Sunny Facet of the Doc’s Aurélie Reman: ‘It’s a Second in Historical past for Reliable Content material’

The 37^th Sunny Side of the Doc (SSD) returns this 12 months to the coastal metropolis of La Rochelle, France after dealing with off budgetary headwinds.

From June 22 – 24, the streamlined documentary market launches new sections, no imply feat on condition that they solely had 5 months to place it collectively. However simply as most documentary filmmakers study to make do with restricted coin, so has SSD.

Saved by new funding from France’s Centre of National Cinema (CNC), what has been touted as the largest documentary-focused market worldwide has forged a new alliance with professional training initiative Documentary Campus. Collectively, they may concentrate on establishing a B2B milieu the place each linear and digital tasks take part.

“It’s probably a moment in time and in history when there is a strong need and appeal for trustworthy content – truth-telling, verified, cross-checked factual content. It’s a key moment when our industry needs to think of itself as a global ecosystem, and we need to rethink and rebuild the funding models together,” stated Sunny Facet managing director Aurélie Reman.

Geared toward constructing partnerships and alternatives, the three new sections embody Meet & Match, developed alongside Documentary Campus, which can join producers with decision-makers.

SSD additionally launches Copro Hub, devoted to fostering co-production exchanges and networking. Case research of profitable partnerships shall be offered day by day, moderated by Windrose’s Pauline Mazenod.

Thirdly, the Distributor Monitor, geared toward consumers and distributors, will function Meet the Patrons and Velocity Courting classes.

The market’s LatAm Content material Assembly has lured delegates from Latin America, with the biggest group coming from Brazil this 12 months.

“Our goal is to promote and enhance the international co-production model and its adaptation to the current context where we see traditional funding evolving,” Reman identified.

Echoing this 12 months’s theme ‘The Right Move,’ she added:”That is the precise transfer to supply readability at a time when the business must rethink its editorial methods, the position and vacation spot of documentary movies and the broader shift towards a digital-first or streaming-first surroundings.”

Some 2,000 professionals from 60 totally different nations are anticipated to descend on La Rochelle. These will embody producers, creators, filmmakers, distributors and naturally, funders, broadcasters and streaming platforms. SSD expects greater than 200 choice makers to attend, amongst them consumers, commissioners and co-financiers.

The newcomers and notable gamers at this 12 months’s occasion embody Lauren Billingsley for National Geographic Channels (U.S.), Damian O’Hara for Paramount, Carolyn Payne for Nationwide Geographic Europe & U.Ok., Simone Theilmann for RTL Television, Christian Hensgens for RTL Tv Germany/NTV, Troels Branth Pedersen for TV 2 Denmark, Lina Matta for MBC Group and Manuel Villanueva for TVUNAM.

“What we’re observing is that the role of public broadcasters remains very central when it comes to funding original, new and fresh content. But I would say that the hyper-distribution of content makes negotiations, revenue generation and maintaining a long-term view more important, especially when deciding how much to invest in development while having a clearer sense of what you will get in return,” Reman famous, “And, particularly for documentaries, it is essential that they are able to travel internationally, which is also very much part of Sunnyside’s DNA.”

Among the many highlights is a chat by Oscar-winning producer Helle Faber (“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”) who will look at worldwide co-production amid main business modifications, taking a look at how producers can adapt to evolving financing buildings and shifting world partnerships.

Ben Zand, founder and CEO of Zandland, will ship the opening keynote tackle that can replicate on what genuinely engages audiences right this moment and the way creators can construct sustained viewers connection in an more and more fragmented media surroundings.

Patricia Boutinard Rouelle (Nilaya Productions) and Emmanuelle Guilbart, president of SEDPA, will talk about the pressures of fragmented revenues, the erosion of rights worth and find out how to preserve inventive and business sustainability in a market more and more formed by algorithms.

SSD can also be welcoming IP professionals from the guide business for the primary time, to discover how they will construct connections and doubtlessly collaborate with TV producers.

“This highlights another key aspect of Sunny Side,” stated Reman. “We focus on documentaries for TV, digital and streaming platforms, which means we are not primarily addressing theatrical or cinema audiences.”