Ex Oriente Film Follow-Up is a year-long program designed especially for Ex Oriente Film alumni participants and their projects. The program is open to producers and directors and consists of online educational and inspirational content some of which is also available to the wider documentary, additional creative professions, industry and partnering training. The program also includes curated residential delegations, tailor-made mentoring and peer-to-peer activities the former participants can take advantage of until the completion of their project.
INDIVIDUAL MENTORING
Producers and directors are matched with an expert to consult issues of their project previously developed at Ex Oriente Film. Mentoring includes rough-cut analyses, consultation of marketing and PR strategy, financing and production issues, creative issues, distribution and sales strategy. Among the mentors are Gitte Hansen, Margje de Koning, Ove Rishøj Jensen, Iikka Vehkalahti, Andrea Hock, Camilla Nielson, Nino Kirtadzé, Martin Horyna, and Peter Kerekes.
PRODUCERS GROUP
Led by expert producer Christian Popp, the group offers consultations and case studies given by invited senior producers. Mentee-producers are welcome to bring in their new projects, for individual consultations, peer-to-peer networking and experience sharing. Following their case studies, five senior producers in the roles of mentors will also consult with mentees' projects at individual online sessions.
OPEN ONLINE SESSIONS & WEBINARS
Online live events, lectures, masterclasses, panels and talks with key industry professionals and internationally acclaimed filmmakers.
DELEGATIONS
To keep up with the living documentary world and to foster a professional network, IDF regularly organises delegations to key European industry events. As the Ex Oriente Film alumni, the participants can be a part of these delegations and get accreditations to exclusive industry programs and festival passes for significantly discounted prices. Together with the IDF representatives, Ex Oriente Film alumni regularly visit European documentary festivals, markets, workshops and co-production forums to find potential partners, foster their projects and broaden their professional network. The IDF team joins delegates to provide important matchmaking support. Former and current participants of Ex Oriente Film are invited to attend events such as IDFA Forum & Docs For Sale and Producers Connection, DOK Leipzig Co-Pro Market, Krakow Film Festival (in partnership with Doc Lab Poland) Last Stop Trieste, Docs Barcelona, Emerging Producers at Ji.hlava IDFF, East Doc Platform.
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Building upon the 25-year presence in the creative documentary film industry, IDF maintains and nurtures collaboration with crucial organisations supporting documentary filmmakers. Collaborations with institutions such as DAE - Documentary Association of Europe, American Film Showcase, EAVE Producers Workshop, and Audiovisual Producers Association enable the alumni participants to get engaged in their activities. Moreover, members of these institutions often serve as workshop tutors and become a part of the Ex Oriente Film community,
EX ORIENTE KNOWLEDGE LAB
An exclusive online archive containing over 50 lectures, masterclasses, and case studies from international documentary filmmakers, producers and industry professionals is accessible to workshop participants and alumni participants as an additional training tool and resource of educational content by some of the top experts and masters of the field of documentary.
SUPPORT FOR FINISHED FILMS
DOKWEB.NET, EAST SILVER MARKET, AND EAST SILVER CARAVAN
Finished films that have gone through the Ex Oriente Film workshop are promoted on the webpages of dokweb.net, included in the East Silver Market and can also compete for inclusion in the East Silver Caravan festival service. More information can be found in the East Silver section.
AWARDS
At the 3rd workshop session held within East Doc Platform, the Ex Oriente Film participants are eligible to receive several awards.
The Golden Funnel
The award for the most significant development within the yearlong session is granted to one Ex Oriente Film and one Ex Oriente Series workshop participating team awarded 1.000 EUR each. The financial support should help the filmmakers in further development and international promotion of their documentary films. The project is selected by the workshop leading tutors Filip Remunda, Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, Christian Popp, Diana El Jeiroudi, Gitte Hansen and Ruth Reid.
Ex Oriente Fine Cut Award
Ex Oriente Film project selected by the workshop lead tutors Filip Remunda, Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, Christian Popp, Diana El Jeiroudi and Gitte Hansen will receive rough cut consultations with renowned film editors in value of 2.000 EUR.
Cut thru the Noise Award
At the 3rd workshop session held within East Doc Platform 2026, the Ex Oriente Film participants will be eligible to receive the Cut thru the Noise Award. The award will be given to one of the Ex Oriente Film participating teams, that make the most progress over the course of the workshop in terms of their fist-package preparation. Shortlist of candidates will be suggested by the workshop lead tutors. The winning project will be selected by Marcella Jelic, the founder of Split Screen, an international boutique-sized world sales company together with Mirjam Wiekenkamp, founder and manager of international projects at NOISE PR. The awarded team will receive tailor-made consultancy on the project´s release, distribution and festival strategy in the value of 1.500 EUR.
Czech Television Award
Czech Television Award represents the commitment of Czech Television to conclude with the producer of the winning project an agreement on the subsequent use of the winning project by Czech Television with a licence fee in the amount of CZK 150.000.
HBO Award
HBO, the General Partner of the Institute of Documentary Film will award one of the projects selected to the East Doc Platform 2026 the HBO Award worth EUR 2 000. The award will be presented by Hanka Kastelicová, the Executive Producer of Documentaries HBO Original. This award does not constitute any co-production or distribution deal and doesn’t bind the granted director/producer to sell any rights for the film to HBO in exchange for the award.
The Docs up Fund Award
The Docs up Fund is an initiative providing mentoring and financial support to feature length documentary films committed to defending human rights around the world, films that raise awareness and create positive impact. This fund will award one project selected for the East Doc Platform 2026 with EUR 2,000. The award will be presented by Alex Szalat.
DOK Leipzig DOK Co-Pro Market Award
DOK Leipzig is happy to present the DOK Co-Pro Market Award. One project will be selected for fast-forward participation in the 22nd DOK Co-Pro Market. The project will have the chance to present itself to international decision makers in pre-scheduled individual meetings in October 2026. The prize includes participation fees, a free festival accreditation for two representatives of the selected project and accommodation in a double room. The award will be selected by DOK Leipzig representative.
DAE Talent Encouragement Award
Documentary Association of Europe is bringing to East Doc Platform the DAE Talent Encouragement Award. The award consists of bespoke mentoring with a DAE member, depending on the needs of the project team.
Pitch the Doc Prize
The Pitch the Doc Prize is awarded to boost the progress of the credited project and enhance its international recognition. The award consists of tailored consultations with an expert associated with Pitch the Doc, and coverage of the project by the PtD Spotlight programme.
Baltic Sea Docs Award
Thanks to the collaboration with the Baltic Sea Docs, one project will be awarded an invitation to participate in the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries in September 2026. The winning team will have the opportunity to engage with industry professionals from both the Baltic Sea region and beyond, including European and international industry players.
East-West Talent Lab
In collaboration with Go East Festival, one project will be awarded an invitation to participate in the East-West Talent Lab from 24–27 April 2026. The winning team will have the opportunity to engage with industry professionals from Germany and the European region. The award announcement will be made by Andrea Wink.
Sheffield DocFest Networking Award
The Award recognizes an outstanding documentary project by selecting one team to receive 2 Industry Passes and the full waiver to submit to the MeetMarket at the Sheffield DocFest 2027.
With the Industry Passes the team will have access to exclusive networking opportunities with key industry decision-makers attending the market. Attending Sheffield DocFest offers a unique chance to connect with potential co-producers, financiers, and distributors, helping the project gain international exposure and support.
DocsBarcelona Pro Award
In cooperation with DocsBarcelona, one of the projects presented at the East Doc Forum is selected for the Speed Meetings at the 2026 DocsBarcelona Pro. The meetings will be arranged previously depending on financers and projects preferences. The award enables the filmmakers to additionally present their project to the international decision makers and thus soon follow up on and broaden the deals and cooperation initiated at the East Doc Platform.