Pitching Forum is an international film financing and co-production event focused on the facilitation, development, and financing of film projects.

The forum is divided into four categories:

• Fiction Feature Films (of the minimum runtime of 55 minutes) in early stages of development;
• Fiction Short Films (up to 55 minutes) in early stages of development;
• Documentary Films (both feature and short length) in early stages of development;
• Short, Feature and Documentary Films in advanced production stages;

In total, 28 projects will be selected. Selected finalists will have 5 minutes to pitch their work in progress to the international film industry decision-makers: producers, investors, fund managers, sales, distributors, and festival programmers in order to win awards, receive feedback and partake in one-to-one meetings. They will also have access to a three-day training headed by world-renowned project development experts, who will guide them on a way to preparing a perfect pitch.

This year FEST – Pitching Forum will take place online, allowing filmmakers from all over the world to present their projects to a panel of top distributors, producers, and investors for a chance at winning development and co-production awards. This will be a new opportunity, as the new format will allow a bigger panel of experts and a worldwide audience, accessing industry gatekeepers that would otherwise not be available to travel to Espinho for the physical part of the Pitching Forum.

Each participant has 5 minutes to pitch their project to our jury and a panel of world-renowned experts, including producers, distributors, and financiers that will be revealed closer to the event. Each pitch is followed by a 5 minute Q&A, between the participants and the jury and panel.

Each pitching session will last close to two hours, on an online platform.

After each session, the Pitching Forum award winners will be announced, as voted by our jury.

Participants will also have the opportunity to partake in exclusive individual scheduled meetings with the FEST – Pitching Forum Jury for private feedback and counseling about their project.

This year, also for the first time, the event will be open to a specialized audience, through a streaming platform. To join the FEST – Pitching Forum streaming event, registration is required. Our panel and the specialized audience will be able to schedule individual online meetings with participants.

As usual, in preparation for the pitching event, participants will have the chance to join an exclusive one-week training that will be held online.