Factual-focused event to bring curtain down on almost three decades in La Rochelle following funding issues
Sunny Side of The Doc backers the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC) is to launch a new event in Strasbourg next year in a bid to “reinvent” the conference and market following a turbulent 12 months.
The factual-focused event is currently taking place in La Rochelle until 24 June, but the 37th edition will now mark its final year in the French coastal town.
Gaëtan Bruel, president of the National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), said organisers would work with local, national and international bodies to build a new event “to fully meet the needs of a rapidly changing sector”.
The city of Strasbourg, which is supporting the new event, is home to pan-national broadcaster Arte, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.
Organisers said the shift would provide “unique visibility and legitimacy to bring the strategic challenges of the documentary sector to decision-makers and international partners.”
Broadcast International understands the Strasbourg event does not represent Sunny Side simply moving locations, but rather the creation of a new conference and market. It is not yet clear whether Sunny Side organisers, Doc Services, will be involved in the Strasbourg event.
Context behind move
Sunny Side was launched by Yves Jeanneau in Marseille in 1989 before moving to La Rochelle, where it has been located for the last 27 years.
The 2026 event was cancelled late last year following government funding cuts but organisers lkinked up with industry partners including the CNC, distributors and producers to deliver a slimmer, three-day version that ends on Wednesday.
Aurélie Réman, managing director of Sunnyside organising group Doc Services, told Broadcast International earlier this year that the 2026 edition had a total budget of €1.5m (£1.3m), with 32% of that coming from public funding.
Commercial revenues deliver around 58% of the remainder, while industry partnerships - typically broadcasters - now account for just 10% of the total budget, down from around 33% in years gone by.
The Strasbourg market will focus on “major European themes” and aims to bring together international institutional players around values “that resonate with documentaries: democracy, fundamental rights and cultural diversity.”
“The creation of this new international documentary market in Strasbourg marks a major step in the structuring and influence of the sector,” said Bruel. He added that the 2027 event would help to accelerate access to funding to deliver “the diversity of documentary perspectives that we need, more than ever.”
Industry figures largely welcomed the move, with one suggesting it was “inevitable” that the event would shift from La Rochelle as budget squeezes bit. Others were disappointed that a solution could not be found to extend its stay in the port town, but several execs pointed to the proximity to powerful European funding bodies as a positive development.
Strasbourg will also offer ”easier access” to some companies, particularly international producers and distributors who provide much of the event’s financial backing.
“The Grand Est Region is delighted to welcome the international documentary market to Strasbourg in 2027,” added Franck Leroy, president of the Grand Est Region. He added that the reboot would help “to promote a genre whose civic value has never been so precious.”
Sunny Side of the Doc was created almost four decades ago by Yves Jeanneau, who Bruel paid tribute to in announcing the relocation, alongside Roman Jeanneau, Aurélie Reman and Doc Services.
This article was amended after publication to clarify the future of Sunny Side of the Doc.
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