28th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
5 MARCH → 15 MARCH 2026
TIDF28 Thessaloniki Pitching Forum
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum is the co-producing and co-financing platform of the TiDF for creative and TV documentaries as well as documentaries for children and youth audiences. The participants will have the opportunity to discuss their projects, to receive feedback and advice during a two-day lab and prepare for pitching with the help of documentary professionals. Then, they pitch their projects to a panel of industry professionals and have one-on-one meetings with financiers, international decision makers and representatives of the international audiovisual sector.
MARCH 8-12
Dates: March 8-12
Presentation: March 9
Physical Meetings: March 9, 10, 11
Awards: March 11
Online Meetings: March 13
This year’s selection features 14 projects from 17 countries and continues to support and amplify diverse voices that shed light on themes such as displacement, companionship, mental health, speaking truth to power and the unveiling of unspoken truths
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM PROJECTS
ASHES
Director: Daham Alasaad, Production: Bård Kjøge Rønning, Fabien Greenberg - Antipode Films, Alhumam Alasaad - Bel Studio, Co-production: Celine Nusse - Zadig production, Syria, Norway, France
THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED
Director: Seamus Murphy, Production: David Rane - Soilsiú Films, Co-production: Catherine Siméon - Faites un voeu, Heino Deckert - Ma.ja.de, Ireland, France, Germany
ENTR'ACTES
Director: Yuriy Shylov, Production: Olha Tuharinova - Kshtalt Productions, Co-production: Barbara Dyck, Maarten Bernaerts - Salto Productions, Ukraine, Belgium
THE LAST CLASS
Director: Michele Fornasero, Production: Alice Drago - Epica Film, Co-production: Francesca Portalupi - Indyca, Italy
MOMTSKI KAMEN - THE ROCK OF THE GIRL
Directors: Maria Sidiropoulou, Chloe Bruhat, Production: Maria Sidiropoulou - Thunderbird Productions, Co-production: Rebecca Obadia - Maison Femme, Greece, France
MY FATHER KILLED BOURGUIBA
Director/Production: Fatma Riahi, Co-production: Dora Bouchoucha - Nomadis Images, Co-production: Lina Chaabane, Fatma Riahi, Omar Ben Ali - SVP Production, Tunisia, Qatar, KSA, France
NAVA MAMA
Director: Ana Vijdea, Production: Ana Vijdea, Ana Gheorghe, Cosmin Nicoara - Remora Films, Co-production: Louis Beaudemont - Les Steppes Productions, Romania, France
NO MOTHER'S LAND
Director: Wiktoria Szymanska Davis, Production: Monika Braid - Braidmade Films, Sonja Henrici - Sonja Henrici Creates, Poland, United Kingdom
OF THE TREES UNMOVED
Director: Nino Benashvili, Production: Tekla Machavariani - Nushi Film, Co-production: Eva Blondiau, Elmar Imanov - Color of May, Georgia, Germany
PIVOT
Director: Vasia Ntoulia, Production: Marina Danezi - Laika Productions, Co-production: Antonios Vallindras, Tasos Koronakis, Greece
UNWANTED PAST
Director: Thanassis Vassiliou, Production: Konstantinos Vassilaros - StudioBauhaus, Greece
VOICES
Director: Persefoni Miliou, Production: Persefoni Miliou - Per Se Productions, Greece
YOU LITTLE BOX
Director: Mert Kaya, Production: Enis Köstepen, Gizay Akdoğan, Mert Kaya - Loudcat Film, Co-production: Vincent Coen, Guillaume Vandenberghe - Glasgow, Türkiye, Belgium
WHO WE ARE
Director: Sophie Ataya, Production: Thomas Kaske, Marion Schmidt - Seera Films, Germany
WORKSHOP TUTORS
Brigid O’Shea | Director & International Consultant, Documentary Association of Europe - Germany
Mila Turajlić | Director & Producer, Poppy Pictures - Serbia
Peter Jaeger | Consultant, Jaeger Creative - Austria
Ove Rishøj Jensen | Producer & Consultant, Paradiddle Pictures - Denmark
MODERATORS
Babette Dieu | Cannes Docs Coordinator, Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes - France
Brigid O’Shea | Director & International Consultant, Documentary Association of Europe - Germany
JURY
Malin Hüber | Producer, HER Film - Sweden
Èric Motjer | Head of DocsBarcelona Pro & Artistic co-director, DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival - Spain
Selin Murat | Executive Director, IDFA Bertha Fund - Netherlands
AWARDS
JURY AWARDS
IEFTF Best Doc in Development Award
€ 10.000 to a project in development
ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award
€ 2.000 to a Greek project
EURODOC Award
€ 1.000 and a EURODOC membership
DAE Consultancy Sessions Award
Aylon Productions Digital Services Award
Digital transfer of archival material up to 1 hour (2K)
INDEPENDENT AWARDS
Onassis Film Award
€ 5.000 to a Greek project participating in the AGORA
(Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or AGORA Docs in Progress)
DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award
2 Co-Pro Market observer passes and two festival accreditations (Co-Pro Market Observer entails participation in the Open Program)
Mediterranean Film Institute Award - George Kalogeropoulos Award
MFI Script2Film Workshop, which offers a Doc Lab scholarship worth 2.000 to an international project (June - December 2026)
