From 19 to 25 March 2026, Prague will once again become the epicenter of European documentary cinema with ‘East Doc Platform 2026 – Afterimages’, the leading professional platform for creative documentary in Central and Eastern Europe. The event will take place at the French Institute in Prague, in collaboration with the One World International Human Rights Film Festival.
Organized by the Institute of Documentary Film, the platform serves as a strategic meeting point for co-production, financing, and international distribution. The 2026 edition carries particular symbolic weight, as the institute celebrates its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century dedicated to supporting documentary filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Power of Images That Remain
The 2026 theme, Afterimages, reflects on what persists beyond the act of viewing. Even when an image fades, it leaves behind a trace capable of shaping memory, understanding, and emotional response. Documentary cinema is thus conceived as a medium with lasting impact, able to carry experiences beyond their original context.
The official visual identity, created by Kateřina Janků, invites a simple yet radical gesture: fix your gaze on a point for thirty seconds, then shift your eyes to a blank space. What remains is not absence, but an “afterimage,” a luminous imprint that continues to vibrate within perception. A ritual of attention that perfectly encapsulates the platform’s curatorial vision.
Industry Focus: East Doc Forum and East Doc Market
The professional core of the event will center around two key strands:
- East Doc Forum (24 March, 9am–1:20pm): a pitching platform for feature-length documentaries and factual series in development or early production. Selected projects will be presented to commissioning editors, funds, distributors, and international producers, opening concrete opportunities for co-production and financing.
- East Doc Market (23–25 March): pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings between filmmakers and international industry professionals, dedicated to projects in development, rough cut, and completed films seeking partners, festivals, and distribution.
In a European landscape where markets are increasingly saturated, Prague’s strength lies in its focused scale and the quality of its selection: less dispersion, and greater depth in professional dialogue.
Public Programme and New Audience Strategies
Alongside its industry dimension, East Doc Platform offers a rich programme open to the public and emerging professionals:
- Czech Docs: Coming Soon (23 March, 17:30–18:30): presentation of five Czech documentaries in the final stages of production.
- Reaching the Next Generation: Distribution Strategies for Young Audiences (19 March, 19:00–20:00): panel discussion on distribution strategies targeting young viewers.
- Immersive VR screenings of 21-22 CHINA and Fresh Memories: The Look (21–24 March).
- Presentation of the East Doc Caravan festival distribution service, including a screening of the award-winning In Hell with Ivo.
The full programme is available at dokweb.net.
Ex Oriente Film: Closing the 2026 Session
The 2026 edition will also host the third residential session of the international workshop Ex Oriente Film, concluding its annual cycle. Alongside activities reserved for participants, the programme will feature masterclasses and lectures open to a broader audience, with internationally acclaimed tutors including:
- Mila Turajlić, with a special screening of Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels;
- Igor Bezinović, presenting a masterclass on the making of the award-winning Fiume o Morte!;
- Anna Berthollet, with a lecture on world sales and international distribution;
- Dmitra Kouzi, focusing on publicity and outreach;
- Michael Palm, addressing editing as a creative collaboration.
A Consolidated Ecosystem: 25 Years of the Institute of Documentary Film
Founded in 2001, the Institute of Documentary Film supports documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe at every stage of production, guiding emerging and established filmmakers through development, financing, and international promotion. Films backed by the institute have consistently received recognition at major international festivals.
In 2026, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, the institute’s mission is to build strong connections between creativity and industry while keeping the ethical and aesthetic power of documentary at the forefront.
East Doc Platform 2026 – Afterimages therefore functions not just as a market, but as a critical laboratory on the fate of images in an era of overproduction. In March, Prague will once again become a space for reflection and concrete construction — where images do not simply pass, but endure.
The platform is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Czech Ministry of Culture, the City of Prague, the Audiovisual Producers’ Association (APA), the Czech-German Future Fund, HBO, and the Austrian Cultural Forum. The general media partner is Czech Television.
Industry Passes are already available at a fee of 50 EUR, with the deadline set for 5 March 2026.
