In exactly one week, the 15th edition of East Doc Platform will begin in Prague. Organised by the Institute of Documentary Film and held in cooperation with the One World Festival, the industry event takes place from March 19 to 25 at the French Institute in Prague.
Alongside its professional activities, the platform once again offers a rich open programme of talks, screenings, and discussions, inviting audiences to step inside the world of contemporary documentary filmmaking. This year’s programme reflects many of the questions shaping the field today – from audience engagement and distribution to financing and industry practices.
FULL OPEN PROGRAMME
Reaching audiences in a changing media landscape
The opening panel discussion, Reaching the Next Generation: Distribution Strategies for Young Audiences, brings together Paul Rieth, Magdalena Żelasko, Katharina Bergfeld, and Radka Hoffman to examine how filmmakers and distributors can connect with younger viewers. The discussion looks at changing viewing habits and distribution paths ranging from festivals and cinemas to digital platforms, schools, and regional initiatives. Audience strategy continues throughout the week. In Introduction to Audience Design, Paul Rieth presents a practical framework for identifying target audiences early in a project’s development and aligning storytelling with strategic goals. Dimitra Kouzi’s lecture It’s Never Too Early to Start Your Audience Strategy expands on this approach through case studies demonstrating how audience engagement can become part of a film’s creative development. Later in the week, the panel Who Pays for Czech Docs Now – Programming, Audiences, and the Money Behind the Decisions turns to the commissioning landscape. Representatives from Czech Television and TV Nova/OnePlay will discuss how programming decisions are made today and how funding models and changing viewing habits influence documentary production in the Czech Republic.
Documentary as an art form
Another strand of the programme focuses on the creative language of documentary film. In the keynote Languaging Documentary Film, curator and producer Caroline Libresco reflects on how the meaning of the term “documentary” has expanded in recent years, often encompassing everything from online videos to reality formats. Drawing on John Grierson’s definition of documentary as “a creative treatment of actuality,” she proposes ways of discussing documentaries as an art form. The programme also highlights filmmaking craft. In the lecture Editing as Directing, Austrian editor and filmmaker Michael Palm explores the collaboration between director and editor and the creative tensions that arise when shaping a film from raw footage.
Masterclasses: practice, process, and history
Several masterclasses offer insight into distinctive documentary practices. Croatian filmmaker Igor Bezinović presents his award-winning film Fiume o morte!, recipient of the European Documentary Award at the European Film Awards, and discusses its participatory production process and exploration of history, propaganda, and political performance. Serbian director Mila Turajlić continues the conversation in her masterclass Making, Funding, and Positioning Documentary Practice Today. Drawing on her long-term research project Non-Aligned Newsreels and films including Non-Aligned and Ciné-Guerillas: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, she examines working with archives as a contested historical terrain and the expansion of documentary practice into performance and art contexts. Earlier in the week, accredited professionals can also attend a screening of her film Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, which revisits footage documenting African and Asian liberation movements of the 1960s.
Industry perspectives: distribution and co-production
The programme also addresses the business side of documentary filmmaking. In Pivotal Guide to World Sales and Distribution of Creative Docs, international sales agent Anna Berthollet (Lightdox) outlines the current sales and distribution landscape and offers practical guidance on positioning films for international festivals and markets, including strategies for independent distribution. Producer and International Media Support adviser Henrik Underbjerg focuses on co-production structures in Rewriting the Rules of Co-Production – From Model to Practice. His lecture introduces a value-based model that allocates rights and creative control according to partners’ real contributions rather than financial investment alone.
VR experiences and new documentary forms
The open programme also presents documentary storytelling in immersive formats. From March 21 to 24, the gallery of the French Institute hosts VR screenings of two works: 21-22 CHINA by Thierry Loa, a meditative journey through a rapidly transforming country, and Fresh Memories: The Look by Ondřej Moravec and Volodymyr Kolbasa, which places viewers in the bombed-out city of Kharkiv through direct encounters with residents affected by the war.
New projects and festival circulation
The platform also highlights upcoming documentary projects. At Czech Docs: Coming Soon, five Czech films currently in production or post-production will be presented by their creative teams. The event is organised in cooperation with the Audiovisual Producers’ Association (APA), Czech Film Center, and Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The East Doc Caravan Showcase introduces a curated selection of documentaries supported by the Institute of Documentary Film and concludes with a screening of In Hell with Ivo by Kristina Nikolova, winner of the Jury Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival 2025.
Conversations about the industry itself
The programme closes with a discussion on professional ethics and working conditions in documentary filmmaking. In the lecture Responsibility, Accountability, and Power: Musings on Safety in the Documentary Industry, Marion Schmidt presents the international #DocSafe initiative, which addresses issues of safety, power dynamics, and accountability within documentary production and industry events.
As the East Doc Platform continues to grow, the open programme offers a rare opportunity for Prague audiences to step inside the conversations shaping documentary filmmaking today – from creative practice and audience engagement to funding structures and industry ethics. Some events require an Industry Pass, while others are open to the public free of charge. All events are held in English.
Full programme details and access information can be found on the link below.
FULL OPEN PROGRAMME
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.