Apply with your feature documentary project and factual creative documentary series project to the Ex Oriente Film workshop 2023. Submit your projects online, free of charge, until April 14 (extended: April 17), via the Ex Oriente Feature application form and Ex Oriente Series application form.
Ex Oriente Film is an international project-based training program - a creative laboratory for both established and emerging film professionals and talented storytellers, supporting the development and funding of exceptional, creative documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe. Apply now to the Ex Oriente Film 2023 and receive a tailor-made training for the development of your feature-length documentary project or documentary series project with support and mentoring from over 30 renowned filmmakers and international industry experts. For the first time, the workshop will also offer a special training program designed for development of factual documentary series projects. “The demand for documentary series has been on the rise for several years, and we have decided that, as well as connecting creators, producers with commissioners and financiers, there is need to fill the gap in the training offer for creative docu-series projects, especially originating from the Central and Eastern territories,” says the leading tutor of the Ex Oriente Film Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová.
The call is open to creative feature-length documentary projects and creative documentary series projects in development and early production stage, which challenge genres, formats, and media boundaries. The workshop includes 12 documentary feature-length projects and 5 documentary series projects represented by director-producer or creator-producer teams who will attend 3 residential sessions and additional online sessions.
The workshop, established in 2003 as the very first training initiative for Eastern European creative documentary film, is designed for directors, producers and creators coming from Europe with a special focus on Central and Eastern European projects (incl. selected EU acceding and candidate countries) and/or creative documentary projects dealing with stories from Central and Eastern Europe. The projects from other countries are welcome to apply as well (for more details, please see the list of eligible countries). The workshop also accepts observers from production and distribution companies, film institutions, broadcasters, film festivals, and funds.
Workshop participants will receive assistance from over 30 leading European experts, obtain key international contacts, and become a part of a network of over 540 European professionals that have attended the Ex Oriente Film workshop in the past 20 years and will have the opportunity to partake in the Ex Oriente Film Follow-Up Programme, a year-long chain of continuous support, peer to peer and mentoring activities.
The Ex Oriente Film 2023 workshop’s leading tutors are producer and consultant Iikka Vehkalahti (Finland), director and script editor Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová (Czech Republic), director and producer Filip Remunda (Czech Republic) and Ruth Reid (United Kingdom).
The Ex Oriente Film workshop has a new partnership with Ciclic, the regional agency of Centre-Val de Loire for book, image and digital culture. Ciclic producers will be able to take advantage of the Ex Oriente Film Open program during the Ex Oriente Film 1st session in La Rochelle at Sunny Side of the Doc. The workshop will include co-production opportunities between France and the CEE region, consultations for Ciclic producers with Ex Oriente Film tutors, individual matchmaking between the Ex Oriente Film producers and Ciclic producers and much more.
Apply free of charge until April 14 (extended: April 17) via the Ex Oriente Feature application form and the Ex Oriente Series application form
WORKSHOP TIMELINE
Ex Oriente Feature
1st session: June 16-20, 2023: Sunny Side of the Doc, La Rochelle, France
2nd session: October 2023: DOK Leipzig, Germany
3rd session: March 2024: East Doc Platform, Prague, Czech Republic - in partnership with One World Film IHRDFF
Ex Oriente Series
1st Session: June 17-19, 2023: Sunny Side of the Doc, La Rochelle, France
2nd session: October 2023: DOK Leipzig, Germany
3rd session: March 2024: East Doc Platform, Prague, Czech Republic - in partnership with One World IHRDFF
The Ex Oriente Film training program culminates at the East Doc Forum pitching, where participants will present their projects to more than 80 international decision-makers. Additionally, participants will have an opportunity to gain a wide range of prizes and scholarships in the form of direct financial support, co-production agreements, access to leading European markets, and partner training.
WORKSHOP PARTNERS
Sunny Side of the Doc, DOK Leipzig, One World IHRDFF, American Film Showcase, Ciclic
(Updated on April 14, 2023)
