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The 37th Sunny Side of the Doc (SSD) returns this year to the coastal city of La Rochelle, France after facing off budgetary headwinds.
From June 22 – 24, the streamlined documentary marketplace launches new sections,
no mean feat given that they only had five months to put it together. But just as most documentary filmmakers learn to make do with limited 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. Together, they will focus on establishing a B2B milieu where both linear and digital projects participate.
“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,” said Sunny Side managing director Aurélie Reman.
Aimed at building partnerships and opportunities, the three new sections include Meet & Match, developed alongside Documentary Campus, which will connect producers with decision-makers.
SSD also launches Copro Hub, dedicated to fostering co-production exchanges and networking. Case studies of successful partnerships will be presented daily, moderated by Windrose’s Pauline Mazenod.
Thirdly, the Distributor Track, aimed at buyers and distributors, will feature Meet the Buyers and Speed Dating sessions.
The market’s LatAm Content Meeting has lured delegates from Latin America, with the largest group coming from Brazil this year.
“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 pointed out.
Echoing this year’s theme ‘The Right Move,’ she added:”This is the right move to provide clarity at a time when the industry needs to rethink its editorial strategies, the role and destination of documentary films and the broader shift toward a digital-first or streaming-first environment.”
Some 2,000 professionals from 60 different countries are expected to descend on La Rochelle. These will include producers, creators, filmmakers, distributors and naturally, funders, broadcasters and streaming platforms. SSD expects more than 200 decision makers to attend, among them buyers, commissioners and co-financiers.
The newcomers and notable players at this year’s event include Lauren Billingsley for National Geographic Channels (U.S.), Damian O’Hara for Paramount, Carolyn Payne for National Geographic Europe & U.K., Simone Theilmann for RTL Television, Christian Hensgens for RTL Television 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 noted, “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 highlights is a talk by Oscar-winning producer Helle Faber (“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”) who will examine international co-production amid major industry changes, looking at how producers can adapt to evolving financing structures and shifting global partnerships.
Ben Zand, founder and CEO of Zandland, will deliver the opening keynote address that will reflect on what genuinely engages audiences today and how creators can build sustained audience connection in an increasingly fragmented media environment.
Patricia Boutinard Rouelle (Nilaya Productions) and Emmanuelle Guilbart, president of SEDPA, will discuss the pressures of fragmented revenues, the erosion of rights value and how to maintain creative and commercial sustainability in a market increasingly shaped by algorithms.
SSD is also welcoming IP professionals from the book industry for the first time, to explore how they can build connections and potentially collaborate with TV producers.
“This highlights another key aspect of Sunny Side,” said Reman. “We focus on documentaries for TV, digital and streaming platforms, which means we are not primarily addressing theatrical or cinema audiences.”
