Introduction
Film co-production forums and pitch days have become pivotal components of film festivals around the world. These platforms bring filmmakers with projects in development together with producers, investors, distributors, and other potential partners. By hosting structured pitch events – from boutique festivals in local communities to major international festival markets – festival teams help spark collaborations that turn ideas into funded productions. Whether at Berlinale’s Co-Production Market, Busan’s Asian Project Market, or smaller regional festivals, a well-run co-pro forum can elevate a festival’s industry profile and launch new films onto the global stage. This guide offers seasoned advice on how to organize effective co-pro forums and pitch days, ensuring they are efficient, impactful, and respected in the industry.
Keep Pitches Short and Focused
One hallmark of successful pitch forums is strictly timed, focused pitches. Each project team should get a brief window – often just 5 to 10 minutes – to present their film idea. Tight time limits force teams to distill their project’s essence and avoid meandering. For example, documentary pitching events like IDFA Forum and Hot Docs allocate about 7 minutes to pitch and another 7 minutes for Q&A, keeping sessions brisk and on-point (www.documentary.org). In this short span, pitchers must cover the story premise, their creative vision, and most importantly their “ask” – what they are seeking (e.g. financing amount, co-production partners, distribution, etc.). Every pitch should have a clear ask that leaves no ambiguity. Are they looking for a €200,000 co-producer from Europe? Do they need a sales agent for North America? By explicitly stating needs, the pitching team helps potential partners self-identify and respond. Festivals can enforce clarity by requiring pitchers to include their ask in their pitch deck or presentation. Keeping pitches concise and goal-oriented respects the time of industry attendees and allows more projects to be showcased in a day.
To manage time, use visible countdown timers or a moderator who politely cuts off when time is up. This discipline ensures fairness and maintains energy in the room. It can help to coach presenters to practice delivering their core message within the limit (more on coaching later). Additionally, encourage teams to use visual aids judiciously – a snappy trailer or a few slides can convey tone and talent quickly. Many forums suggest including a short teaser video to make the pitch more compelling (www.documentary.org). Ultimately, a tightly scoped pitch with a clear call-to-action is more memorable and actionable for listeners than a long, unfocused monologue.
Curate Projects and Pre-Match with Partners
The impact of a co-pro forum starts well before the pitch day – in how the projects and guests are curated and matched. Successful festival forums carefully select projects that are not only high-quality but also have a strong chance of attracting partners. This might mean choosing films with international appeal or unique voices that align with current market trends. For instance, the IDFA Forum’s team emphasizes fresh documentary stories with global relevance when picking projects to pitch, ensuring financiers from many countries see something that speaks to their audience. Some top-tier forums even require that a project already has a percentage of its budget secured or development done (Cannes’ Cinefondation L’Atelier asks for roughly 20% of financing in place) so that industry players know the team is serious and the project is past the purely conceptual stage. By curating the right mix of projects, festivals build credibility that “selected pitches” are worth investors’ attention.
Just as important is curating the attending industry participants and proactively matching them with projects. Rather than leaving networking to chance, leading co-pro markets like Berlinale’s actively pre-arrange one-on-one meetings between project teams and interested partners. In Berlin, for example, each selected project is featured in a catalogue for registered financiers, who can then request meetings; the market staff optimizes a personalized schedule of 30-minute meetings for each participant (www.efm-berlinale.de). This pre-matching ensures that by the time of the event, producers are sitting down with companies that are inclined towards their type of project, making discussions far more productive. Even smaller festivals can adopt elements of this approach: for a local pitch day, the festival organizer might invite a few specific studios, grant bodies, or distributors that are known to be keen on the genre or region of the projects being pitched. Sharing project briefs with potential partners in advance allows them to signal interest, so the festival team can pair each project with the right people during the event.
Some forums also integrate “speed dating” rounds or informal networking sessions after formal pitches, to spark additional connections in a structured way. The key is to maximise relevant introductions. A great example is the Good Pitch documentary forum, which invites a tailored mix of participants for each film to ensure every project has at least one prospective ally in the room – be it an NGO, brand, or broadcaster whose mission aligns with the film. By doing homework upfront and matchmaking, a festival’s pitch program can dramatically boost the chances of each project finding what it needs. It transforms the forum from a random shot in the dark to a series of curated opportunities.
Offer Coaching and Pitch Rehearsals
Even the most exciting film project can fall flat if it’s pitched poorly. That’s why top festivals invest in coaching and rehearsal for their pitching teams. Many filmmakers, especially first-timers, are not used to distilling their years of work into a 5-minute persuasive speech – and nerves can get the better of them. To address this, consider providing pitch workshops or one-on-one training in the lead-up to the event. For example, the IDFA Forum Pitch Training program invites selected documentary teams to practice and refine their pitch with the help of veteran tutors, who give feedback on everything from the verbal presentation to the effectiveness of the teaser trailer (professionals.idfa.nl). Over multiple sessions, participants can rehearse their delivery, tighten their story points, and anticipate questions. By the time they’re on stage at the festival, they’ve essentially done a dress rehearsal and received expert notes on their pitch deck and strategy.
Even without a large budget, small festivals can still support pitchers in simpler ways. Provide guidelines and templates for the pitch deck so that teams know what information to include (synopsis, bios, budget, the ask, etc.). Offer an optional “practice pitch” session the day before, where each team can run through their presentation in the actual venue with a timer. Festivals often bring in experienced producers or pitch coaches as mentors to give last-minute pointers. At a minimum, emphasize to participants the importance of a crisp, well-structured pitch: they should introduce the hook of the story within the first minute, showcase a brief clip if available, convey why they are the right team to tell this story, and conclude by directly stating what partnership they seek. Remind them to maintain eye contact, speak slowly and passionately, and be prepared to answer common questions. By nurturing these skills, the festival not only improves each project’s success chances but also earns goodwill from filmmakers who feel set up to succeed. The result is stronger pitches overall – which impresses industry attendees and reflects well on the event.
Follow Up and Track the Outcomes
What truly sets apart a great co-production forum is what happens after the pitches are done. Facilitating introductions is only the first step; the real goal is to see projects advance toward production thanks to connections made at the festival. Tracking outcomes from pitch events is crucial for both credibility and continuous improvement. Festival organizers should follow up with participating filmmakers in the months following the forum to ask: Did they secure any funding, deals, or partnerships as a result of the event? Did conversations at the pitch day lead to further meetings, and have any of those translated into signed co-production agreements or distribution contracts? By compiling these success stories (and even lessons from unsuccessful attempts), the festival team creates a measure of the forum’s impact.
This data is powerful. It can be shared in press releases, grant applications, and marketing materials to demonstrate the festival’s value to the filmmaking community. For example, the Durban FilmMart in South Africa proudly reported that in its first five years it facilitated over 80 African co-production projects, many of which went on to become acclaimed films (www.samdb.co.za). That kind of track record helps convince financiers and filmmakers alike that attending the forum is worth their time. Likewise, Cannes’ prestigious Cinéfondation Atelier boasts an extremely high project completion rate – in one edition, every single selected project eventually got made (www.festival-cannes.com). When festivals can point to concrete outcomes such as “X films funded through our pitch platform” or “Y projects from last year are now in production,” it builds trust that the forum isn’t just talk – it delivers results.
To bolster credibility, some festivals also give out awards or seed grants during their pitch events (for instance, a Best Pitch prize or development funding for a top project). If such prizes are offered, organizers should track how those winning projects progress – it reflects well if an award-winning pitch later premieres at a major festival or succeeds commercially. Even beyond the success stories, tracking feedback from participants is valuable. Maybe industry execs will share that they met promising new talent or learned of projects they later followed up on, even if they didn’t invest immediately. All of this demonstrates that the pitch forum is a productive marketplace rather than a mere showcase.
Scaling for Different Festival Sizes
Co-pro forums and pitch days are not one-size-fits-all. The structure and resources will differ for a small regional festival versus a large international one, yet the core principles remain applicable. Small-scale festivals might start with a simple pitch afternoon featuring 5–10 local projects pitching to a panel of judges or a few invited producers. The event could be more intimate and educational, perhaps offering a modest prize or local film commission support to the best pitch. In this scenario, pre-matching might mean personally inviting a couple of key decision-makers who are likely to be interested in those specific projects. The budget for coaching may be limited, but volunteer mentors from the local film community or a pre-event webinar can still help participants improve their presentations. Even on a shoestring, enforcing time limits and clarity of the ask will make the boutique pitch day more effective and professional.
On the other end, large festivals or dedicated markets will have dozens of projects and hundreds of industry attendees. Here, a more elaborate system comes into play – rigorous project selection committees, printed project catalogues for all financiers, software to schedule hundreds of one-on-one meetings, and trained moderators to keep the pitches flowing on time. Big forums often integrate with the festival’s other industry activities: for example, a project pitched at a forum might later be eligible for the festival’s work-in-progress screenings or labs, creating a pipeline of support. Large events also tend to attract international media, so success stories from pitch forums can become headlines, further boosting the festival’s profile. However, even with all the scale and complexity, big festivals succeed by sticking to the fundamentals covered above: concise pitches, targeted matchmaking, thorough preparation, and outcome-driven follow-up.
In any context, the culture fostered around the pitch day matters. Encourage an atmosphere of collaboration rather than competition. Some festivals do this by having pitchers cheer each other on and by facilitating mingling (like group lunches or mixers) where everyone – from emerging filmmakers to veteran producers – can interact informally. This sense of community can be particularly beneficial at film festivals, where building a network is often as valuable as the finance itself. Whether it’s a newcomer director at a small festival in Mexico or a seasoned producer at Toronto or Berlin, all participants should feel that the pitch forum is a supportive environment where deals are made and lessons are learned.
Key Takeaways
- Enforce Time and Clarity: Keep pitches short (often 5–7 minutes) and require a clear ask so potential partners know exactly what is needed (www.documentary.org). A focused pitch respects everyone’s time and highlights the project’s goals.
- Curate and Matchmake: Carefully select quality projects that fit your audience and invite the right mix of industry guests. Pre-match projects with likely partners through scheduled meetings or tailored introductions to maximize productive engagements (www.efm-berlinale.de).
- Provide Pitch Coaching: Help filmmakers deliver their best pitch. Offer training sessions, mentorship, or rehearsal opportunities to refine their presentation and materials (professionals.idfa.nl). Prepared pitchers make a stronger impression.
- Facilitate Networking: Create formal and informal opportunities for follow-up after the pitch. Networking lunches, “speed dating” rounds, and social events help turn a good pitch into real conversations and connections.
- Measure Success: Track what happens to pitched projects. Celebrate and publicize the forum’s outcomes – how many films got funded or partnerships formed – to build credibility and attract future participants (www.samdb.co.za) (www.festival-cannes.com).
- Adapt to Scale: Apply these principles whether your festival is large or small. Smaller events can start simple with local projects and a few partners, while larger markets will be more complex – but both thrive on preparation, matchmaking, and clear communication.
27th September 2025