Masterschool

Your project idea must simply be well researched and have a teaser or some raw rushes.

No, projects cannot go into production before the Pitch Session at the Documentary Campus Industry Training Days in October 2026. 

It is not necessary to have a producer for your project to be selected, but it is preferable. If you don't have one, Documentary Campus Masterschool (DCM) will help you find a suitable producer. 

If you are less experienced, it is recommended to apply with an experienced producer at your side. It is also helpful if your project is supported by a fund, foundation or commissioning editor and a letter of support from them is advantageous.

We ask you to submit a non-financial letter of support from a commissioner, funder, respected production house or experienced distributor.

A respected production company is a successful company which fulfils at least one of the following criteria: 5-10 productions per year; producing for a variety of clients and/or genres; with a network of international contacts; experienced in international co-production and accessing national funds.

An experienced distributor is one with a good reputation, an international network, selling to key territories (Western Europe, North America, Canada), offering co-financing possibilities, pre-sales or gap-financing (minimum guarantee).

Commissioners, funders, producers or distributors can contact us with any queries.

One or two projects.

Yes. If you are doing so, please state this in the application. Masterschool can be attended with a team partner, but you should have clearly defined separate roles (e.g. director & producer or director & writer/author) and you should clearly state who is doing what.

If you apply with two projects, you can apply with a different team partner for each project if you want.

The 15 participating projects of the Masterschool are selected by a selection committee composed of renowned commissioning editors and executives from European broadcasters and production houses. The projects then have to be confirmed by the funding bodies of Documentary Campus. In recent years, the members have come from ARD, ARTE, BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, France Television, Netflix, Spiegel TV, SVT and production houses such as Cineflix, Submarine and Terra Mater.

Projects will be selected by the end of 2025. Short-listed project teams will be interviewed via Zoom in January 2026. After confirmation by our funding bodies, the selected project teams will be officially invited to take part in the Masterschool and Mentors will be allocated. After this, preparation for the first Workshop on storytelling for international audiences begins.

There are no limitations - you may apply as often as you wish. However, if your project is selected, you can only attend Masterschool once with that project. 

No, we cannot give you that guarantee. However it is our primary ambition to help realize the Masterschool projects and with this end in mind Documentary Campus offers all the necessary contacts and know-how. Of course, ultimately the Participants’ motivation is what will make their project happen.

Some 70% of the projects developed each year at the Masterschool are produced. Recent developments in the media landscape have made financing for documentaries more difficult so over the years we have adapted the Masterschool program to reflect the current trends of the market to better support participants and optimise the chances of projects getting financed and produced. Our main aim is to help create projects that are competitive, distinctive and ready to go into production.

No, in such cases no repayment has to be made.

When the developed project goes into production, the project development and vocational training costs will have to be repaid to the funding bodies. As the repayment is made out of the production budget, market-based project development costs are expected to be included in the final production budget. This means that the repayment does not come out of the Participant’s own pocket.

Four participants from countries in the Creative Europe Programme who are in need and otherwise could not afford to take part in Masterschool may apply for a scholarship to support their travel and accommodation costs during the Workshops. At the beginning of the Masterschool year, scholarship application letters can be sent to Documentary Campus. After a careful assessment of all such applications, the awarded recipients will be notified.

The local Creative Europe Desks and other local funding institutions also offer grants for travel and accommodation. A personal application is needed.

Admission to the Workshops is restricted to Masterschool participants. However, Documentary Campus offers many other Industry Events with presentations, case studies and panel discussions, as well as outstanding networking opportunities, to a broad audience of interested professionals. You can find information on our upcoming events on our website.

In special circumstances, yes, this is possible. However, we are unable to cover any costs for a third person. If a third person wishes to attend the pitch at the Documentary Campus Industry Days, they must pay the delegate fee.

Yes, it is possible. You can attend the Masterschool as a team partner of a producer, author or director who has EU citizenship or of a member country of the Creative Europe Programme. The EU person submits the project(s) with you and is the one to sign the contract with DCM.

Besides the EU Member States, the following countries are in the Creative Europe Programme: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Tunisia, Armenia and Kosovo*.

* (This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.)

Participants from the UK are also eligible to apply.