The Docs Ireland Marketplace presents filmmakers with the chance to engage directly with prominent figures in the international documentary industry, such as funders, broadcasters, distributors and exhibitors. Scheduled during Docs Ireland 2024 from 21-22 June, at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast, the event offers a unique platform for networking and collaboration. As the sole marketplace dedicated to documentary filmmaking on the island of Ireland, Docs Ireland offers filmmakers the opportunity to pitch their projects through tailored meetings facilitated by the festival’s industry team.

At this edition, Docs Ireland will shine a spotlight on the Nordics, with key players from the non-fiction industry heading to Belfast to participate in Docs Ireland Marketplace. Among them are the Finnish Film Foundation, Nordisk Panorama, SVT and the Swedish Film Institute, alongside a comprehensive line-up of delegates from the UK, Ireland, Europe and the USA. The Docs Ireland Marketplace is increasingly recognised as a vital networking platform for documentary filmmakers, drawing in prominent figures from the global documentary film industry to engage with Irish, UK and international filmmakers, and discuss their projects.

As a central hub for the funding, sales and distribution of documentaries both within Ireland and on a global scale, the marketplace serves as a launching pad for local talent while also embracing submissions from around the world. The deadline for project submissions is Friday 19 April, and you can submit your projects here.

Roisín Geraghty, Docs Ireland’s head of Industry, commented: “We are excited to welcome leading delegates from the Irish and international documentary industry to Belfast this June to participate in the sixth Docs Ireland Marketplace. The only doc-specific hub for funding, sales and distribution on the island of Ireland, the marketplace continues to go from strength to strength each year, providing an opportunity for filmmakers to meet one-to-one in carefully curated meetings with decision makers and consultants from the world of non-fiction.”

The confirmed delegation attending the event comprises representatives of Autlook Film Sales, CAT&Docs, Conic Films, Cinetic Media, Documentary Association of Europe, Dokufest Kosovo, DR Sales, e u R O P E Doconsultancy, Fifth Season, Film Harbour, the Finnish Film Foundation, INDOX Films, Java Films, Lightdox, Met Film Sales, Nordisk Panorama, POV, S4C, the Sarajevo International Film Festival, SBS, Screen Ireland, the Sundance Film Festival, SVT, the Swedish Film Institute, SWR, TG4, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, True/False, Wildcard Distribution and others yet to be confirmed.

Projects that participated in previous years have gained significant recognition, with screenings and award wins at various film festivals. Notable examples include Is There Anybody Out There? [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Ella Glendining, which was selected for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival; Million Dollar Pigeons [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Gav Fitzgerald, in the official selection at Hot Docs in 2022; Much Ado About Dying [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Simon Chambers, which won Best Director at IDFA 2022; The Graceless Age by Sarah Share, awarded Best Irish Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2023; The Taste of Mango [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Chloe Abrahams, in the official selection at the London Film Festival in 2023 and winner of Best Debut Documentary at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards; and To the Moon [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Tadhg O’Sullivan, in the official selection at the Telluride Film Festival and Venice Film Festival in 2021.

Docs Ireland is supported by Northern Ireland Screen through the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council, Screen Ireland and BFI/Film Hub NI, and is sponsored by TG4, BBCNI and Yellowmoon.