Launched in 2016 by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME) in Athens co-organized with the Region of South Aegean and internationally supported by the Association Ecrans des Mondes in Paris, “Beyond Borders” is an international documentary festival held annually in August (this year, from August 22 to August 29) on the frontier island of Castellorizo in the Aegean Sea. The festival’s main objective is to give prominence to outstanding documentaries about societal and historical topics. Documentaries from all over the world are welcome, yet there is a special preference for films addressing crucial issues from the region of Southern Europe, Asia Minor and the Middle East.
In line with this, “Beyond Borders” is excited to carry on and expand its pitching lab, called “From an Idea to a Project”. The lab’s main objective is to offer aspiring ‘young’ filmmakers of the region the opportunity to present a basic idea of theirs for a documentary to an experienced panel of producers and broadcasters working in the European documentary scene. In turn, each participant receives professional feedback in how to turn his/her idea into a valid project, which is ready to be presented to the wider documentary community. Each project is provided with a 15’ slot, including a 3-5’ presentation and 10-12’ for questions and discussion.
In order for the lab to be accessible to as many filmmakers as possible, it is held as a visio-pitching lab using Zoom technology and it does not require from the participants a trailer for their project, or any ground founding. The originality and potential of the idea are the prime criteria for project selection.
What is required for participation is a simple submission form (see attachment) that should be filled out by candidates and submitted to beyondborders.pitching@gmail.com.
The following information is required: intended title, intended length, genre and style/mode of the documentary, description of the idea in one sentence, brief description of the film’s main characteristics (locations, main characters, possible events, archives etc.) and the candidate’s short bio.
There is no submission fee. Deadline for submission is July 31, 2021. The selection committee will select a total of 20 projects (plus 5 reserves). Selected candidates will be informed by 15th August at the latest. Please, note that all participants must be available on Zoom during the festival week (22-29 August 2021).
Updated on 21/7/2021
