1st meeting: online block
6–7 October 2026, online
The nine teams selected for the first edition of Docs Beyond met online for the first time and started working on strategies for their films. In the Impact Producing module with Khadidja Benouataf, teams looked at what change their film could contribute to and who could help them get there. Filmmakers in the Audience Design & Outreach module with Paul Rieth worked on defining more precisely who their film is for and mapped the communities connected to its subject.
Both module leaders also gave a public lecture, streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. On Tuesday, Khadidja Benouataf showed how to build an impact strategy, where to look for partners and funding, and how to connect distribution with a film’s social goal. On Wednesday, Paul Rieth talked about why audience work doesn’t start once the film is finished and how a project’s intention can help filmmakers name their audience and actually reach it.