The DOK Co-Pro Market is a co-financing and networking event that connects producers with colleagues to finance new creative documentary projects, offering exclusive access to the multifaceted German and international non-fiction markets. It is designed for producers in particular. We welcome a maximum of two team members per project, which can include either one producer, two producers or a producer and a director.

The DOK Co-Pro Market consists of one-on-one meetings between the project teams, producers without a project looking to co-produce, commissioning editors, funders and distributors (financiers). There is no public pitch or presentation of the projects. Instead, the financiers and producers receive detailed information about the projects beforehand, to select the projects they are interested in. The individual meetings take place over a two-day-period: 27–28 October 2025 in Leipzig, Germany.

• Creative, author-driven feature-length documentaries suitable for theatrical release, one-offs and series
• Projects in development or early stages of production
• Project teams interested in working with other producers early on to build co-productions (Please don’t apply if you are looking for finishing funds.)
• Projects from all over the world

Financiers and producers are provided with the project catalogue in advance to select which projects they would like to meet with. Similarly, the participating project teams receive the list of attending producers and financiers to make meeting requests.

• Between 15 and 25 individual meetings per project over two days
• Meeting duration: 20 minutes 
• Meetings between project representatives and a selection of invited producers without projects, commissioning editors, funders and distributors
• Financiers have the first right to select projects to meet with. The wishes of the project teams are scheduled wherever possible.

To help you prepare, here is a list of the materials and information you need for your application:

5.1 Project Information

• English Title
• Production Company
• Country
• Project Stage
• Length/s, Number of Episodes (if applicable)
• Genre
• Estimated Start of Production
• Estimated Date of Release

• Logline: max. 300 characters incl. spaces (summarise your project in 1 or 2 sentences)
• Synopsis: max. 2,000 characters incl. spaces
• Director’s Note: max. 2,000 characters incl. spaces (explain your personal connection to the story)

Visual Materials

You must have some visual material. We recommend a 3-5 minute teaser, scene selection or research piece, preferably a Vimeo screener. In some circumstances, we accept high-quality stills, please email us about this.

Project History

Please explain, where and when the project has already been presented, if you have won development or production awards, if you are working with an executive producer, have done a campaign etc. – anything that is important to know about your project, but you have not mentioned anywhere else in the application.

What is your goal at the DOK Co-Pro Market? Which kind of partners are you looking for?

Please explain, in which ways the DOK Co-Pro Market can be of help in moving your project forward and finding financing and creative partners.

5.2 Financial Information

• Total Budget in EUR
• Financing in Place in EUR
• Financing Sought in EUR

Financing Plan

This is a hypothetical plan of how you would like to finance your film. We do not require an itemized budget, although you could include a top sheet (optional). Your financing plan should be preferably in the form of a table, yet a written paragraph will also be accepted. See examples and further descriptions in the Entry Guidelines PDF.

Please take careful time to put this financing plan together. It is a guiding “roadmap” for the selection committee to see what kind of partners you are looking for. The more specific you can be, and the better you adhere to the two formats listed in the PDF, the better your chances of selection will be.

5.3 Production Team

• Director: Contact details, biography
• Producer: Contact details, biography
• Co-Producer: (if applicable) Contact details
• World Sales: (if applicable) Contact details

5.4 Attachments

You may optionally upload extra CVs of your DOP, editor or sound people, an extended treatment or a project dossier, if available. These are not a requirement.

The selection committee of industry representatives in conversation with DOK Leipzig staff make the final decisions regarding the project selection. We will inform you of your selection by late August. Please note, we are not able to give feedback on why a project has not been selected.

If selected, we require you to be in Leipzig from the evening of Sunday, 26 October until Wednesday, 29 October (morning). Per selected project, two team members can participate in the DOK Co-Pro Market.

The participation fee is EUR 380 (ex. VAT) per project for up to two participants.
This fee grants you access to the following benefits:

• Inclusion of your project in the official selection of the DOK Co-Pro Market. Publication on the DOK Leipzig website, in a dedicated press release and in the Project Book, sent to more than 130 targeted financiers and producers.
• Curated individual meetings with the financiers and producers (between 15 to 25 meetings).
• The opportunity to win prizes (List of prizes to be announced)
• Access to the DOK Co-Pro Market Open Programme with curated talks, discussions and mutual exchange to gain market intelligence and to network
• A prep session gathering all selected project teams designed to help you grow the impact of your participation
• Accreditations for the one or two project representatives to access all events of DOK Industry and DOK Leipzig film programme

Before starting your application, please read our FAQ with more details what’s good to know. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to call our industry [at] dok-leipzig [dot] de (email us).

We wish you the best of luck with your application. 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.