ParisDOC Works‑in‑Progress 2026 is a call from the professional platform of the Cinéma du réel festival, focused on feature documentary projects in advanced editing or post‑production stages. Submission opens on November 17, 2025, and closes on January 7, 2026. The event will take place in Paris, France, on March 25 and 26, 2026, during the festival. The call accepts international submissions from any country, provided materials are in English or French, or with subtitles in one of those languages. It is dedicated to the documentary genre, specifically feature‑length documentaries (minimum 60 minutes) with a first cut completed and meeting originality and distribution potential criteria. Classified under Works‑in‑Progress / Industry, the program offers industry showcases and networking for projects in progress. Accepted formats are feature documentaries in post‑production, presented to industry professionals to support their distribution and promotion.
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PARIS DOC
The RTS Pitching, taking place during the VdR–Industry Days (April 6–9, 2025) in Nyon, Switzerland, was initiated by Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) to promote innovative documentary filmmaking in French-speaking Switzerland.
This unique forum will showcase eight new documentary projects in the early stages of development, providing participants with the opportunity to present their ideas to industry professionals. The best feature-length project will receive a prize of 10,000 CHF in development funding, supporting the creation of works with a strong creative vision.
This competition fosters a collaborative environment aimed at promoting original Swiss documentary projects intended to reach a wide audience.
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VdR - RTS Award
The Locarno Residency is a program by the Locarno Film Festival supporting emerging filmmakers developing their first feature film. The 2025 call is open until June 3, 2025. The program has two phases: first, an in-person meeting during the festival in August where 10 participants present their projects to a jury, which selects three outstanding projects. The second phase offers one year of personalized mentoring, including online sessions and in-person meetings, with travel and accommodation expenses covered. One selected project will receive the Dopodomani Prize, worth 3,000 CHF. Requirements include being under 40 years old, having short film experience, and presenting a project in English for a first feature to be shot after September 2026. The application fee is 30 CHF. It’s an excellent opportunity for filmmakers seeking professional support and international exposure.
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Locarno Residency
MERCADOC.0 is an initiative by the Festival de Málaga and Culturia that will take place from March 18 to 21, 2025, as part of MAFIZ, the industry section of the festival. The event aims to foster innovation in Ibero-American documentaries by focusing on artistic, financial, and new business models development.
MERCADOC.0 offers training and personalized advice to directors and producers, while facilitating opportunities for international co-productions, distribution, and global business exploration. The event will select up to 12 projects (6 from Latin America and 6 from Spain and Portugal) in various documentary genres such as author documentaries, social media documentaries, docu-reality, and investigative documentaries.
The initiative also provides a platform to connect with industry professionals and increase the visibility of Ibero-American documentaries on a global scale.
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MERCADOC.0
Syncro Lab 2025 is the training and development call of the Syncro Film Fest, aimed at people over 18 years old residing in Argentina. It is a short film script competition open to fiction, non-fiction, or hybrid projects, with a maximum length of 20 pages (PDF format, Courier 12, single spacing).
Submissions are open from February 3 to May 7, 2025, with an entry fee of ARS 7,000. Up to 10 scripts will be selected, and their authors will take part in group mentoring and development sessions during the festival, which will be held June 16–19, 2025 in Buenos Aires.
A jury will choose one winning script, which will receive ARS 500,000, plus professional post‑production services (5.1 mix, color grading, DCP and export deliveries), distribution by Hablemos de Langostas, and support for material delivery. Technical prizes must be used within one year.
Syncro Lab is an excellent opportunity to boost your short film project and connect with the independent film industry.
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Syncro Lab
