Canadian Documentary Producers Set to Shine at Sunny Side of the Doc!
For a third edition, our RDVCANADA mentoring program is proud to present a new cohort of documentary content producers who are ready to take the global stage and connect with international business partners.
Seven talented Canadian producers have been selected for RDVCANADA | Docs 2025, and they’re heading to Sunny Side of the Doc in La Rochelle, France, from June 23 to 26. With their documentary projects in development, they’re prepared to showcase their work and forge new international collaborations.
The seven producers were selected by a jury comprising Josette Normandeau, Producer, Idéacom International Inc. (Canada) and Jean-Jacques Peretti, Programming & Training Coordinator, Sunny Side of the Doc. They have just completed an intensive six-week mentorship program designed to prepare them for international success. Led by Telefilm Canada in partnership with the CMF and in collaboration with the Black Screen Office, Creative BC, Ontario Creates and SODEC, this unique initiative focused on international coproduction, distribution, and pitching. Now fully equipped with the tools and insights to thrive globally, they’re ready to secure their future international partners at Sunny Side of the Doc.
If you’re an international distributor, sales agent, broadcaster, or potential coproducer attending Sunny Side of the Doc, don’t miss this opportunity to discover compelling new projects and connect with some of Canada’s most dynamic documentary producers—spanning everything from television series to feature-length films.
In addition to exclusive networking events (by invitation only), you can meet the RDVCANADA Docs cohort throughout the week at the Canada Pavilion, stand B26!
Introducing the RDVCANADA | Docs 2025 Cohort: Producers and Projects Unveiled!
Before the Sun Sets – Feature film
Javiera Quintana and Stuart Henderson, 90th Parallel Productions (Ontario)
Chronicle of the lives of three sex work activists in Pakistan as they fight for basic human rights and acceptance for their community. In a society that would prefer them dead, and where honour is said to reside between a woman’s legs, Sana, Hina, and Shamshad refuse to be silenced.
Looking for Coproducers, Distributors / Sales agents, TV broadcasters.
A Body of Thought – Feature film
Jon Ornoy, Animal Mother Films (British Columbia)
When our hearts become machines, do we lose more than just an organ? A journey
into the future of consciousness, emotion and the future of being human.
Looking for Coproducers, Distributors / Sales agents, TV broadcasters.
The producer’s participation is supported by
Breathless – Feature film
Patricia Sims, Canazwest Pictures (British Columbia)
Filmmaker Patricia Sims embarks on a personal and poetic journey to retrace her time as the life-partner of the late, legendary world-record French free diver Jacques Mayol, exploring his legacy, their shared conservation work in Japan, and the dream they once shared to free dive with sperm whales in the big blue.
Looking for Coproducers, Distributors / Sales agents, TV broadcasters.
The producer’s participation is supported by
50 Letters to My Mother – One-off
Mylene Augustin, Inaru Films (Quebec)
Through animation and archives, 50 LETTERS TO MY MOTHER gives life to the epistolary relationship my parents maintained between 1963 and 1970. For seven years, they were separated from each other, from their native land, and from their family by the bloody dictatorship of François Duvalier in Haiti.
Looking for Coproducers, Distributors / Sales agents, TV broadcasters.
The producer’s participation is supported by
How to Rig An Election– Series
Amanda Handy and Mark Johnston, Nomad Films (Ontario)
HOW TO RIG AN ELECTION is a limited series that follows the fearless researchers who are looking into how the majority of the world’s elections are rigged, uncovering the unsavory strategies deployed, and the shadowy figures who help despots stay in power. British and Canadian academics, Nic Cheesman and Marie-Rose Desrosier lead us into this world.
Looking for Coproducers, TV broadcasters.
Gerald Bull: Truth Is a Weapon – Feature length, One-off
Karine Dubois, Picbois Productions (Quebec)
TRUTH IS A WEAPON takes a critical look at the military industry, telling the story of gun inventor Gerald Bull. Shunned for illegal arms sales, the controversial engineer was murdered in 1990. For the first time, his family shares their personal archives, giving us access to his side of the story.
GERALD BULL: TRUTH IS A WEAPON is part of Sunny Side of the Doc’s official selection and will be pitched in the Current affairs & investigation section.
Looking for Coproducers, TV broadcasters.
The producers’ participation is supported by
The Cluster – Feature length, One-off
Maria Markina, Storyline Entertainment (Ontario)
A mysterious neurological disease is claiming lives, and as the death toll rises, a community of patients fights a government cover-up, desperately seeking a cure before it’s too late.
Looking for Coproducers, TV broadcasters.
Aiming to help Canadian producers of various genres expand into foreign markets and do business internationally, this RDVCANADA series of training programs was created by Telefilm Canada and the Trade Commissioner back in 2020. This is our third documentary program and cohort. You can learn more about our previous cohort here: 2021 and 2024.
As with previous RDVCANADA programs – which have focused on series, animations, and documentaries – participating producers of RDVCANADA | Docs 2025 hail from across Canada.
