NEWS
China back in La Rochelle for Sunny Side of the Doc 2023, organisers say
12 June 2023
China's documentary industry is back en masse and in person in the French city of La Rochelle for this year's Sunny Side of the Doc festival, which will host its first China Pavilion after the pandemic and provide a backdrop for the Mainland's renewed efforts to tell its story on an international stage, organisers say.
The Mainland Chinese delegation includes state-backed documentary platform, CCTV9, Bilibili and China Media Group (CMG), which showcases episode one of "China's Wild Empires", a five-part series with ZED, Arte and National Geographic.
The four-day show opens next week (19 June).
Japanese public broadcaster NHK also returns to the event this year after a small presence in 2022.
The 34th edition of the festival rolls out in a much-changed factual environment, where global streamers have reshaped storytelling and put series based on real-life events on a whole new stage.
Streaming platforms have "increased [the documentary genre's] visibility and attractiveness by pushing new forms of storytelling," says the event's director of strategy and development, Mathieu Bejot.
"By shaking up the way in which we consume documentaries, especially with an ‘audience’ and ‘community’-oriented approach, they’re also encouraging all industry players to tackle fundamental strategic questions, like who watches which documentaries, where and why? And how can we reach and involve a wider audience, especially a younger and more diverse one?," Bejot adds.
This year's Sunny Side of the Doc also focuses on increasing "the number of the bridges between linear documentaries, digital experiences and all innovative forms of real-life narration".
At the same time, Bejot says the event retains its "commitment to facilitating the emergence of new talent and making new voices heard, promoting diversity, encouraging international co-productions and accelerating the distribution of quality documentaries around the world".
...China's documentary industry is back en masse and in person in the French city of La Rochelle for this year's Sunny Side of the Doc festival, which will host its first China Pavilion after the pandemic and provide a backdrop for the Mainland's renewed efforts to tell its story on an international stage, organisers say.
The Mainland Chinese delegation includes state-backed documentary platform, CCTV9, Bilibili and China Media Group (CMG), which showcases episode one of "China's Wild Empires", a five-part series with ZED, Arte and National Geographic.
The four-day show opens next week (19 June).
Japanese public broadcaster NHK also returns to the event this year after a small presence in 2022.
The 34th edition of the festival rolls out in a much-changed factual environment, where global streamers have reshaped storytelling and put series based on real-life events on a whole new stage.
Streaming platforms have "increased [the documentary genre's] visibility and attractiveness by pushing new forms of storytelling," says the event's director of strategy and development, Mathieu Bejot.
"By shaking up the way in which we consume documentaries, especially with an ‘audience’ and ‘community’-oriented approach, they’re also encouraging all industry players to tackle fundamental strategic questions, like who watches which documentaries, where and why? And how can we reach and involve a wider audience, especially a younger and more diverse one?," Bejot adds.
This year's Sunny Side of the Doc also focuses on increasing "the number of the bridges between linear documentaries, digital experiences and all innovative forms of real-life narration".
At the same time, Bejot says the event retains its "commitment to facilitating the emergence of new talent and making new voices heard, promoting diversity, encouraging international co-productions and accelerating the distribution of quality documentaries around the world".
About 2,200 international delegates, including Japan's NHK and Australia's ABC, will be be in La Rochelle for the show, which will host more than 90 exhibitors from 20 countries.
The 40 delegations include China and Australia.
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