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Film und Medien Stiftung NRWNewsPressNRW@SunnySide: North Rhine-Westphalia at the Sunny Side of the Doc documentary marketplace

NRW@SunnySide: North Rhine-Westphalia at the Sunny Side of the Doc documentary marketplace

  • Germany is the „Country of Honour“ on the occasion of the 30th edition of the documentary market in France’s La Rochelle
  • Prime-Minister Armin Laschet: „A good signal for cultural relations between Germany and France“
  • NRW will be presenting the „German Opening Cocktail“ and discussing the prospects for documentaries between cinema, television and platforms
  • 2,000 participants from over 50 countries are expected in La Rochelle from 24 – 27 June

Germany is the "Country of Honour" of the 30th edition of the European documentary market Sunny Side of the Doc, which begins today (Monday) and will be running in La Rochelle, France, until 27 June. On this occasion, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW's NRW Documentary Day, Filmbüro NW, the German Film Academy and Creative Europe Desk NRW will be going „on tour“ and showcasing NRW as a documentary hub together with producers and professional associations. More than 2,000 participants from over 50 countries – primarily international filmmakers, producers, buyers, sellers and commissioning editors – meet each year at this marketplace for international documentaries.

Armin Laschet, Prime-Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Republic of Germany’s representative for cultural relations with France: "It is a good signal that the French documentary market 'Sunny Side of the Doc' has chosen Germany as the 'Country of Honour' on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. And it’s a good thing that the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is taking this opportunity to present the film region of North Rhine-Westphalia together with producers and professional associations and also support the international networking of our documentary filmmakers. I am delighted that the cultural relations between Germany and France are once again coming to the fore."

"We congratulate Sunny Side on the anniversary and welcome the opportunity to present Germany as a strong documentary filmmaking nation along with our colleagues from the FFA and the other Länder. To this end, we are sending our Documentary Day 'on tour' to discuss the prospects for documentaries between cinema, television and platforms. We are looking forward to engaging in an exchange of views and experiences with the international documentary filmmakers," says Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

The first opportunity will be provided by the German Opening Cocktail on Monday, 24 June, which the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is hosting. On Tuesday, 25 June, the panel on "Documentaries between cinema, television and platform" will focus on current challenges, prospects and strategies for the production and exploitation of documentaries. Christiane Hinz from WDR and Diego Buñuel from Netflix will discuss with the documentary filmmakers Christian Beetz and Luzia Schmid. Arne Birkenstock (Fruitmarket) will serve as the moderator.

This year sees the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and other regional film funders, the FFA, German Films and Creative Europe all coming  together in La Rochelle to showcase German documentary filmmaking. The ifs international filmschool cologne will also be travelling to La Rochelle with its students to exchange experiences there with international students and network with the industry.

Other partners of the NRW Documentary Day in La Rochelle are AG DOK, dfi at the Filmbüro NW, Documentary Campus, ifs Non-Fiction Masterclass, KHM, WDR and the Film and Media Association NRW.

For more information: Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Ada Riemenschneider, Tel.: 0211-93050-62,