During closed screenings, the participants get an opportunity to talk to potential partners, including representatives of European public broadcasters, sales agents and festivals.
This year, the programme will take place on 5 June 2024 during the Docudays UA festival in Kyiv. The Docudays UA team will pick up to 4 projects at the final stage of production.
What kind of projects we are looking for:
- feature-length documentary projects (with a running time of at least 60 minutes) at the final stage of editing, created by Ukrainian filmmakers;
- projects that combine artistic ambition and high visual quality. We are interested in representing a broad spectrum of creative practices and approaches;
- projects that have not been presented at this stage of production at any other industry platforms in Ukraine. There will also be a preference for projects which have not participated in any work-in-progress presentations abroad;
- we expect the participating projects to be presented by their team: the director, the producer, and the editor (optional).
The projects will be selected for participation in the programme by the DOCUDAYS UA selection council and by DOCU/PRO curators.
Application process
The application process is open to everyone and free of charge.
The applicant must fill out the online form where they should specify their contacts, submit the film’s synopsis, a link to the rough cut with a running time of up to 120 minutes, and other supplementary materials.
Key dates
11 April 2024 — call for applications opens;
9 May 2024 — call for application ends;
17 May 2024 — announcement of results;
20 May 2024 — the participants provide rough cuts with subtitles in English and the text materials accompanying the project (logline, brief synopsis, director’s notes on the cut, producer’s vision);
27–30 May — preparatory meetings with the DOCU/PRO team;
5 May 2024 — RAW DOC.
How the screenings will be organised
The screenings and discussions will be held in a closed format. Only specially invited experts will have access to the screenings. Each screening will be followed by a moderated 60-minute discussion.
The language of the event is English.
Experts
Meet the first experts of the programme (the list of the film professionals who will join the event will continue to be updated):
Fabrice Puchault, Head of the Society and Culture Department at ARTE France (France);
Bernd Seidl, editor in the editorial department for documentaries and for co-productions with the German-French broadcaster Arte, SWR (Germany);
Thomas Beyer, commissioning editor for feature length documentaries, MDR (Germany);
Emma Hindley, Lead Commissioning Editor, Storyville, BBC (UK);
Asta Dalman, commissioning editor, SVT (Sweden);
Aida Aziz, International Sales Assistant, Mediewan (France);
Wouter Jansen, the founder of the sales company Square Eyes, Square eyes film (Netherlands);
Brigid O'Shea, tutor, founder of the DAE association (Germany);
Salome Jashi, film director (Georgia);
Nevena Milasinovic, Sales and Acquisitions Executive, Lightdox (Switzerland/France);
Barbara Wurm, Head of Berlinale Forum (Germany);
Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Head of the IDFA Bertha Fund (The Netherlands);
Vika Leshchenko, curator, programmer for the International Documentary program at DOK Leipzig (Germany);
Wojciech Diduszko, programmer and Director of the Polish Competition at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival (Poland);
Marko Grba Singh, Artistic Director of BELDOCS (Serbia);
Shoshi Korman, co-managing director Cinephil (Israel);
Maëlle Guenegues, Festivals & Acquisitions, CAT&Docs (France);
Aleksandra Derewienko, Sales & Acquisitions, CAT&Docs (France);
Miriam Carbe, Commissioning editor for ZDF/Arte (Germany);
Claudia Bucher, Head of THEMA and GEOPOLITICS at ARTE G.E.I.E (France).
Other terms and conditions
Before 20 May 2024, the participants must provide the materials of the rough cut of their film with subtitles in English, which the organisers will send to the experts along with the other materials about the project.
The programme will be held on 5 June, and that is also when the participants will watch fragments from the film materials at the cinema and participate in a moderated conversation together with the guest experts. Up to 3 members of the film crew can participate in the programme, and the presence of the film’s director and producer is mandatory.
The crews of the participating projects will receive industry accreditation that will give them access to the DOCU/PRO Industry Platform and the festival’s film programme.
The festival does not cover the travel or accommodation expenses of the programme’s participants.
The participating projects will have to include the Docudays UA logo in the final credits of their film with a disclaimer reading, “Film Title was a participant in the RAW DOC 2024 programme”.
DOCUDAYS UA
The 21 Docudays UA will be held on 31 May – 9 June 2024, at several locations in Kyiv and online at the same time. It will include: film programme (at least 50 films within competition and non-competition sections), RIGHTS NOW! human rights events, artistic talks, and workshops – DOCU/CLASS, industry section for documentary film professionals – DOCU/PRO, interdisciplinary art programme – DOCU/SYNTHESIS. The online component of the festival will be held on DOCUSPACE, featuring film screenings and live streams/recordings of held offline events.
DOCU/ПРО
The industry platform functions to support the community of Ukrainian documentary filmmakers and develop the Ukrainian documentary film industry. DOCU/PRO is a place where documentary filmmakers, experienced and young, exchange their knowledge, explore the trends, establish contacts with experts in the documentary world, strengthen ties between the Ukrainian and international industries, and create Ukrainian film projects as a result.
