Sunny Side of the Doc will relocate from its longtime home in La Rochelle to Strasbourg next June, Gaëtan Bruel, president of the CNC, revealed as the doc market kicked off today.
The new flagship international documentary market will evolve to meet the needs of today, Bruel noted, embracing a European focus and leveraging the support of the city of Strasbourg, the Strasbourg Eurometropolis, the Grand Est Region, and the CNC.
Arte, the Council of Europe, Eurimages, the European Audiovisual Observatory, and the European Parliament are all based in Strasbourg.
“The creation of this new international documentary market in Strasbourg marks a major milestone for the structuring and influence of the sector,” Bruel said. “In a context of industry reconfiguration, it is essential to ambitiously establish a leading market with an international dimension, as well as a platform to promote the institutional issues tied to it. I firmly believe that the impact of this new event will be decisive in fostering networking and cooperation, as well as diversifying and accelerating access to the funding that will sustain the diversity of documentary perspectives we need now more than ever. By settling in Strasbourg, at the heart of Europe, this market will ambitiously champion the fundamental values of documentary filmmaking: high standards, diversity, and openness to the world.”
Franck Leroy, president of the Grand Est Region, added, “This event of international scale represents an exceptional opportunity to support documentary creation, strengthen exchanges between industry players, and promote a genre whose civic value has never been more precious. As a land of openness, dialogue, and European cooperation, the Grand Est finds a particular resonance in hosting this event. While Strasbourg—the seat of European institutions—will naturally be its beating heart, the economic spinoffs and influence of this event are intended to enrich our entire territory, contributing daily to regional cultural vitality.”
Catherine Trautmann, the mayor of Strasbourg and president of the Strasbourg Eurometropolis, remarked, “Documentaries serve to inform, question the world and its transformations, and offer a way to see and understand the complexity surrounding us. It is a powerful vehicle for strengthening citizenship, a dimension that deeply resonates with Strasbourg as a capital, the seat of European institutions, and a city committed to defending freedom and human rights.”
