From June 16 to 20, the first session of the Ex Oriente Features 2025 workshop will take place in Sheffield—marking the first time this prestigious training programme is held at the UK’s leading documentary festival, Sheffield DocFest. The exciting joint initiative strengthens cross-cultural dialogue and opens doors for new co-productions and creative synergies.
Patrizia Mancini, Head of Industry at Sheffield DocFest, comments on the newly formed partnership: “In celebration of our 20th anniversary of the MeetMarket we are thrilled to be partnering this year with the Ex Oriente Workshop who will have its first session taking place during Sheffield DocFest. Ex Oriente being one of the most important development workshops for documentary films in Europe, we are joining forces to highlight creativity, foster collaboration and international co-productions. We are also proud to share projects selected for this year's MeetMarket as well Ex Oriente Alumni having their screening in the festival programme such as Shards of Light by Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz (WP), December by Grzegorz Paprzycki (WP) and East Doc Forum alumni and Cannes Docs IDF Preview alumni My Dear Théo by Alisa Kovalenko and Cuba & Alaska by Yegor Troyanovsky (WP).”
For this year’s edition of Ex Oriente Features, structured across three residential sessions, 12 feature-length documentary projects in development or early production stage were selected. These projects explore how personal histories, identities, and environments shape—and are shaped by—resilience, transformation, and the search for meaning. You can find the full list of participating projects here.
Meet the tutors
Leading tutors
Participants will work under the guidance of five distinguished leading tutors: Gitte Hansen, an international documentary consultant and executive producer; Filip Remunda, director and co-founder of Hypermarket Film and the Institute of Documentary Film; Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, director, co-founder of the Institute of Documentary Film and Head of Documentaries at Czech Television; Diana El Jeiroudi, filmmaker and producer at NO NATION FILMS; and Christian Popp, producer and former Head of Industry at FIPADOC.
Guest tutors
Each session of Ex Oriente Features welcomes a set of guest tutors—industry experts and creative professionals offering specialised insight and mentorship. The Sheffield edition brings together a powerful lineup including Anita Rehoff Larsen, a Norwegian producer; Mikael Opstrup, a development and co-production specialist and author of The Uncertainty; Margje de Koning, artistic director of Movies That Matter and seasoned commissioning editor; Khadidja Benouataf, an impact strategist and president of Impact Social Club; Gianluca Matarrese, an award-winning Italian director; Henrik Underbjerg, a producer and advisor with a focus on human rights and current affairs; Mike Lerner, an Oscar-nominated producer with an extensive career in global documentary production; Marc Isaacs, a BAFTA-winning filmmaker and longtime mentor; Olha Bregman, a Ukrainian producer behind numerous Berlinale-winning films; and Dominic Lees, an academic and filmmaker exploring AI in creative practice.
Programme
Over the course of the five-day session, participants will engage in an intensive and dynamic programme designed to support the development of their documentary projects. The workshop begins with project presentations, where each team introduces their project and shares insights into their national industry context. From there, the focus shifts to collaborative group sessions, with each team presenting a sequence for in-depth feedback from peers and tutors. Directors take part in guided writing sessions aimed at deepening character and narrative, while producers explore key production challenges, including financing strategies and planning. Throughout the session, both directors and producers attend tailored lectures, project evaluations, and individual meetings to refine their approach and clarify the next steps for development and production. The programme also includes access to festival screenings (GEN_ or Cuba & Alaska) as well as workshop only screenings (Filmmakers´s House), case studies (about the use of Generative AI or about producer-director relations), and networking opportunities, offering inspiration and practical insight into creative storytelling and the realities of the industry.
As part of the programme, there will also be two open events in association with Sheffield DocFest (available to accredited industry guests):
Lecture by Mikael Opstrup: SOMETHING ABOUT EVERYTHING
Thursday, June 19, 2025, 10:00–12:00
Suite 5, Hotel Leonardo
Documentary film is the only art form where the building blocks are beyond control of the creators. This is a defining element in our art, and it raises a lot of interesting questions. How does a documentary script look? What are we looking for when we read people instead of writing characters? What’s the difference between events and stories? What happens when we break the unity of time and space? The issue of experience vs Information. What’s the effect of using VO? How do we film subtext? Moments vs Structure. The Scene, documentary version. The problem with subtitles. How to pitch a film that doesn’t exist? How does the decision makers brain look? I’ll give it a try with some answers, through words and visuals. With the ambition to inspire you to exchange mine with your own answers. Or even better, formulate your own questions. After all, when it comes to art questions are so much more interesting than answers.
Masterclass by Gianluca Matarrese
Thursday, June 19, 2025, 15:30-16:30
Suite 5, Hotel Leonardo
Gianluca Matarrese, an Italian director based in Paris, has established himself as a prominent voice in contemporary documentary filmmaking. Over the past five years, he has directed nine acclaimed films presented at prestigious international festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, IDFA, Thessaloniki, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, DMZ, Torino Film Festival, Visions du Réel, Biografilm, Festival dei Popoli, and Cinéma du Réel. His work spans a diverse range of themes such as body manipulation, gender affirmation, economic decline, unresolved trauma, theater, and the interplay between reality and fiction. His film GEN_ was in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
About Sheffield DocFest
Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival, will be taking over the city of Sheffield between 18 - 23 June as they play host to daily film premieres and events celebrating all things documentary.
From feature films, shorts and television episodes to podcasts and immersive exhibitions, the festival brings the brightest and best in documentary storytelling to our vibrant city each June. Find inspiration and innovation from the world’s biggest broadcasters and pioneering filmmakers, with first-looks from major upcoming docuseries, podcast live events and much more.
Dive in and visit sheffdocfest.com to explore the full DocFest programme from 7 May, plus all ticketing and access information.
This edition is possible thanks to the financial support of Creative Europe MEDIA, Czech Audiovisual Fund and the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.
