The first of what looks to be a series of industry events that are being moved online due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival's Agora has been a resounding success, according to the jury of the Pitching Forum, who congratulated the participants and the organisers.

The jury consisted of Heidi Tao Yang, of Canada's Hot Docs Film Funds; Gitte Hansen, of Switzerland's First Hand Films; and HBO Europe's Hanka Kastelicová, who said they were “really thrilled with the selection. [We] have heard 12 strong pitches, and it was hard to choose the winners, as many projects deserve an award.”

Il posto - A Steady Job [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Gianluca Matarrese e Matti…
scheda film] by Mattia Colombo and Gianluca Matarrese, a co-production between Italy's Altara Films and France's Bocalupo Films, won two gongs: the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award, in the amount of €2,000, and the Mediterranean Film Institute's Doc Lab Script 2 Film Workshop Award, which comes with a full scholarship worth €2,500.

Greek director Angelos Rallis' Mighty Afrin, a co-production between Greece's AR Productions and France's Manny Films, received the €2,000 ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award, intended for a Greek project in the selection.

The Beldocs Networking Award went to Expedition 49 by Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko and French co-author Stephane Siohan, co-produced by Ukrainian company Trueman Productions and French outfit East Road Films.

Italian filmmaker Luca Lancise's LP, produced by Indyca, received an award consisting of the digital transfer of archive material, courtesy of Aylon Production Digital.

Finally, the DAE (Documentary Association of Europe) Award, offering three consultations and a free membership, was granted to the Georgian project Bark of a Starving Dog (working title), directed by Ketevani Kapanadze and produced by This Street Hurts Me.

In the Docs in Progress section, the jury comprised Anja Dziersk, of Germany's Rise and Shine World Sales; Giona Nazzaro, of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week and Visions du Réel; and Vicky Miha, of Greece's asterisk*. They all watched the selected projects on Cinando and gave out the following prizes.

The Two Thirty Five Post-production Award and Visions du Réel Award went to Q by Lebanese-American filmmaker Jude Chehab and her company Chehab Films.

Chinese director Sean Wang's A Marble Travelogue [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] (working title: Epic of a Stone), a co-production between Dutch company Muyi Film, China's Black Fin, France's Little Big Story and Greece's Anemon Productions, received the Music and Sound Services Award by MuSou Music Group.

The Greek Film Centre's Award in the amount of €3,000 went to Land of Milk and Honey by Spanish director Gonzalo Recio, and co-directors Héctor Domínguez-Viguera and Carlos Mora, which is being staged by production company Zerkalo Films.

Finally, the Neaniko Plano Subtitling Award was granted to Notes on Displacement [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] (working title: Displaced in Heaven) by Palestinian filmmaker Khaled Jarrar, a co-production between his company, Jenin Films, and Germany's Kaske Film, with an additional grant from the Doha Film Institute.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Thessaloniki Pitching Forum awards

Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award
Il posto - A Steady Job [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Gianluca Matarrese e Matti…
scheda film] - Mattia Colombo, Gianluca Matarrese (Italy/France)
Producer: Giovanni Donfrancesco (Altara Films)
Co-producer: Jasmina Sijercic (Bocalupo Films)

ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award
Mighty Afrin - Angelos Rallis (Greece/France)
Producers: Maria del Mar Rodriguez, Angelos Rallis (AR Productions)
Co-producer: Birgit Kemner (Manny Films)

MFI Doc Lab Script 2 Film Workshop Award
Il posto - A Steady Job - Mattia Colombo, Gianluca Matarrese

Beldocs Networking Award
Expedition 49 - Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine/France)
Co-author/producer: Stephane Siohan (East Road Films)
Co-producer: Valery Kalmykov (Trueman Production)

Aylon Production Digital Award
LP - Luca Lancise (Italy)
Producers: Simone Catania, Michele Fornasero (Indyca)

DAE (Documentary Association of Europe) Award
Bark of a Starving Dog (working title) - Ketevani Kapanadze (Georgia)
Producer: Ana Tsimintia (This Street Hurts Me)

Docs in Progress awards

Two Thirty Five Post-production Award and Visions du Réel Award
Q - Jude Chehab (Palestine/USA)
Producer: Jude Chehab (Chehab Films)
Development producer: Rita Baghdadi

Music and Sound Services Award by MuSou Music Group
A Marble Travelogue [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Sean Wang (Netherlands/China/France/Greece)
Producer: Jia Zhao (Muyi Film)
Co-producers: Zijian Wang (Black Fin), Valérie Montmartin (Little Big Story), Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof (Anemon Productions)

Greek Film Centre Award
Land of Milk and Honey - Gonzalo Recio (Spain) 
Co-directors: Héctor Domínguez-Viguera, Carlos Mora
Producer: Andrés Díaz (Zerkalo Films)

Neaniko Plano Subtitling Award
Notes on Displacement (working title: Displaced in Heaven) - Khaled Jarrar (Palestine/Germany/Qatar)
Producer: Khaled Jarrar (Jenin Films)
Co-producer: Thomas Kaske (Kaske Film)