Alongside the Sitges International Film Festival, the 16th MEDIMED Euro-Mediterranean Documentary Market & Pitching Forum was held at the Hotel Calipolis on 9-11 October, organized by the International Association of Independent Producers of the Mediterranean (APIMED), presided over by Isona Passola and Sergi Doladé.
More than 300 professionals from the international documentary scene attended, including more than 200 international producers and guests, 30 TV commissioners, 40 buyers and distributors, as well as leading figures of the documentary sector from all over the world. More than 500 docs were on show, from 42 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region, with JMQ: A Quest For A Dream produced by the Aula Film Foundation – Josep M. Queraltó Collection among them.
MEDIMED essentially hosts two main events: the Pitching Forum, used to help locate finance and coproduction for existing projects, and the Videoteca, for buying and selling recently completed documentaries. This year the Pitching Forum included 30 projects from 15 different countries, and Morocco received the special invitation and had 20 films available in the Videoteca for private screenings hosted for accredited buyers and distributors.
Under the umbrella of the 16th MEDIMED DOC MARKET, the 9th Ahmed Attia’s Award for Dialogue of Cultures was held. This award was established in 2007 in honour of the eponymous Tunisian film maker in who was one of the founders of the association and who died that same year. Some 19 documentaries from 12 countries were considered, with the award going to Aji-Bi, les femmes de l’horloge by Morrocan film maker Raja Seddiki, coproduced by TV2M and Ali’N with the participation of Arkhabil Films. The judging panel comprised Lebanese director Dima al Joundi, the president of Escales Documentaires, Françoise Mamolar, president of the FIDADOC festival Hind Saïh, and Tunisian producer Mohamed Charbagi.
Held concurrently, at the Hotel Antemare, was the 2nd MDMD Crosstraining event, dedicated to interactive and multimedia content, with demonstrations and seminars held by pro specialists in interactive formats.
