Agora, the most dynamic and vibrant documentary industry event in Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean, returns for the upcoming 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, held from March 6-16, 2025 with new initiatives and concepts.
Agora invites documentary filmmakers to submit creative documentaries, documentary series, as well as documentaries for children in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum and Agora Docs in Progress. Agora has, also, announced a new initiative, Agora XR Lab and submissions are now open.
Agora is an inseparable and invaluable part of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival and has established itself as a meeting hub between directors, producers and buyers from all over the world, promoting and supporting documentary films throughout all production stages. The TiDF27 Agora will take place from March 7-15, 2025.
Agora is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA and is held in collaboration with DAE (Documentary Association of Europe). Its development activities focus on the regions of Central and Southeast Europe, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In a friendly and relaxed environment, industry professionals are meeting with film producers and directors (both onsite and online) to discuss their projects and plan their next steps.
The Onassis Foundation has consistently collaborated with the Festival, bringing forth the voices of emerging creators. Every year, it presents Greek filmmakers participating in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or the Agora Docs in Progress of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival with the Onassis Film Award, which is accompanied by a 5,000-euro prize.
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM
Submissions are open from September 9th, 2024
Deadline for entries up until December 2nd, 2024
Agora hosts Thessaloniki Pitching Forum, an initiative focused on developing documentaries. The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum explores the limits of documentary by inviting TV and creative documentaries, documentary series and documentaries for children.
The participants will have the opportunity to discuss their project and get feedback on their content during a two-day online workshop. They will work on their material and gear up for their pitch preparation at the Pitching Forum, before a panel of experts. At the same time, the participants will have one-on-one meetings with industry professionals interested in their project. The final selection will include a total of 14 projects, addressed to an international public.
Recent completed films include Stray Bodies by Elina Psykou (CPH:DOX Competition 2024, Thessaloniki IDF 2024), Cadillac Dreams by Elene Mikaberidze (CPH:DOX 2024), We Will Not Fade Away by Alisa Kovalenko (Berlinale Generation 14plus 2023), A Steady Job by Mattia Colombo, Gianluca Matarrese (Thessaloniki IDF 2023), Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods by Angelos Rallis (Thessaloniki IDF 2023), Karaoke Nation by Einari Paakkanen (CPH:DOX 2022, Visions du Réel 2022), Boylesque by Bogna Kowalczyk (Hot Docs 2022) and more.
The main prize is bestowed by IEFTA - Best Doc in Development Award (€10,000), other prizes include ERT Award to a Greek project (€ 2,000), Scholarship for the Script2Film Doc Lab of the Mediterranean Film Institute (June-December 2025), DAE Award (consulting sessions), Aylon Productions Digital Services Award (Material digitization from Aylon Productions), Beldocs Award (accommodation and accreditation at the Beldocs International Documentary Festival, Serbia, May 2025) and DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award (selection of a project to participate to the Open Program and two free accreditations, October 2025).
AGORA DOCS IN PROGRESS
Submissions are open from September 9th 2024
Deadline for entries up until December 13th 2024
Agora invites filmmakers who have a documentary in post-production and are looking for a distributor, a festival premiere or completion funds to submit their films in Agora Docs in Progress. Documentaries who have successfully participated in Agora Docs in Progress are Savana and the Mountain by Paulo Carneiro (Quinzaine des Cineastes 2024), Diaries from Lebanon by Myriam El Hajj (Berlinale - Panorama Dokumente 2024), Tell them About Us by Rand Beiruty (CPH:DOX 2024, Thessaloniki IDF 2024), If I Die It Will Be of Joy by Alexis Taillant (Frameline 2024) And, Toward Happy Alleys by Sreemoyee Singh (Berlinale Panorama Dokumente 2023), Notes on Displacement by Khaled Jarrar (IDFA 2022) and more. Agora Docs in Progress is open to TV and creative documentaries, documentary series and documentaries for children.
Agora Docs in Progress segment remains the main meeting event for documentary films that have entered the last stage prior to their completion. Directors and producers have the chance to present their films to buyers, co-producers, festival representatives and sales agents, and attract their interest.
Awards include the Two Thirty Five Post-Production Award and the Neaniko Plano Subtitling Award. The selected projects will have the opportunity to prepare their pitch and get advice on their next steps in a consultation session before the Festival.
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum and Agora Docs in Progress are welcoming projects coming from the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo*, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
For online application forms and more info about TIDF AGORA, visit the website: https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/professionals/tidf-agora or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
