Winner of the Global Pitch 2023

AJB DOC Film Festival, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and WaterBear Network were sponsors of the Global Pitch Award at the Sunny Side of the Doc.

Sunny Side of the Doc, the international community and marketplace dedicated to linear and non-linear documentary, announced the winner of the third edition of Global Pitch sponsored by the AJB DOC Film Festival, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and WaterBear Network. 

The award winning project is “Fight for Food” explained as “a closer look at the farmers, scientists and cultural activists fighting to preserve Kenya's agriculture and food cultures - and the forces working to take control of the country’s food systems."; by Jim Chuchu, Benjamin Muasya - Rada Studios Ltd. (Kenya) and directed by Maia von Lekow, Christopher King, Zippy Kimundu

The online pitching event of Sunny Side of the Doc, held on 7th and 8the of Febuary, aimed at facilitating the international financing and coproduction of projects focused on Climate Change consequences on our societies and concrete solutions implemented around the world.

12 projects selected, among the 100 from 37 countries submitted, were presented to a panel of high-level decision-makers in pre-recorded video pitches followed by live Q&A sessions.

The online event gathered 220+ industry professionals of 190+ companies from 40+ countries. They took part in two Meet the Executives sessions with the sponsors were presented, as well as in four exciting Industry Catch-ups. 

One project particularly caught the attention of the prestigious jury gathering influential representatives of the documentary and audiovisual sector: Khadidja Banouataf (Impact Social Club), Keisha Knight (IDA), Cleo Veger (Dogwoof) and Julian Etienne (Doc Society).

“We were impressed by the breadth of the pitches this year and were particularly moved by projects that center the experiences of those in the Global South from their own perspectives. 

We are very happy to award "Fight for Food" the prize of 3,000 EUR in this year’s Global Pitch. We were impressed by the team and their approach shown through the materials. With the consequences of climate change and privatization affecting day to day Global South communities, ‘Fight for Food’ shows how Kenyan farmers are adapting to extreme weather, unpredictable climate patterns, and extractive foreign influence. We believe that the film can be an inspiration for other community based approaches for climate justice.

“We are delighted that the jury picked an ambitious topical project from Kenya.” says Mathieu Béjot, Director of Strategy and Development at Sunny Side of the Doc. 

“It is important to hear stories coming from the Global South which is particularly affected by Climate Change. The award also comforts our proactive approach to including new voices and new talents in the international documentary community, particularly those from under-represented groups and countries. Awarding a series is also an illustration of the diversity of formats and storytelling of the documentary genre.”

The Global Pitch Award is endowed with € 3,000 by the sponsors plus 2 full passes to Sunny Side of the Doc 2023.

Sunny Side of the Doc is the international community and marketplace dedicated to linear and non-linear documentary. The 34th Sunny Side of the Doc will be held in La Rochelle from June 19-22, 2023.