Sunny Side of the Doc announces its winning pitches - Cineuropa
- With In Front of Us and Leonard Cohen: Behind the Iron Curtain, European producers shine bright in two of the seven categories in which awards were handed out at the documentary market pitch
A promotional image for In Front of Us by Inna Sahakyan
The 36th edition of Sunny Side of the Doc brought together 2,100 participants from 60 countries in La Rochelle over the course of four days (broken down into 1,000 companies, 85 exhibitors and 260 international decision-makers, including the main broadcasters, streamers, foundations, distributors and financiers, plus 32 delegations hailing from countries such as Africa, China, Brazil, Canada and Spain). It’s worth noting that there was a surge in the number of broadcasters (the BBC, Channel 4, Mediaset, National Geographic, TG4, RTP, PBS), and for the first time, buyers came from India (IN10 Media) and Brazil (Globoplay). Now, the international documentary market has revealed the full list of projects that won awards during its seven pitching sessions.
European production got some love in two categories. The Current Affairs & Investigation strand saw the triumph of the project In Front of Us, set to be directed by . The pitch goes thus: when Lala’s sister is murdered by a genocidal regime, an experienced international judge asks her to become the key witness in a gruelling criminal case. Two women from different worlds unite to bring the perpetrators before the International Criminal Court. The jury statement went like this: “This project sheds light on a forgotten conflict that is crucial for peace in this region. The struggle of the powerful women characters striving to seek justice and their personal destiny moved us very much."
The second production from the continent that featured on the winners’ list was one from the Arts & Entertainment category: the project Leonard Cohen: Behind the Iron Curtain, set to be directed by . It’s a film about legendary singer and poet ’s ground-breaking tour of Poland in 1985, and how his music inspired a generation of Poles struggling to end the rule of the Soviet Union. It’s all told through never-before-seen stock footage and unparalleled access to those who were there.
The remainder of the main awards list saw projects from Australia (the project Heart, rewarded in the Science category, and Kingdom of the Crocodile, in Nature & Environment), Chile (The Letelier File, which won in the History pitch), Ecuador (Mama, which was crowned as champion in the Impact Campaigns strand) and China (Restless Farewell, rewarded in New Voices) win trophies.
The 37th Sunny Side of the Doc will take place from 22-25 June 2026, and next year will also see the LatAm Content Meeting return for its second edition, unspooling from 13-15 April in São Paulo, in conjunction with Sunny Side.
Here is the full list of award winners:
In Front of Us - Inna Sahakyan (Armenia/Belgium)
Producers: Bars Media, Associate Directors
Kingdom of the Crocodile - Nick Robinson (Australia)
Producer: Wild Pacific Media
Heart - Gloor Alaneo (Australia)
Producers: Millstream Productions, Green Marble Productions
The Letelier File - Rafael Valdeavellano, Carola Fuentes (Chile)
Producer: La Ventana Cine
Leonard Cohen: Behind the Iron Curtain - Eric Bednarsk (Canada/Germany/Poland)Producers: Nomad Films Inc, Fireglory Pictures gmbh, Silver Frame
Mama - Ana Cristina Benítez (Ecuador)
Producer: Eterea sas
Restless Farewell - Nan Yang, Peiyun He (China)
Producer: Shangai Media Group
Taalim - Vaibhav Jadhav (India)
Producer: Paper Planes Pictures pvt ltd
Taalim - Vaibhav Jadhav
The Other Gaza - Wafa Jamil Espvall (Sweden)
Producer: Sard Films ab
Leonard Cohen: Behind the Iron Curtain - Eric Bednarsk
In Front of Us - Inna Sahakyan
Mama - Ana Cristina Benítez
In Front of Us - Inna Sahakyan
Restless Farewell - Nan Yang, Peiyun He
Miss Albinos - Cynthia Pinet (France)
Producer: Petites Poupées Production
The Letelier File - Rafael Valdeavellano, Carola Fuentes
Tutankhamen, Royal Garden: Replanted - Ahmed Hussein (Egypt/USA)
Producers: Masr Media Production, Soura
The Other Gaza - Wafa Jamil Espvall
Zefar - Sara Nacer, Colas Wohlahrt (Canada)
Producer: L'Equipage
(Translated from French)
