The 31^st edition of FIPA – the International Audiovisual Programmes Festival, held in January in Biarritz, on the French Atlantic coast – was the last edition open to all types of audiovisual content. From 2019 onwards, the event is waving goodbye to its initial transversal aspirations to focus solely on non-fiction (of all kinds, including hybrid forms) under a new name: FIPADOC. While the definitive shape of the festival’s programme is in its final planning stages, the newly-appointed executive director of the festival, Christine Camdessus, unveiled some of its main features at a press conference hosted by Sunny Side of the Doc No. 29 (La Rochelle, 25 to 28 June). 

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The first edition of FIPADOC will take place from 22 to 27 January 2019. It will include several competition sections (international, French...) – with applications opening in September – as well as other themed sidebars. It will screen about one hundred films, a similar number to FIPA. The same institutional partners (CNC, SACEM, SCAM, PROCIREP, etc.) will also remain in place, as will the Campus. Pubcasters will be well represented and there will still be an array of industry activities, with a stronger emphasis on the European dimension of the event (in association with the EDN - European Documentary Network, of which Camdessus has been a member for a long time).

In a landscape already saturated with pitching events, the importance of defining a clear and specific identity for FIPADOC – especially since it sits between two of the main international events for documentary professionals: IDFA in November and CPH:DOX in March – led to a decision to focus on producers' pitches, possibly from two main countries, France and Germany, through twin sessions – the working title being "Find your French partner" and "Find your German partner." As it is crucial for its organisers to ensure that FIPADOC has a role in the value stream of documentary productions, its industry activities will include workshops open to emerging producers, as well as to some of their more seasoned colleagues looking to further expand their horizons.