21/03/2012 - Debuting at this year’s Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the Doc Market’s new feature aims to bring newcomers closer to seasoned professionals

Taking its queue from the Just Talking sessions between filmmakers and viewers, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s Market Talks presented an immediate way for freshly minted talent to get in touch with industry professionals eager to share an overview of the current state of affairs in the global film industry.

Focusing on the documentary circuit and how one can have its doors opened to them, the Doc Market’s new initiative was inaugurated by coveted veteran of indie directing and producing, Peter Wintonick. Wintonick discussed the importance of co-producing, his golden rules for setting up a successful co-production relationship and the various models of co-production in a global environment (watch the video interview).

Jan Rofekamp (watch the video interview) of Film Transit International explained how a sales agent can guide a film-maker through the various forms and stages of showcasing his work so as to get it to the market. International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam Director Ally Derkis handed a brief breakdown of the inner workings of documentary film promotion in the international festival circuit, as well as IDFA’s role in particular, as the world’s biggest documentary gathering. She was later handed an honorary plaque by the TIDF in appreciation of her overall contribution to documentary.

The year’s final session was presented by Elpida Kallinteri, head of acquisitions for local information-centred SKAI TV, the country’s second-largest documentary broadcaster after publicly funded ERT (National Greek Television). Kallinteri explained that documentaries fare better in the local TV market as compared cinema, and pointed out that the festival offered ripe ground for sales.