DOK.forum Marketplace – FAQs

What is the DOK.forum Marketplace and what is its goal?

The DOK.forum Marketplace is an ideas and co-production market as part of the DOK.forum industry platform of DOK.fest München. Every year it invites around 45 selected documentary film projects in the development stage to Munich. Here these projects meet experts from editing, production, promotion and distribution.

The aim of the DOK.forum Marketplace is to provide a forum for relevant ideas through targeted matchmaking, to facilitate valuable feedback and new partnerships, and ultimately to help the projects come to fruition.

• To the DOK.forum Marketplace

How and until when can I apply?

Submissions for the DOK.archive Award, the DOK.composition Award, the DOK.talent Award and the Master's Pitch are now closed.

 

The submission is done via our website.

If you do not yet have a user account with us, please register here. If you already have an account, you can log in there at any time.
To submit via the online form, select the module "DOK.forum Marketplace" under "Your account". You can then use the button "Neues Projekt" (top right) to create a new marketplace project and start your submission. In the submission form you have the possibility to tick the respective competition.

Please have the following information ready for submission:

• Short synopsis (50 to 400 characters)
• Synopsis (50 to 1,500 characters)
• Visual Concept (50 to 800 characters)
• Statement by the filmmaker (50 to 600 characters)
• Goal or mission at the DOK.forum Marketplace (50 to 300 characters)
• Link to the trailer
• Link to three film stills
• Link to video self-portrait
• Biographies of director and producer (50 to 400 characters each)
• Link to work samples
  
  
• For submissions to the DOK.archive Award by British Pathé: concept for handling archive material
• For submissions to the DOK.composition Award by Sonoton Music: compositional concept for a documentary film project

The prerequisite for marketplace registration is a meaningful application. Applications can be submitted in German and English. German projects that have been successfully accepted by the DOK.forum Marketplace must submit a project description in English for the international catalogue by the end of March.

Submission deadline for the DOK.archive Award, the DOK.composition Award and the Master's Pitch is 1 February 2023. 

Submission deadline for the DOK.talent award by Haus des Dokumentarfilms is 1 March 2023 (extended until 6 March).

Submission is free of charge.

• To the submission
• Overview over all awards and formats

What does a submission to DOK.forum Marketplace cost?

The submission is free of charge. If your project is selected, the total participation fee for the DOK.forum Marketplace is 200,- euros (incl. accreditations for DOK.fest München). If the DOK.forum Marketplace does not take place on site, the fee may be reduced. A maximum of two persons per project can participate in the Marketplace (except for the DOK.composition Award, where there are three persons included).

Which awards are presented at the DOK.forum Marketplace?

At the DOK.forum Marketplace, two endowed prizes will be awarded for which you can apply with your submission: the DOK.archive Award from British Pathé for projects with a particularly strong archive concept and the DOK.composition Award for outstanding composition ideas. For this, tick the respective award in your application and explain your concept. Participation in several competitions is possible.

In each of these competitions, five teams will be nominated from all submissions to present their project at a pitch during the DOK.forum Marketplace in May 2023. A jury of experts will then select the winning project.

Students from our partner universities can also apply for the DOK.talent Award of the Haus des Dokumentarfilms. Nine students will be nominated for the DOK.talent Award from among all submissions.

In addition to the four endowed prizes, numerous festival and mentoring prizes will again be awarded at Marktplatz 2023.

• Overview of the awards

What formats are there and where can I pitch my project?

When you submit your project, you automatically apply for the different pitching formats Master's Pitch, Roundtables and One-to-Ones. If you also want to apply for a competition, you must explicitly state this (see above). The Marketplace team will then decide whether and in which formats (awards, Master's Pitch, Roundtables, One-to-Ones etc.) your project will be pitched in May 2023. It is not possible to apply for a specific format. However, you are welcome to specify your needs in your application under "Goal or Mission" (e.g. search for international partners, broadcaster in XY etc.).

• Overview of the formats

What is meant by "video self-portrait" in the submission process?

The video self-presentation should give you the opportunity to present the project, yourself and your goals in more detail and personally at the DOK.forum marketplace (max. 3 minutes). You are welcome to include important aspects that were not included in the written submission. No high technical quality is required, a mobile phone video is perfectly adequate. This video self-presentation will be viewed exclusively by the DOK.forum selection team.

Do I have to submit my project in English?

You can decide for yourself whether you prefer to submit your project in German or in English. In case of acceptance, we ask you to translate your submission into English for the catalogue.

Can I apply more than once (with the same project) for the DOK.forum Marketplace?

Multiple applications – even with the same project – are possible. If your project has already been selected for participation once, you can also apply again, provided that your project has developed fundamentally in the meantime.

What happens to my submission and who can see it?

All submitted texts and documents will only be used internally and will not be published in this form. The Marketplace team will treat your submission confidentially and, together with an independent selection team, will choose approximately 45 projects to be presented at the DOK.forum Marketplace. If accepted, you will receive an email at the end of March 2023 asking you to revise your submission for the catalogue.

When will I be informed whether I am participating in the DOK.forum Marketplace 2023?

The selection of projects will take place from February to March 2023. At the end of March you can expect an acceptance or rejection.

What do I have to do if I am selected?

If you have been selected, you may pour yourself a glass and carefully read your acceptance email. There you will find out whether you have been nominated for an award and in which formats you will present your project at the Marketplace.
You will also receive a request for online revision of your submitted project and for accreditation (incl. request for payment) via our website. After you have revised the project (and translated it into English if necessary), uploaded a photo and your biography, we will generate the Marketplace catalogue from this.

I am in! Who can see how much of my Marketplace project?

We publish the title, a still and the name of the team of your project on our homepage. Only invited experts have access to further information about your project.

Who can I contact if I still have questions?

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Alina Götzlich
DOK.forum Marketplace
marktplatz@dokfest-muenchen.de

DOK.fest München
Dachauer Straße 116
80636 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)89 – 51 39 97 88