Audience Development: Moving Docs

With EDN (European Documentary Network) as the natural umbrella organisation for a project concepted and developed by Rea Apostolides, strong and visionary Greek producer and member of EDN’s Executive Committee, the ”Moving Docs” project was, by Creative Europe, granted 150.000€, 81% of the budget applied for – for a true international initiative with a vision to reach an audience outside the traditional festival circles, if I get it right.

I have been granted access to look a bit more into the application that was succesful.

What was impressive from a first glance is the group of players in ”Moving Docs”, they are called partner organisations: Planeta in Spain, that stands behind the unique ”Documentary of the Month”, Apordoc in Portugal, Doc/IT from Italy, SDI (Scottish Documentary Institute), Against Gravity Warsaw Poland, Doc Lounge Sweden, all known as strong and experienced promoters of European documentary life, whereas Rea Apostolides as manager of the project contributes with her company Anemon as does EDN headed by Paul Pauwels. ”Brave New Culture” from Cyprus is also on board. Regret to say thatI have never heard about it before.

The action starts February 2015, runs the rest of the year and includes cinema screenings, community screenings, festival screenings, vod screenings and educational activities…. you name it, they got it!

Creative Europe asks in the application for titles of films and a long list of potential highlights is mentioned. Among them ”Master of the Universe” (photo).

Some quotes from the 72 page big application: The objective of Moving Docs is to engage urban and rural audiences across Europe through regular and simultaneous screenings of the best European and international documentary films…structured around ”European Screening Days”, five unique media moments that connect European audiences… target groups are 20-40 years… (focus on) issue-based films… the action will use different strategies to target four different audience catagories: rural, urban, frequent and first-time doc viewers…

Much more will come about ”Moving Docs” from the organisers – here is only to be said: Well done, good luck – filmkommentaren.dk will follow your work.

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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