LISBON DOCS 2019: New Gateways to Your Audience
The 20th anniversary edition of Lisbon Docs will take place from 13 to 19 October 2019 at Culturgest in Lisbon, Portugal.
At Lisbon Docs, participants will be introduced to the power of new players in the distribution and financing markets. The workshop sessions will focus on analyzing the content of the selected projects and on delivering advice about how to tell stories in a way that will allow filmmakers to find an audience without loosing their artistic integrity.
Lisbon Docs is open for all European documentary professionals and has a limited number of seats for participants coming from outside Europe. Submissions are accepted from professionals, who want to take part in an intense creative dialogue and development process as well as present their project to potential documentary financiers, European television channels and producers. In the past, Lisbon Docs has proven to be successful in pushing filmmakers into the international scene. The event is organized by EDN in collaboration with the Portuguese documentary association APORDOC and Doclisboa International Film Festival.
The Lisbon Docs Forumconsists of two distinct working phases: the first part is a workshop during which the participants are accompanied by a team of experienced tutors in the development of their projects. The second part consists of two pitching sessions where the projects are presented to a panel of production and distribution professionals, potential co-producers and financiers. Attendance at both work phases is mandatory. Participants of Lisbon Docs will gain a great network of international colleagues and get unique opportunities to introduce their documentary projects to industry professionals.
HOW TO APPLY
Documentary projects can be submitted until 30 July 2019 and applications should include the following:
1. Application form
Please download our Lisbon Docs application form and complete all required fields. In case you encounter problems accessing the PDF form within your browser, please download it and open the form using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. The 2-page presentation
The 2-page presentation will be included in the Lisbon Docs catalogue. It should be a compact summary showing financiers and decision makers at a glance what your project is about. It has to be written in English language and should include the following elements:
– Project info: project title, status of the project, expected time of delivery, length, & format
– The film: depending on the project this can include the story, characters, visual approach, director’s note etc.
– Contacts: name of producer, production company, director and contact information
– Profiles: short CV & filmography of company and director
– Financing: budget sum (total sum for the production, not the whole budget) and brief financing plan.
3. Exclusion Criteria:
Please note that projects that have already been pitched at our pitching forum Docs in Thessaloniki are not eligible to apply for Lisbon Docs.
You can submit your application by email to: submit@edn.network (if you’re a producer outside of Portugal) or lisbondocs@apordoc.org in case you’re a Portuguese producer.
Participating as an Observer
For the 2019 edition, a number of seats are available for participants without a project. When participating without a project you will take part in all sessions on equal terms with the pitching participants. Only exception is not having a concrete project developed and pitched. Participants without a project pay 250 Euro1) 2) for taking part.
Participation Fee
Each selected project pays a participation fee of 350 Euro1) 2), which includes one participating person. Other members of the pitching team pay an individual fee of 250 Euro1) 2). The fees are excluding additional costs like traveling expenses, accommodation etc.
1) EDN members receive a discount of 100 Euro on the participation fee for the first person connected to a project and 50 Euro for the second and third person of the project team (if attending with more than one person)
2) Associates of Apordoc are eligible for a 20% discount.
Programme and schedule
Participants and observers will receive additional information via email prior to the event as well as the official Lisbon Docs catalogue upon arrival at the venue. Please note that Lisbon Docs starts on Sunday, 13 October, with the first introductory sessions taking place at 14:00 in the afternoon.
Outreach workshop
Top projects take part in the outreach workshop
In connection with the 2019 edition of Lisbon Docs EDN will organize an outreach and distribution workshop, which is tied to this pitching forum as well as ‘Docs in Thessaloniki’. The new format will create a synergy between the two events by selecting the top projects from each forum and bringing them together in this post-event session taking place as an online workshop.
Focus for the session will be how the selected project teams can handle the increased need to combine new financing methods and alternative distribution methods with more traditional public funding sources. During the workshop the selected teams will strengthen the understanding of audience building and outreach for their projects in development. Through the online workshop the participants will:
· Learn about tools for audience engagement
· Sharpen their distribution strategy
· Get individual feedback from outreach experts
· Enhanced promotion and distribution possibilities.
The participants will benefit from these added values without adding extra travel costs and expenses for the production teams, as the seminar will take place online. The date of the workshop will be announced in this section as soon as possible.
Venue / Location
Lisbon Docs takes place at:
CULTURGEST
Edifício Sede da Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Rua Arco do Cego, Piso 1
1000-300 Lisboa (near the metro station: Campo Pequeno)