Pitching is organized during the MDAG Industry. Our guests will include producers, world sales agents, festival programmers, and commissioning editors from European broadcasters.
The Industry section is organized in collaboration with CANAL+ Polska and is supported by the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe.
Progress Pitching Session - the goal of the pitching is to promote international co-productions, leverage the expertise of festival guests, and create a space where globally impactful films can emerge.
We invite proposals for feature films and documentary series in development, pre-production, production, post-production, or rough cut stages, seeking international co-production or distribution opportunities. Applications from productions/co-productions from Poland and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are eligible.
From the submitted proposals, up to 12 projects will be selected for presentation at the Progress Pitching Session.
The pitching will take place during MDAG Industry from May 7-10. The most effective presentation format is a producer-director team.
Please submit proposals by February 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Applications are to be submitted via the form:
SUBMISSION FORM
AWARDS
The prize for the best project will be EUR 3,000. Last year's prize pool included awards from The Polish Filmmakers Association, Smakjam, SoundMind, and Visioni dal Mondo.
NEW AWARD
Jacob Burns Film Center Award
The Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY) will provide a creative residency for the winning project. Residencies span 2–4 weeks and can be utilized at various stages of the creative process. Artists in Residence receive housing in a private three-bedroom house on the JBFC campus; a private editing suite with tailored tech support from JBFC staff; a weekly stipend of $500 for up to two team members; access to specialized production spaces at the Media Arts Lab (including a 50-seat screening room, sound stage, recording studio, editing suites, and stop-motion animation lab); travel coverage and logistics support from program staff; access to programs at the 5-screen Jacob Burns Film Center cinema; and an open invitation to present finished or in-process work in collaboration with JBFC curators.
TRAINING SESSIONS FOR PITCHING PARTICIPANTS
Participants will be offered training sessions with industry experts to help prepare presentations that appeal to international decision-makers. Each project will receive two individual online sessions and one group session live with all pitching participants.
TUTORS
Kim Christiansen
Executive Producer - Documentaries and Co-Productions - DR Sales
With over 20 years in the documentary industry (sales and acquisitions, commissioning, co-productions), Kim was Sales Director at TV 2 WORLD and head of the Industry section at CPH in 2012 and 2013. Currently at DR Sales, he oversees all international documentary films (primarily from independent producers in the Nordic countries, USA, UK, and Germany) and assists producers in securing development funding. DR Sales, the sales division of the Danish Broadcasting Corp, is Scandinavia’s largest international film distributor, specializing in contemporary social and political documentaries, present at all major TV markets and festivals. DR Sales also collaborates with independent producers on developing projects eligible for international co-production and pre-sales. Selected international productions he has worked on: The Mole in North Korea, Last Men in Aleppo (Oscar-nominated in 2018), Who Killed the UN Secretary-General?, Armadillo – War Is Within Us, India's Daughter, Pervert Park, Democrats, The Putin Kiss, Blood in the Mobile, The Dark Side of Chocolate, The Queen of Versailles, Suspect: Ai Weiwei, Why Poverty? series.
Martijn te Pas
Film Programmer & Festival Advisor
Martijn te Pas studied psychology, English, and film and television studies at the University of Amsterdam. From 2000 to 2019, he was a senior programmer for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). He advised the IDFA Bertha Fund and IDFA Forum. From 2000 to 2020, Martijn traveled to numerous film festivals as a guest or jury member. He was a documentary advisor for the Dutch Media Fund (now the NPO Fund) from 2007 to 2013. In 2019, Martijn moved from Amsterdam to Stockholm, and in 2020 he was a guest programmer for documentary films at Nordisk Panorama. He is currently a programmer and advisor for MIRAGE - the documentary festival in Oslo. In April 2020, Martijn founded e u R O P E doconsultancy, providing tailored SWOT analysis for films in development and editing stages, as well as curatorial, festival, and distribution strategy advice. He is an advisor for Eurimages and Sheffield DocFest and worked for SFI Talent to Watch in 2023. He is also a graduate of EAVE and Sources 2 and writes reviews and conducts interviews for Business Doc Europe.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Presentations will be conducted in English. For any questions, please contact Anna Szczypińska, anna@againstgravity.pl. Detailed pitching preparation information will be sent after project selection.
MDAG INDUSTRY
MDAG Industry is an exceptional film industry event that connects Polish creators with international festival representatives (from Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale, CPH: DOX, IDFA, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, and more), distributors, producers, sales agents, and notable stars of contemporary cinema. Launched in 2021 as a single event, it has expanded since 2022 into a robust series of industry events as MDAG Industry.
