Cannes Docs

Docs-in-Progress

Discover the 2020 projects!

Each year, Cannes Docs partners with a number of festivals and organizations from all over the world to showcase curated selections of docs-in-progress in finalization stage, aiming to hit the circuit within a few weeks or months. These showcases of docs-in-progress are primarily designed for decision makers looking for fresh new titles, in particular festival programmers and sales agents. The projects are also generally in search of post-production funding or general gap financing, and sometimes still open to co-production opportunities.

All the showcases are composed of four projects, each presented in the form of a video pitch and of a 10 minute sequence of the rough cut.

Discover this year’s eight presenting partners below.

Four prizes will be awarded to the winning docs-in-progress. These prizes are comprised of: the Docs-in-Progress Award, in partnership with IEFTA – The International Emerging Film Talent Association, endowed with a €10,000 cash prize and professional long term project follow-up by IEFTA; the Impact Award, in partnership with Nordisk Panorama, providing a 2 hour consultation on the film’s impact and outreach strategy; the Cineli Digital Award, endowed with a professional DCP offered by Cineli Digital, Paris, France; and the VOSTAO Award, endowed with French and/or English subtitles offered by VOSTAO, Paris, France.

The Docs-in-Progress three-member jury will be composed of Head of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries in Riga, Latvia, Zane Balčus; French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actress, Lina Soualem – and winner of the 2019 Docs-in-Progress Award with her project Their Algeria; and Impact & Workshop Manager at Nordisk Panorama, Lea Maria Strandbæk Sørensen.

SHOWCASES 2020

Showcase FIDBA This year, FIDBA presents four films in work in progress with a diversity of forms and original visual language, by remarkable Latin American filmmakers. Films that participated in #LINK – FIDBA's Industry Area, in activities such as WIP:LAB (first cut laboratory), WIP:MEETING (final cut) and DOC:LAB (development). The 2020 edition of #LINK is going digital, and will take place throughout August. FIDBA, International Documentary Film Festival of Buenos Aires, is the only festival dedicated to non-fiction films in Argentina. FIDBA #8 will take place from August 19th to 31st, 2020.

Showcase Canada Telefilm Canada, in partnership with RIDM (The Montréal International Documentary Festival) and in collaboration with Hot Docs, is proud to showcase Canadian talent in Cannes. Canada’s long tradition of nurturing creative documentary is reflected in these four film projects by both up-and-coming and well-established creative teams. All are at the final stages of production and ready for festival selection.

Showcase CIRCLE CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator is an exclusive training program for female-identifying documentary filmmakers who are seeking support to develop their films and professional skills. Through three tailor-made modules participants work with experts in order to advance their projects, understand the existing ecosystem and prepare for the future. CIRCLE emerged from the need to find a new model for a sustainable network, one that enhances professional collaborations and their longevity by nourishing solidarity.

Showcase Italy Festival dei Popoli - International Documentary Film Festival and Torino Film Festival, in collaboration with Toscana Film Commission and Piemonte Film Commission, are proud to announce their collaboration to showcase Italian talents in Cannes.The two long-lived festivals, the most important and representative in Italy for documentary film, promote and spread creative documentary cinema, proposing themselves as a meeting point and space for discussion and deepening. In Cannes Docs both festivals will present for the first time four documentary works in progress by young Italian directors.

Showcase New Zealand The New Zealand Film Commission is a government agency that invests in New Zealand feature films and short films. We support a diverse range of New Zealand and international stories to be told here and seen everywhere. We promote our talented individuals and our industry’s reputation for creativity, innovation and superb production values. We balance cultural and economic objectives to achieve successful outcomes for our industry and our people.

Showcase ParisDOC - Cinéma du réel ParisDOC is the professional platform of Cinéma du Réel, the International Documentary Film Festival based in Paris. “ParisDOC WIP” is designed to actively support the distribution, promotion and placement of feature documentaries, at a key stage of their production process. We are proud to showcase 4 works-in-progress, French and international, selected based on their compatibility with Cinéma du Réel’s vision of promoting diversity in storytelling, ready for festival selections and sales.

Showcase Philippines The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is the national film agency responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural and educational development of the Philippine film industry that aims to encourage the production of quality films and develop talents. With a focus on documentary filmmaking, FDCP is proud to support and showcase 4 Philippines creative documentary projects at Cannes Docs that reflect compelling narratives and realities from the country.

Showcase Ukraine Docudays UA, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute, presents an exclusive showcase of 4 creative documentaries. The variety of approaches and cinematic styles offers you a good overview of a recent Ukrainian documentary boom. All are at the final stages of production and ready for premieres. The Ukrainian Institute is a public institution that promotes Ukrainian culture internationally. Docudays UA is the main Ukrainian documentary international film festival with an annual 20K attendance.