29th TiDF: Two new major awards at the Agora – Open for submissions

The Agora of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the most active and dynamic documentary market in Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean, returns with two new major awards. Submissions for the 29th edition, which will take place from March 4 to 14, 2027, are now open, and we invite filmmakers to submit their projects.

We are delighted to announce the launch of the new Eurimages New Lab Award - Outreach, which is accompanied by the amount of 30,000 euros to a project participating in Agora Docs in Progress. This award is established at only two Festivals in Europe, one of them being the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. At the same time, ARTE, one of Europe’s leading cultural broadcasters has selected the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival to present the ARTE European Talents Development Award, offering a €10,000 cash prize to one of the projects participating in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum.

The Agora invites filmmakers to submit creative and television documentaries, episodic documentaries, as well as documentaries for children to the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum and Agora Docs in Progress sections. For yet another year, the Agora presents the Agora XR Lab, a workshop dedicated to XR and new media projects in development.

An integral and valuable part of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the Agora has established itself as a meeting point connecting filmmakers, producers and buyers from around the world, providing support for the documentary genre at every stage of production. The Agora of the 29th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival will take place from March 5 to 13, 2027.

The development initiatives of the Documentary Agora, which focus on Central and Southeastern Europe, the Black Sea region and the Mediterranean, are supported by the European Creative Europe MEDIA programme and organised in partnership with DAE (Documentary Association of Europe). In a friendly and accessible environment, film industry professionals meet directors and producers, either in person or online, to discuss their films and plan their next steps.

The Onassis Foundation presents the Onassis Film Award to a Greek project participating in the Festival’s Agora, either in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or Agora Docs in Progress. The award comes with a €5,000 cash prize and aims to spotlight emerging filmmakers.

THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM

Submission deadline: November 25, 2026

Once again, the Agora hosts the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum, an initiative dedicated to the development of documentary films. The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum explores the boundaries of the genre, welcoming creative and television documentaries, episodic documentaries and documentaries for children.

Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their projects and receive feedback, insights and constructive comments during a two-day online workshop, where they will work on their material and prepare for the presentation that will take place as part of the Pitching Forum before a panel of industry experts. In parallel, participants will have one-to-one meetings with film industry professionals who have expressed an interest in their projects. The final selection will include up to 14 projects aimed at the international audience.

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is proud to announce a new partnership with ARTE, one of Europe’s leading cultural broadcasters. As part of this collaboration, the Festival will present the ARTE European Talents Development Award, offering a €10,000 cash prize to a project participating in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum of the AGORA. The Award aims to support emerging European filmmaking talent and the development of a promising documentary project. The award reflects the shared commitment of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and ARTE to fostering new voices, encouraging creative exchange, and supporting the next generation of European filmmakers.

The Agora of the 29th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival continues to offer:

The IEFTA Best Documentary in Development Award, accompanied by a €10,000 cash prize, the ERT Award for a Greek project (€2,000), the EURODOC Award, including a €1,000 cash prize and membership in the network, a scholarship for the Script2Film Doc Lab of the Mediterranean Film Institute (June–December 2027), the DAE Award, offering consultancy sessions and the DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award, providing one selected project with participation in the Open Program and two free accreditations (October 2027).

Recent completed films that participated in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum include: Closure, directed by Michał Marczak (Sundance Film Festival 2026, Golden Alexander at TDF 2026); Bugboy, directed by Loukas Palaiokrassas (TDF 2026 and Sheffield DocFest 2026); Super Paradise, directed by Steve Krikris (TDF 2025); LO, directed by Thanasis Vasileiou (TDF 2025); Stray Bodies, directed by Elina Psykou (CPH:DOX Competition 2024, TDF 2024); Cadillac Dreams, directed by Elene Mikaberidze (CPH:DOX 2024); We Will Not Fade Away, directed by Alisa Kovalenko (Berlinale Generation 14plus 2023); A Steady Job, directed by Mattia Colombo and Gianluca Matarrese (TDF 2023); Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods, directed by Angelos Rallis (TDF 2023); Karaoke Nation, directed by Einari Paakkanen (CPH:DOX 2022, Visions du Réel 2022); and many others.

AGORA DOCS IN PROGRESS

Submission deadline: November 25, 2026

The Agora invites documentary filmmakers whose projects are in post-production and who are seeking a distributor, a festival premiere or funding to complete their films to submit their projects to Agora Docs in Progress. Agora Docs in Progress has established itself as a leading meeting point for documentary films at the final stage just before completion. Directors and producers have the opportunity to present their documentaries to buyers, co-producers, sales agents and international festival programmers, with the aim of attracting their interest.

We are delighted to announce the establishment of the Eurimages New Lab Award – Outreach, a new distinction dedicated to enhancing the reach of documentaries among audiences and increasing the impact of innovative and non-conventional documentary or XR project filmmaking. The award comes with a €30,000 cash prize provided by Eurimages and will be presented to one project participating in the AGORA Docs in Progress programme.

The Eurimages New Lab Award – Outreach is designed to provide meaningful support at a pivotal stage in a film’s journey. The award aims to strengthen the reach and impact of the documentary and foster meaningful connections with audiences, contributing to the film’s visibility, distribution and long-term impact.

Projects competing for the award must be innovative and non-conventional in terms of their content and/or form, including hybrid documentaries, essay films, animation, non-narrative and interdisciplinary works.

The films will also have the opportunity to compete for a range of important awards: the post-production services award from Two Thirty Five; the Authorwave Post-Production Sound Award, offering sound design, mixing or digital foley services; the subtitling award from Neaniko Plano; the Impronta Films Guidance Award, offering specially tailored consultancy services; as well as the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center (EKKOMED) Award for a Greek project, accompanied by a €3,000 cash prize.

Among the documentaries that have participated in the section in the recent years are: Magma by Mia Bendrimia (Sheffield DocFest 2026 - Grand Jury Award, International First Feature Competition); Stories of a Lie by Olia Verroiopoulou (IDFA 2025, TIDF 2026); A Song Without Home by Rati Tsiteladze (CPH:DOX 2026, TIDF 2026); The Way Elsewhere by Eirini Vourloumi (CPH:DOX 2026, TDF 2026); Mailin by Maria Silvia Esteve (IDFA 2025, TIDF 2026) ; Tell Them About Us by Rand Beiruty (CPH:DOX 2024, TIDF 2024); Tack by Vania Turner (TIDF 2024, Docs Against Gravity 2025);The Queen of New York by Valerie Kontakos (TIDF 2024, DOC NYC 2023); Diaries from Lebanon by Myriam El Hajj (Berlinale 2024) And, Towards Happy Alleys by Sreemoyee Singh (Berlinale 2023, TIDF 2024), Acts of Love by Isidore Bethel, Francis Leplay (Hot Docs 2021, TiDF 2021); Nights and Days with Dimitra K. by Eva Stefani (TΙDF 2021), When Wagner Met Tomatoes by Marianna Economou (TΙDF 2019, Sarajevo Film Festival 2019) and others.

Agora Docs in Progress is open to creative and television documentaries, episodic documentaries, documentaries for children, as well as hybrid documentaries, essay films, animation, non-narrative and interdisciplinary works.

The filmmakers behind the selected projects will have the opportunity to prepare for their presentation to industry professionals and receive advice on their next steps during consultancy meetings that will take place before the Festival begins.

AGORA XR Lab

Submission deadline: November 25, 2026

The AGORA XR Lab is one of the Documentary Agora’s newest initiatives, a workshop dedicated to XR and new media projects in development. It was designed for emerging creators wishing to explore new forms of storytelling in both fiction and documentary, with the aim of investigating the boundaries of audiovisual work in the digital age.

The Festival invites emerging artists from diverse artistic and professional fields to submit their projects. The initiative focuses on projects that bridge the fields of cinema, digital media, new technologies and the performing arts. The AGORA XR Lab promotes innovation and collaboration, supporting creative, interdisciplinary partnerships across film, the arts, science, technology and social entrepreneurship.

The programme’s lead advisor is Vassiliki Khonsari, an award-winning producer, writer and co-founder of New York-based studio iNK Stories, renowned for pioneering storytelling across gaming, film, XR and immersive experiences. Finally, one of the AGORA XR Lab projects will be selected to participate in the Beldocs XR Academy 2027 at Beldocs - International Documentary Film Festival.

At the same time, the Agora is introducing a new submission opportunity for AGORA XR Lab alumni, whose projects are at the prototype or final production stage. Specifically, participants in the AGORA XR Lab will be able to submit their projects to AGORA Docs in Progress, gaining access to XR professionals, documentary funders, sales agents and festival programmers, while remaining fully eligible for the Eurimages New Lab Award - Outreach. This represents a natural extension of Eurimages’ interest in interdisciplinary creations, positioning the Agora as a platform that bridges documentary filmmaking with immersive arts.

For online submissions and further information about the TDF Agora, please visit the Festival website.

The Agora is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, the NSRF 2021–2027, the Region of Central Macedonia, and is organised in collaboration with the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center (EKKOMED), the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Greece, and our partners and sponsors in Greece and Europe.