DATES

The Pitching Forum is divided into two phases:

• The training sessions will take place exclusively in person between the 25th and 27th of June, 2024 (only for representatives of the selected projects), in Espinho, Portugal.
• The final pitch sessions will be held on the 28th and 29th of June, 2024, in person (Espinho, Portugal) and online.

The final pitch presentations will also be broadcasted online to a selected audience of industry professionals. This new format will allow the presence of a wider panel of experts, as well as a worldwide audience, increasing the possibilities of the projects being seen by important experts, who, otherwise, would not be able to travel to Espinho for the physical event.

PITCH TRAINING SESSIONS

Before the final presentations, participants will have the opportunity to participate in the training sessions. The training consists on a three-day workshop focused on pitch development, headed by two renowned experts who will help the finalists acquire the necessary tools for their final presentation.

Preparing for an event as this one is very important, which is why the Pitching Forum offers each selected project the opportunity to participate in this exclusive pitching training.

Our experienced tutors will prepare our participants, individually or in teams of two, to make the best pitch possible. We want them to be able to speak the same language as the attending producers and financiers, granting that their project succeeds.

Although this training program isn’t mandatory, it can be an important boost that can help turn a good project into a good film.

FINAL PITCH SESSIONS

Each project representative will have 5 minutes to present their project to our jury and a panel of world-renowned experts, including producers, distributors and investors, all looking for new projects to support. Each pitch is followed by a 5 minute Q&A session between the participant, the jury and the panel.

The awards will be decided by the jury after all the pitches presentations are over and the winners will be announced during the event.

Participants will also have the opportunity to partake in individual and private meetings with the Pitching Forum jury and with the experts that are present at the event to obtain feedback and advice, in order to significantly improve their project for the upcoming years.

AWARDS

The selected projects will pitch their project to the international decision-makers of the industry and will have the opportunity to compete for some very special prizes. Each category has its own prizes that will be announced soon.

JURY

The members of the Jury will be revealed closer to the event.

EXPERTS

Apart from the awards, the most valuable takeaway from the Pitching Forum will undoubtedly be the feedback and interaction with the experts who will participate in the event during the two days.

The industry panel is made up of producers, distributors and project developers with considerable experience in the film industry, from television to documentary and fiction. Each member of the panel of experts can select projects that they would like to develop, tutor, finance or produce.

Even if your project doesn’t win any of the immediate awards or isn’t selected individually by any of the experts, there is still something extremely valuable that you will take home: the feedback from some of the most experienced professionals in the film industry.

These experts will be available to have one-on-one meetings with the representatives of the projects that interested them.

PROFESSIONAL AUDIENCE

The Pitching Forum will be available to a specialized audience through a streaming platform. To join the streaming of the event you will need to register. 

The professional audience will have the opportunity to set up individual meetings with the participants.

REGISTRATION FORM

The Registration Form will be available closer to the festival.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Our call for projects for this 13th edition of the Pitching Forum has an extended deadline until the 4th of April. The selected projects will be announced no later than 31st of May, 2024.

SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT

You can consult our Rules and Regulations here.

PAST EXPERTS

Some experts that have joined our jury panel in the past include:

Finola Dwyer: Film and TV producer Oscar-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning, and head of Wildgaze Films. She was a producer of "Brooklyn", "An Education" and "Severance";

Michael Katz: Producer who works regularly with Michael Haneke, who produced "The White Ribbon and Amour";

Tim Corrie: Founder of United Agents and vice-president of BAFTA;

Gareth Wiley: Producer of Woody Allen’s film "Match Point" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona";

Angela Bosch: Advisor in the fields of promotion, distribution and co-production for the Spanish audiovisual industry;

Paulo Trancoso: Co-producer of "Queen Margot" and "Night Train to Lisbon", from the production company Costa do Castelo Filmes;

Cynthia Hargrave: Producer of "Bottle Rocket", Wes Anderson’s first feature film;

Jarle Björkens: From the Norwegian film fund Filmkraft;

Luís Ismael: From the Portuguese production company Lightbox;

Chadi Zeneddine: Programmer at the Doha Film Institute;

Nuno Beato: From the Portuguese production company Sardinha in Lata;

Scandar Copti: Director of the film "Ajami";

Irene Taskovski: Distribution and world sales representative of Tarkovski Films;

Tamara González: From the Portuguese production company Papaveronoir Filmes.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS

"The Pitching Forum session was a fantastic opportunity to understand what industry decision-makers are paying attention to. To know the pitfalls and trump cards of a pitch, this is an indispensable festival."

— Julien Kerknawi, A Broken man

"The Kingdom of Shadows certainly owes a lot to FEST. Pitching our film at the festival was key for us in understanding the direction we wanted the production to take." 

— Daniel Fawcett, The Kingdom of Shadows

"Tim (Corrie) is amazing! We are still meeting and he has been a great support. To have such an important figure of the British Film Industry taking an interest in my work has given me a huge amount of self-confidence to push forward." 

— Nikolai Galitzine, Wickham

"The days I spent at the Pitching Forum were very intense and very useful. In a very condensed period of time, I learned to get closer to my project and project it through a room full of professionals and potential audience."

— Franziska Margarete Hoennisch (Winner of the 2017 edition)

GET YOUR ACCREDITATION HERE