Rules & Regulations

The next edition of CPH:FORUM takes place in 24-27 March 2025, during the Industry week (23-28 March) of CPH:DOX 2025.

Reflecting the overall profile of CPH:DOX, CPH:FORUM is looking for projects within five main focus areas:

• FICTIONONFICTION: Challenging works in the hybrid landscape between fiction and non-fiction
• CINEMA: High-end theatrical feature-length documentaries with international distribution potential.
• F:ACT: Projects bridging the fields of filmmaking, investigative journalism and activism.
• ART: Film projects positioned in the borderland between art and film and screened both within the institution of cinema and that of visual arts
• SCIENCE: Creative documentary film and new media projects on science and technology.

In addition, and as part of the Forum the CPH:ROUGHCUT platform features:

• CPH:ROUGHCUT: Projects at a rough cut stage looking for distributors (including theatrical), sales agents, buyers, high profile festival premieres and other forms of exhibition.
• After 8 successful years, we have now closed down the CPH:WIP platform. Projects that would have normally submitted to CPH:WIP, can now submit to CPH:FORUM.

ELIGIBILITY

CPH:FORUM has a natural emphasis on Scandinavia and Europe but is open to film projects from independent documentary filmmakers, fiction filmmakers, journalists, activists and visual artists worldwide, seeking financing and international market partners. We welcome projects from experienced as well as emerging filmmakers. Projects can be in any production phase and there are no restrictions regarding the amount of financing already in place.

The project needs to be a feature length film or series (52 minutes or more). However, the project can also include other formats and durations in addition (e.g. accompanying short formats, non-linear pieces or installations etc.)

The main criteria for selection will be the artistic quality of the project, the uniqueness of the content, the relevance of the subject matter, the estimated potential for the project to travel internationally as well as its financial feasibility. Projects that have not been presented at any other major international market will be given priority.

If you have submitted the film, or are planning to submit, to CPH:DOX festival programme 2025, it is not eligible for the Forum nor CPH:ROUGHCUT.

AWARDS

We are thrilled to announce that CPH:FORUM will once again spotlight creative and innovative storytelling through a variety of prestigious awards:

• New Eurimages Lab Awards: Innovation Award & the Outreach Award (for the 2024-2026 cycle):
  -Innovation Award: Recognizing innovative and experimental projects in development, this award includes a cash prize of €20,000.
  -Outreach Award: Aimed at promoting public awareness of innovative projects at the end of production or in post-production, this award offers €30,000.
• Sandbox Films Science Pitch Prize Award: celebrating groundbreaking science storytelling, this prize includes a cash award of $25,000.
• The Rise and Shine Award: This award provides a cash prize of €3,000 to the project with the best international potential and no sales agent yet attached.
• Unifrance Doc Award: Aimed for the best French majority or minority co-produced project, this award offers €5,390 in services.

PROJECT APPLICATION

Project applications are only accepted via our online submission form on our Visitor Page. Please note that there is an entry fee of 250 DKK (approx. 30 EUR) to be paid by credit card in order to complete the submission. Paid fees will not be refunded. Only submissions that are duly completed and paid before the deadline will be considered. Please note that projects will not be evaluated before submission.

Exemptions to the entry fee can be made for countries from the DAC list and European low-AV capacity countries from LCC 2 group (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia). Please e-mail forum@cphdox.dk to request a fee waiver before submitting your project. Up to two projects may be submitted per production company with a fee waiver.

If selected, the information submitted in the application is what will be published in the industry catalogue (unless otherwise stated below). The catalogue will be distributed to all participants and assessed online by decision makers when they choose who they would like to meet. Only minor changes and updates to the project information will be possible after selection.

All material must be in English and we urge you to have the following ready before you begin the online application process:

• Working Title
• Logline (max. 250 characters incl. spaces)
• Synopsis/treatment (max. 2500 characters incl. spaces)
• Format and anticipated running time
• Production status
• Expected release
• Financing scenario in EUR (total budget, confirmed amount, required amount)
• Confirmed financing (institution/company/source, name of responsible financier, amount in EUR)
• Main production company (company name, contact info, short presentation of max. 600 characters incl. spaces)
• Co-production company (if applicable, company name, country)
• Director(s) (name, contact info, picture, short biography of max. 400 characters incl. spaces, filmography of max 3 titles)
• Producer(s) (name, contact info, portrait picture, short biography of max. 400 characters incl. spaces, filmography of max 3 titles)
• Sales agent (if applicable, company)
• Trailer or clip (link to online viewing with English subtitles. The sample can be max. 3 min long. However, CPH:ROUGHCUT projects may include clips or scenes of max. 20 min)

For application assessment only (not for publication):

• Detailed budget and financing plan (uploaded as pdf)
• Director’s statement (max. 2000 characters incl. spaces)
• Target audience and distribution strategy (max 2000 characters incl. spaces)
• If applicable, at which other markets/workshops the project has been pitched before
• Pitch category applied (FICTIONONFICTION, ART, F:ACT, CINEMA, SCIENCE)
• Indication of goals at CPH:FORUM (Financing, co-Producer, sales agent, distribution)

Further information and documentation may be requested at any time.

If selected the pitching teams will have the opportunity to update written materials and pitching trailer closer to the event.

Please note, CPH:RoughCut has the same material requirement, but needs to be submitted through a different submission form, also to be found on our Visitor Page.

SELECTION

Approximately 30 projects will be selected for CPH:FORUM and the final pitch category is at the discretion of the CPH:FORUM team. 5 projects will be selected for CPH:ROUGHCUT. Notification about selection to CPH:FORUM and CPH:ROUGHCUT will be given by mid-January 2025.

If selected, the producer and director of the project must be registered with an accreditation and attend CPH:DOX 2025 for the duration of CPH:FORUM in March 2025. The accreditation is free of charge for up to two team members pitching the project. Additional accreditations for project related professionals to attend CPH:FORUM can be purchased.

CPH:DOX requires the logo of CPH:FORUM to be included in the credits of the film, once finalised, with the following sentence mentioned in the credit list: “[TITLE] has been presented at CPH:FORUM of CPH:DOX – Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival [YEAR]”

After CPH:FORUM, all participants are asked to answer a questionnaire to help us evaluate the year’s edition. The selection committee’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome. Feedback is not guaranteed if your application is unsuccessful.

PUBLICATION

Selected projects will be presented in the CPH:INDUSTRY catalogue with the information submitted for the application (except the items submitted for application assessment only). The catalogue will be distributed to all CPH:INDUSTRY participants at CPH:DOX 2025.

Selected projects will be presented on our website cphdox.dk. A publicly available presentation of the project includes working title, name of the director(s), production country, logline and main picture. In a password protected area for CPH:FORUM decision makers only, the presentation of the project in addition includes the synopsis/treatment, production facts, financial info and trailer/clip.

If selected, you will be asked to provide a final set of stills and texts. By providing these materials, you give CPH:DOX permission to use them at www.cphdox.dk and for promotional purposes for CPH:FORUM 2025.

Participants will be presented in the CPH:INDUSTRY catalogue with their name, portrait picture, professional title, country, professional biography and contact email. They will also be presented on the CPH:DOX website, where a public presentation includes name, portrait picture, professional title and country, while a password protected area in addition gives CPH:INDUSTRY delegates access to peoples’ professional profile and contact email. Directors of selected projects are offered to present a selected title among their previous work on Festival Scope.

PITCHING

Pitching sessions are held in English and take place in various formats, March 2025. Depending on the pitch set-up, the CPH:FORUM pitch teams have 7 minutes to present their project including visual material which must be used for the presentation. The pitch is followed by a short 7 minute, moderated discussion with a tailored panel of decision makers and experts. CPH:RoughCut pitch teams have 25 minutes to present their project including a 15 minute long edited material and 5 min Q&A with the moderator.

INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS

All pitching sessions are followed up by individual meetings between decision makers and pitch teams. Individual meetings are scheduled at 20-30 minutes each and are arranged in advance at the discretion of the CPH:FORUM team based on meeting requests from both decision makers and pitch teams.

The online meeting booking system will be open to decision makers and pitch teams only. Requests can be submitted during a short period in the end of February and all requests must be submitted during this period. Further guidelines will be provided to the eligible participants by email in due time.

The pre-arranged meeting schedules can be subject to changes during the event based on the outcome of the pitching sessions. CPH:FORUM will try to book as many relevant meetings as possible for all selected projects, but can not guarantee a specific number of meetings. Neither can meetings be guaranteed on the specific day the project will be pitched, and thus meetings can take place before as well as after the pitch. Only decision makers can ask for additional meetings on the spot during the event, which the CPH:FORUM staff will try their best to accommodate. All participants will also have access to a detailed online guestlist of all accredited guest including contact information and have the chance to arrange additional meetings on their own. 

PARTICIPATION

CPH:FORUM is primarily for producers and directors with selected projects and a wide variety of decision makers and stakeholders, interested in active attendance. A limited number of seats are available to professionals who wish to attend the three-day financing event as observers with priority given to producers.

Participants must be duly registered with a proper accreditation, based on an invitation or application via the online accreditation form and a granted CPH:FORUM seat. When applied, notification about participation in CPH:FORUM will be given as soon as possible and no later than by the end of February 2025.

To secure a granted CPH:FORUM seat, the accreditation fee must be paid before the deadline, after which participation is binding. Paid fees will not be refunded. In case of failure to pay the accreditation fee by the deadline, the seat may be offered to another participant. Read more about accreditations and how to apply here. 

FEES

Submission of project: 250 DKK (approx. 30 EUR)
Accreditation is free of charge for two members of the creative team of the selected projects (director and producer). Additional accreditation can be purchased. 

This gives the access to:

• Project presentations
• Tailored match-making (for selected projects)
• Industry networking events
• Access to CPH:MARKET 
• All regular festival screenings & seminars in Copenhagen
• CPH:CONFERENCE
• Festival Center & Guest Desk services
• Delegate bag
• CPH:INDUSTRY catalogue
• Profiles and contact information of accredited guests (online guest list)

Accreditation fees are exclusive of VAT (25%).

KEY DATES & DEADLINES

Submissions open: September 4, 2024
Project application deadline: November 1, 2024
Notification of project selection: mid-January 2025
Accreditation open: October 23, 2024
Accreditation application deadline: February 15, 2025

Please note that dates may be subject to change until the opening of the call.

DATA POLICY

By submitting a project, you accept our data policy in accordance with the GDPR.

CONCLUSION

Your application and participation implies unconditional acceptance of these rules and regulations.
The organisers reserve the right to change the rules and regulations or processes at any time and without notification.