Markets & Funding
Docs for Sale
IDFA Forum
Established in 1996, Docs for Sale is the leading marketplace for creative documentaries, offering streaming video all year round and excellent networking opportunities for buyers and sellers of quality documentaries during IDFA.
IDFA Forum is Europe’s largest meeting place for professionals working in the documentary sector. New documentary projects are pitched to commissioning editors as well as other potential financiers.
Now in its 18th year, Docs for Sale is an extensive, internationally oriented market for documentaries. Featuring more than 450 titles this year, all of which have undergone a strict selection process, the market offers digitized viewing services on 60 viewing sets, backed by an extensive database and catalogue. The viewings are recorded in the database, which can then be consulted by producers. Docs for Sale guests are mainly buyers from international TV networks, festival programmers, and distributors looking for new documentary material.
Ninety percent of all projects selected for a pitch find additional financing at the Forum, and almost all of the projects presented at the Forum end up getting made. This year saw a total of 470 submissions, of which 50 projects were selected. These projects will be pitched in different pitch categories, depending on their current stage of development, genre and financing.
Through the Docs for Sale Online platform, established in 2008 and accessible by subscription only, buyers and exhibitors can view documentaries whenever they want and wherever they are. This way, buyers and festival programmers who can’t make it to Amsterdam still have the opportunity to catch up with the Docs for Sale selection, and those who are coming to IDFA can do much of their viewing prior to and following the festival, leaving them more time for networking and closing deals during the festival itself. The Docs for Sale Online catalogue contains both new titles selected for IDFA 2013 and older documentaries that deserve a second look. It is continuously updated throughout the year. The 18th annual Docs for Sale takes place November 22-29 at art society Arti et Amicitiae (Rokin 112).
In the traditional Central Pitch setup, producers take turns pitching their latest projects to broadcasters from around the world. Over the course of two mornings, 17 projects are presented. In the Round Table setup, 25 projects in different production stages are pitched in an intimate setting to a small group of commissioning editors and other financiers who have indicated their specific interest in the project. This year, two new categories have been added to the Forum lineup. The Docs4Cinema Meetings are designed for documentary projects suitable for theatrical release that can benefit from one-on-one meetings with producers interested in co-production, distributors and funds. Three projects have been selected. In the Work in Progress Screenings, five selected filmmakers receive professional feedback from Forum and Docs for Sale delegates in the audience, who in turn get the chance to preview new and exciting projects. All public pitches are followed by prearranged one-on-one meetings, which give the producer-filmmaker teams time to discuss their project with potential financiers. The 21st edition of IDFA Forum takes place November 25-27 at the Compagnietheater (Kloveniersburgwal 50).
242