Overview
Sheffield Doc/Fest offers extensive marketplace opportunities for all delegates. Hundreds of executives, distributors, commissioners, funders, advisors and buyers from documentary and cross-platform attend the festival. To see who came to Doc/Fest 2009, look here.
Doc/Fest is the perfect place to meet potential production investors and production partners. In 2009, over 1000 meetings were pre-scheduled between MeetMarket participants by the Doc/Fest team, with hundreds more arranged spontaneously at the festival. In 2010, Sheffield Doc/Fest is expanding its Marketplace and Industry activities even further.
Absolutely fantastic. The best documentary market in Europe, without a doubt
MeetMarket Producer 2008
Doc/Fest currently offers the following pitching & marketplace events:
International - networking and finance opportunities for both international & UK delegates
MeetMarket*, the UK's largest documentary marketplace offering a unique way to pitch new and groundbreaking documentary projects. Submissions are now CLOSED and will reopen on June 1st. In 2009 we received a record 612 applications from 46 countries and selected these projects. MeetMarket is an invitation-only space for participants but Doc/Fest features many other market opportunities for delegates.
Videotheque, a fully-digitised library of all films in the festival plus a selection of the best new documentaries looking to be acquired
NFB Cross-Media Pitch Competition, where socially-engaged cross-platform projects can pitch for a £5000 co-production deal - submissions for this pitch will reopen later in 2010.
Round-Table sessions, where all delegates can informally meet around 15 key international documentary decision-makers in a unique group discussion and information-sharing format. In 2009, this was one of Doc/Fest's most popular sessions
Who's Who - a lively session where all commissioners, buyers and other decision-makers present introduce themselves to delegates
Mini MeetMarket - a unique opportunity for new and emerging documentary filmmakers to meet industry mentors in an informal setting
Commissioning Panels - a chance to hear the up to date priorities for the the UK and the world's major factual commissioners in 4 dedicated panel discussions
Theatrical Doc Pitch Session, where a panel of feature doc producers, financiers and distributors will hear 3 pitches for documentaries with theatrical ambitions and consider, in the most practical terms, their theatrical potential.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE NEW MARKETPLACE AND INDUSTRY EVENTS IN 2010
National – networking and finance opportunities for UK delegates
Channel 4 Pitch, open to breakthrough documentary-makers, where the reward of a half-hour broadcast commission can be won. submissions for this pitch will reopen later in 2010.
Wellcome Trust Pitch, for new science docs. Submissions for this pitch will reopen later in 2010.
Current TV pitch, offering producers the first chance to pitch for the channel’s new, half-hour investigative journalism slots. Submissions for this pitch will reopen later in 2010.
The relaxed atmosphere at Sheffield Doc/Fest also provides a perfect forum to hold hundreds of informal and formal meetings in and around the Marketplace, the Showroom Bar, the Industry Delegate Centre or the many bars and cafes around the area.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE NEW MARKETPLACE AND INDUSTRY EVENTS IN 2010
For a list of Buyers, decision-makers and advisors who attended in 2009, please click here.
* MeetMarket is based on an original initiative of the Australian Film Commission (AFC) and the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC).
Who am I pitching to?
In 2009, we had over 130 decision makers (buyers, commissioning editors, sales agents, broadcast executives, funders, advisors and distributors) attending Doc/Fest. They represent both linear and cross-platform documentary areas, and represent 17 countries, and all factual genres. The best way to meet them in a structured and supported environment is to get your project selected to the MeetMarket.
If selected you will be put in dedicated, scheduled one-on-one meetings with the buyers. Participating buyers view the selected projects' pitch trailers (via a protected website) in advance of attending and nominate which project teams they would like to meet with at the MeetMarket. That way, you are not "cold pitching" in the way you would in a Speed Dating or random pitch meeting.
For more tips on submitting to MeetMarket, look here
However, submissions for MeetMarket are now closed, and will reopen on June 1st 2010. If you aren't selected for MeetMarket, there are plenty of other industry and marketplace events at which you can meet the decision-makers listed above. Doc/Fest also prides itself on its friendly and accessible atmosphere, where decision-makers are approachable, and the atmosphere is creative and inspirational. If you're not in MeetMarket, we're still always happy to offer advice where possible on who you might like to talk to about your project in development, production, post-production or beyond, so please email us if you'd like help on what Doc/Fest's market can do for you.
Year-Round Marketplace and Industry Events
Sheffield Doc/Fest holds a series of pitch workshops in the first half of the year, offering complete preparation for getting your project pitched and funded in the international documentary marketplace. These include The Engine Room Pitch, an intensive 2 day proposal development and pitching workshop to help you prepare your factual project for UK and international funding, produced with Wide Eye Pictures. These workshops are now taking place, so take a look and see which one you can come to!