmed, pending, in progress, to be applied, to be found).
  • Visual material either in form of a pitch pilot, selected scenes or trailer (this can be provided via password protected web link).
  • Production details including length, time of delivery, contact info, etc.

For more information, visit Thessaloniki International Film Festival.