DAE’s Top Documentary Tips for the European Film Market

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Berlinale and European Film Market is back onsite and online! Here are our tips for you!
Berlinale is back, we’ve missed you. We’ve trawled the EFM programme for documentary highlights and programming for you. There is a lot of new discoveries to be made this year, from the locations to the programme structure. You will find us in Café Connect at the Documentation Centre here.
You won’t find the Doc Salon in the MGB this year, so come see us over in the Documentation Centre, only five minutes walk from the Gropius Bau. We will be waiting for you! Our consultation slots are booked out, but do reach out if you’d like to make a meeting. And a convenient tag filters the documentary programme in the EFM’s event schedule.
Two DAE members, Venice Atienza and Emilie Bujès will also have jury duty, Venice for Berlinale Generation and Emilie for the RBB documentary award. Too many members have films participating in the festival this year to mention, but we wish you all the best of luck!
We are wishing all the filmmakers with films in the competition, programme, exhibitions and professionals. pitching and selling their films a very productive and fruitful market.

We are happy to be official partners again with the EFM.
Here are our programme highlights for your convenience!
 

DAE Talk
Are Documentary Filmmakers (inherently, obviously, automatically) Good People?
Saturday 18 February, 17:00-18:00 – Event Hall at the Documentation Centre
We are very happy to welcome Orwa Nyrabia (IDFA) and Abby Sun (IDA) onstage for a lively debate on whether or not documentary filmmakers occupy a “better” ethical place than others in the audiovisual sector. Read more here.

Other Talks
SustainABILITY: Driving Multi-Perspective Solutions to Contemporary Challenges
Friday 17 February, 14:45-16:00 – Event Hall at the Documentation Centre
In a contemporary age challenged by seemingly out-of-control human-made crises  – irreversible global heating, energy shortages, pandemics, racial inequity and social inequalities – this future-facing conversation will aim for the bigger picture and ask the essential question of how we, as a global (film) community,  can  sustainably fulfil the needs of today, without challenging future generations to fulfil their own needs? Speakers include documentary producer, director and curator Tiny Mungwe. More here.
 
Curating the Future: Towards Programming Equity
Saturday 18 February, 15:15-16:30 – Event Hall at the Documentation Centre
In the last year, the film festival community has been shaken to its core by calls from filmmakers and industry alike for more responsible, ethical, and transparent curatorial practices. And while many legacy institutions continue to resist progress, programmers of colour, community-rooted film festivals, and new distribution initiatives have for years been advancing justice-centered programming practices, responsibly uplifting stories about historically marginalized communities, and are designing the future of film curation. Inspiring panelists include Jemma Desai and others. More here.
 
A New Reality: Decolonising the Post-Soviet Screen
Monday 20 February, 15:15 – 16:30 – Event Hall at the Documentation Centre
DAE members GoEast Filmfestival will cohost a session exploring how the contemporary realities are relayed, mediated and depicted onscreen through filmmaking. Panelists include  Simone Baumann, Anisa Sabiri, Romas Zabarauskas, Zane Balčus, Tamara Tatishvili and Heleen Gerritsen. More here.
 
Plurality in Non-fiction: What’s at Stake in the Age of Mainstream
Tuesday 21 February, 11:00-12:00– Event Hall at the Documentation Centre
We are in a risk-adverse time for the documentary market, let’s hear from pillars of the industry on streamers, awards and film festivals. Read more here.

DAE Consult the Experts Round Tables 

Saturday 18 February 15:00-16:00 – Café Connect at the Documentation Centre
From Pitch to Premiere – The Short Doc Journey: Follow the journey of the short documentary “Waking up in Silence“, screened in the Generation section of the Berlinale 2023, from pitch to premiere with insights from a market, distribution and creative perspective with the filmmakers and industry professionals
Book your slot here.

Monday 20 February 15:00-16:00 – Café Connect at the Documentation Centre
New Year New Funds: Meet Ben Fowlie (Dianne Weyermann Fellowship), Julian Carrington (Hotdocs Funds) and Shamira Raphäela (New Dawn Fund) in a personal and intimate setting to discover a selection of exciting funding opportunities for new creative documentary works and the folks working for these funds.
Book your slot here.

Consulting/Round Tables with Experts
Friday 17 February – Tuesday 21 February, 14:00-15:00, 15:00-16:00 – Café Connect at the Documentation Centre
These small group consultations are bookable with five participants meeting a series of experts from different fields. Log in to your profile to book a slot. Documentary experts include funders such as IMS or festival distributor and DAE members Andy Norton from Raina Films, Toni Bell from Represent Media or Margje de Konig from Movies that Matter. Log in to browse the full schedule.
 
Meet the Festivals
Friday 17 February – Monday 20 February, 11:00-12:00 – Café Connect at the Documentation Centre
One of the most popular EFM sessions, Meet the Festivals is a fast way to meet your dream festival’s programming or industry teams. Festivals taking part include: Sundance Film Festival, Sheffield Doc Fest, DOK Leipzig, DocAviv, DocLisboa, TIFF, Venice Film Festival, RIDM and many more. Log in to browse the full schedule and make your meetings.

Happy Hours

Baltic Producer’s Spotlight – February 17, 15:00-16:00 – Producer’s Hub in the MGB
Jih.lava IDFF/Emerging producers – February 17, 18:00-19:00 – Café Connect in the Documentation Centre
DA Films – February 18, 18:00-19:00 – Café Connect in the Documentation Centre
Cocktail Celebration for Docu Rough Cut Boutique – February 18, 18.00-29:00 in the Rotunda at Gropius Bau
Cinema at Sea – February 19, 18:00-19:00 – Café Connect in the Documentation Centre

Other Events
Founding of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy
Friday 17 February 11:30-12:30 – Gropius Bau
Declaration of the establishment of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy and Presentation of upcoming fiction and documentary film projects work in progress by independent Belarusian authors. We warmly invite you to the reception of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy and its founding group members after the presentation. For more information please email here.
 
Presentation of the Selected Ukrainian Projects by Odesa International Film Festival
Saturday 18 February 17:00-18:00 – Producers Hub in the Gropius Bau
New works by Ukrainian directors will be presented together with Odesa International Film Festival, including new documentary works from DAE members. Check out more information here.
 
Berlinale Talents Doc Station Presentation
Wednesday 22 February 14:30-16:00 – Event Hall in the Documentation Centre
DAE Senior Consultant and Berlinale Talents Doc Station coordinator Zeynep Güzel will lead us through the project development of Doc Station. Discover new works for acquisition and co-productoin. Check out more information here.
 
Archive Market
February 21, 11:00-18:00 – Café Connect in the Documentation Centre
We are so happy to see a day of all things archive returning to the EFM! 
Representatives of premier, international footage libraries present their archives and invite EFM participants to discover their collections and discuss specific projects. Archive researchers and archive producers will offer EFM participants between 12am-1pm and 4pm-5pm one-on-one speed consultations.

Attending Archives: Cézame Music Agency, Bundesarchiv, Getty Images, Filmkontor, akg-images, British Pathé, IMAGO, rbb media / footage Berlin, Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation, AP ARCHIVE, Huntley Film Archives, SVT International, Bridgeman Images
Archive Producers and Researchers: Monika Preischl, Elizabeth Klinck, Morgane Barrier, Michael Konstabel, Toni Bell & representatives of GRAP (German Researchers and Archive Producers). More info here. 

Support Turkey and Syria after the February 6 Earthquake:

Here are some vetted links from DAE members and friends.