DATES

The event will be split into two main parts:

• The training sessions will be held between the 20th and 22nd of June, 2023, in Espinho, Portugal (only for representatives of selected projects);
• The final pitch sessions will be held on the 23rd and 24th of June, 2023, in Espinho, Portugal.

The final pitch presentations will also be broadcasted online to a selected audience of industry professionals. This format allows for a bigger panel of experts and a worldwide audience, granting access to industry gatekeepers that would otherwise not be available to travel to Espinho for the physical event.

PITCH TRAINING SESSIONS

Before the final presentations, participants will have the chance to join exclusive training sessions focused on pitch development, headed by two renowned experts who will help the finalists prepare their presentations, so they can make the most of it.

The preparation for this type of event is very important, so Pitching Forum provides exclusive training to each participating project.

Our experienced tutors through a three-day training program will prepare our participants (individually or in teams of two) to deliver their best pitch. We want our participants to be able to speak the same language as the attending producers and financiers, granting the project success.

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 has 5 minutes to pitch their project to our jury and a panel of world-renowned experts, including producers, distributors, and financiers, all looking for new projects to support. Each pitch is followed by a 5 minute Q&A, for collective feedback and discussion with the jury and panel.

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

Participants will also have the opportunity to partake in exclusive individual scheduled meetings with the Pitching Forum Jury and all decision-makers present for private feedback and counselling about their project.

At the end of the event, the representative of each project will have the opportunity to take part in an individual meeting with all the experts, for private feedback and counselling about their project. The jury spokesperson will give the group feedback and constructive advice to improve the projects. This Private Feedback helps you to significantly improve your project and will stay with you for the coming years.

AWARDS

The projects selected will pitch their project to international film industry decision-makers and get the chance to compete for some very special prizes. Each category has its prizes which will be revealed soon.

JURY

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

PANEL/EXPERTS

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

The panel consists 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.

If your project doesn’t win any of the immediate awards or isn’t selected individually by any of the experts present, there is still something extremely valuable you will take home: the feedback from some of the most experienced professionals in the film industry, that will help you to significantly improve your project and will stay with you for the coming years.

These experts will be able to talk individually with the representatives of the projects in which they are interested.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Our call for projects for this 2023 edition of the Pitching Forum it's closed! The selected projects will be announced no later than the 15th of May, 2023.

You can consult our Rules and Regulations here.

PAST EXPERTS

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

Finola Dwyer – Oscar-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning film and TV producer, and head of Wildgaze films. She was a producer on Brooklyn, An Education, and Severance;

Michael Katz – Producer who works regularly with Michael Haneke, for whom he produced The White Ribbon and Amour;

Tivi Magnusson - Producer (The New Tenants, Adam's Apples and The Green Butchers);

Paul Miller - Producer Snow Angels and Prozac Nation Tim Corrie – Founder of United Agents and former deputy chairman of BATFA;

Gareth Wiley – Producer of Woody Allen’s Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona;

Sean Gascoine - Talent agent at United Agents;

Isabel Lima - Distributor at NOS Audiovisuais;

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

Kami Naghdi - Lawyer, head of film and TV at Clintons;

Angela Bosch – Advisor in the fields of promotion, distribution and international co-production to the Spanish audiovisual industry;

Rachel Robey - Producer at Wellington Films;

Paulo Trancoso – President of the Portuguese Film Academy; Co-producer of Queen Margot and Night Train to Lisbon, from production company Costa do Castelo Filmes;

Pandora Cunha Teles - Producer (Al Berto and A Mãe é que sabe).

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS

"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 Awcett, 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 in 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 number one thing I learnt at FEST - Pitching Forum was confidence. There is no one in the world that can tell your story better than you can. In Espinho, I learnt that it is not so much about the performance, but about being honest and humble."

— Marija Fridinovaitè, Lessons of Love.