The East Doc Forum, the largest and most established pitching platform for documentary filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe, unveils its selection of projects for its 25th edition. A total of 21 feature-length documentary films and docuseries in development or early production will be presented to international decision-makers during the East Doc Platform in Prague.
A significant part of the selected projects has been developed within the year-long Ex Oriente Film workshop, the Institute’s flagship training programme supporting emerging filmmakers alongside established documentary professionals. All participating teams will pitch their projects on March 24, 2026 (9.00-13.20), at the French Institute in Prague (Cinema 35), followed by individual meetings with commissioning editors, producers, distributors and festival representatives. Attendance at the pitch presentations is reserved for accredited guests only. Accreditations will open soon.
List of selected projects
Crossing Oxus (dir. Svitlana Lishchynska, prod. Olga Gibelinda, co-prod. Fredrik Lange, UA, SE status: development)
Two Ukrainians in the midst of war, choose to pause and look inward. One of them is the last Soviet soldier to leave Afghanistan. The other is the daughter of a veteran burdened by the unspoken guilt of father's past.
Home Is a Dollhouse (dir. Dorottya Marton, prod. Anna Tóth, HU, status: development)
A filmmaker turns the camera on herself and her estranged mother to explore the lingering wounds of abandonment and intergenerational silence.
Metanoia (dir. Matúš Ďuraňa, prod. Matej Sotník, co-prod. Ion Gnatiuc, Vlad Petri, SK, MD, RO, status: development)
In the shadow of turbulent politics, young Moldovans are searching for their identity at techno raves.
Rojava, my love (dir. Širín Nafariehová, prod. Matěj Paclík, CZ, status: development)
Can Markéta and Miroslav Všelichovi, once imprisoned in Turkey for links to the Kurdish YPG militia, break free from their past traumas and find a place to call home outside their beloved Rojava?
Stitch by Stitch (dir. Alina Baitokova, prod. Marianna Kaat, Adilet Karzhoev, EE, KG, status: development)
Living and working in a Bishkek sewing factory, single mother Elmira fights to make ends meet while trying to rebuild her bond with 13-year-old daughter Nursuluu, newly arrived from her grandmother’s village.
The Enchantress (dir. Martyna Peszko, prod. Alicja Gancarz, PL, LT, status: production)
Through the life of Teresa Godlewska - a 94-year-old woman who made herself her greatest work of art - the film explores freedom, femininity, and the radical act of staying curious about life until the very end.
Two Of Us (dir. Juratė Samulionytė, prod. Dagne Vildziunaite, Danielė Kunčinaitė, LT, status: development)
After half a century in hiding, a queer couple fights for recognition in a post-Soviet society, knowing that every moment could be their last together.
These projects will be pitching alongside 14 Ex Oriente Film projects.
Ex Oriente Features
Children of the Moon Land (dir. Roman Ďuriš, prod. Richard Šimeček, co-prod. Michal Sikora, SK, CZ, status: production)
In the polluted wasteland of Jelšava, Slovakia, six Romani kids navigate childhood amid toxic magnesite dust, playing astronauts in a dying world—where survival is the ultimate mission.
Dance with Me (dir. Leila Basma, prod. Natalia Pavlove, co-prod. Christian Eid, Marisa Meier, Baptiste Bertin, CZ, FR, DE, LB, status: development)
Adam Basma fled his Lebanese family during the civil war to become L.A.'s first male solo belly dancer. His niece Leila dives into his world, unveiling themes of identity, family, and belonging.
Tendrils (dir. Mateusz Góra, Kamil Wilk, prod. Piotr Śmiechowski, PL, status: production)
Mac, Stefa and Karo, rebellious queer Gen Z artists, challenge Poland’s polarized society by creating a collective that’s a safe haven for marginalized communities. They dream of people uniting into one superorganism.
House in a Bottle (dir. Anna Morawiec, prod. Agata Jujeczka, PL, status: development)
A confession of five people who had to be adults as children, and remain children as adults.
I Had a Dream about an Elephant (dir. Štefan Straka, prod. Mátyás Prikler, SK, status: production)
Once controlled an entire forgotten corner of country. A wealthy man returns after 10 years in prison. An absurd portrait of an isolated Slovakia and its people struggling with the harsh reality they were born into.
My Dear Vira (dir. Olga Chernykh, Maryna Brodovska, prod. Veronika Stepanchuk, co-prod. Christian Popp, Tobias Janson, UA, FR, SE, status: development)
Two Ukrainian friends: Maryna, an artist who fled Ukraine due to war and Vira a US army captain who emigrated 13 years ago, reunite to explore how social roles and ties to particular places shape their sense of identity.
Not so far away places (dir. Renato Borrayo Serrano, Yulia Vishnevets, prod. Vlad Ketkovich, Milana Christich, Albin Bourgeois, FR, status: development)
In-depth immersion into the Russian prison repressive machinery shot from the subjective perspective of human right activist Anna Karetnikova working undercover, trying to confront the totalitarian system from within.
Total Mess (dir. Oleksandra Horiienko, prod. Alex Shiriaeff, Max Tuula, Kateryna Yahodka, SE, UA, status: development)
Young Ukrainians searching for quick success and big money find themselves entangled with the world of fraudulent call centers.
I was told to save the world (dir. Hana Piscevic, Nebojša Resanović, prod. Savina Smederevac, RS, HR, status: production)
An alpha granny who refuses to die and her adopted grandaugther, both named Vesna, live in a shelter with 300 rescued animals where they fight poverty, estranged relatives and each other, using hard work and dark humor.
Ex Oriente Series
Grandpa was a genius (dir. Kalina Nikolova, prod. Martichka Bozhilova, BG, status: development)
Pancho Vladigerov is one of the iconic European composers of the 20th century, but how popular is his work today? What challenges do his descendants, also musicians, face with a grandfather considered a genius?
Hijacked Life (dir. Andrius Lekavičius, prod. Jurgita Rakauskaitė, LT, status: production)
In 1970, a teenager and his father hijack a Soviet airplane in search of freedom, igniting a 50-year odyssey across three continents—until, in 2002, in California, the son kills the father.
Justice as Legalised Terror (dir. Zora Cejnková, prod. Gordon Lovitt, CZ, status: development)
A cornerstone of any democratic society is the rule of law, which exists to shield citizens from injustice and to hold authorities to account. But what occurs when justice itself is deliberately weaponised to instil fear?
When The Wind Blows (dir. Anna Savchenko, prod. Iva Tkalec, Valentin Gregoire, HR, BE, PL, FR, ES, status: development)
When the Wind Blows follows the people living and working alongside Europe’s wind energy projects as they navigate ecological, social, and technical challenges, searching for practical solutions that balance livelihoods.
World Divided (dir. Soňa Nôtová, Štefan Straka, prod. Richard Chudý, SK, status: development)
Beyond the walls that divide, a world of resilience emerges, where hope and humanity bridge the scars of history in a journey from Belfast to Nicosia, Mostar to Western Sahara.
The East Doc Forum pitch presentations will be followed by pre-scheduled individual meetings at the East Doc Market on March 24–25, 2026. Preparatory workshops will run from March 19–23, 2026 for feature documentaries and March 21–23, 2026 for docuseries.
Projects selected for the East Doc Forum become part of a year-long follow-up support programme, offering filmmakers continued opportunities to develop their projects and connect with new international partners at major festivals and industry events across Europe.
More projects selected for East Doc Platform 2026 will be announced soon. Stay tuned.
The East Doc Platform is made possible thanks to the financial support of Creative Europe MEDIA, Czech Audiovisual Fund, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, the capital city of Prague, APA - Audiovisual Producers' Association, Czech-German Future Fund, HBO, Creative Europe Desk Czech Republic and the Austrian Cultural Forum.
The general media partner is the Czech television.
The event is held in cooperation with the One World Film Festival and the French Institute in Prague.