Objectives
The main objective of the program is to help producers in the artistic and financial development of their project, to improve their knowhow in terms of international co-production – thus implementing good practices in the sector –, reinforce the skills independent production requires, and significantly expand their professional network. We believe that project development and career building go hand in hand.
Once graduated, EURODOC alumni have access to social events and accreditations at partner festivals and markets, memberships to affiliate organizations, consulting ondemand, and promotion of their projects over the years.
Key objectives
The skills we foster
Throughout the three sessions, all of the fundamentals of production are covered.
Topics addressed include the assessment of the artistic project, script and intentions; the relationship between the director(s) and the producer(s), the legal aspects, the negotiation and clearance of rights (copyright, music, archive…), the financing of the development, crew and company management issues, budgeting, the identification of potential international partners and the variety of co-production agreements, the production of trailers/ visual material and the preparation of the pitch-deck and the pitch, crew management issues, traditional and alternative methods for the promotion and distribution of the finished film, the evolution of the documentary film market (televisions, platforms, theaters, festivals…).
Methodology
At EURODOC, we prioritize group work, supervised by a tutor. 2 work groups are organized within the cohort, an Englishspeaking and a French-speaking group. Each group includes up to 14 producers and up to 2 “Observers”. The tutor remains the same over the 3 sessions.
A third group, composed of up to 12 producers from the host country, joins the program at each session to attend a 5 day-long intensive workshop to develop their projects, with their own tutor. Meetings and meals between the three groups are organized every day.
At each session, experts hold individual meetings with the participants to analyse their projects from their own perspective and position in the industry (script, editing, directing, production, television, distribution, festivals, sales, impact…). During Session 3, over 400 individual meetings are organized between the participants and the experts invited. Circa 30 professionals spend part of the week with us: commissioning editors, distributors, sales agents, film fund representatives, festival programmers and curators. The meetings last for 45 minutes.
Several masterclasses delivered by top-end professionals, during the sessions and online, cover various topics: storytelling, the relationship between the editor and the producer, author’s rights and archival rights, funding schemes, complex international co-production, parity and diversity incentives, green production, specific pitching methods, company management, distribution and sales, working with platforms, choosing the right sales agent….
At each session, one or two screening of recent multi-awarded and internationally coproduced featurelength films are held, and followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, the producer(s) and/or the main funders of the film, most of them being EURODOC alumni.
From February to October, one or two webinars/panels are held every month on specific topics, and some homework monitored by the tutors is expected on the projects between Session 2 and Session 3.
If you identify as BIPOC and wish to join the BIPOC group, we reserve an on-site and online space at every session and in-between sessions, and specific mentoring.