The three festivals, all with female leadership, share an interest in contemporary European creative documentary films, and in supporting each other in producing sustainable and diverse international film festival events. These festivals also share a common interest in nurturing up-and-coming European talents, with a specific focus on female filmmakers.

The timing of the festivals - Verzió takes place in November, Fipadoc in January, and Biografilm in June - offers the opportunity for greater cooperation, and will allow film talents, who can develop their projects with the support of festival-run workshops, to present their works throughout the year.

Christine Camdessus (festival director/Fipadoc), Leena Pasanen (artistic director/Biografilm) and Stefano Tealdi (pitching expert, head of studies/Biografilm) are supporting Verzió’s DocLab and pitching workshop by participating in the selection process, tutoring projects, and moderating the public pitching session. The winning Verzio DocLab project will be invited to pitch at Bio to B – Industry Days during Biografilm festival in June, and one of the projects pitched at Bio to B – Industry Days will be awarded with travel, accommodation and free access to Fipadoc’s Industry Days.

Verzió DocLaB is the first of the network’s joint activities, and will be followed by a pitching forum, which will take place during the Verzió IHRDFF, with tutors from partner festivals.