The Role of Workshops and Pitching Forums in Documentary Filmmaking PANEL
Participants: László Józsa (producer, Come on Tete!), Theodora Moisescu (Bio to B Project Manager), Oliver Sertic (producer, Doc Future Competition Jury member), Hana Kulhánková (Institute of Documentary Film – East Doc Manager)
Moderator: Réka Viki Kiss (producer)
How do international workshops and pitching forums shape a film’s journey from the first idea to festival premiere? Through personal experience, the speakers reveal how these programs support directors’ and producers’ growth, strengthen visibility, and connect local stories with global audiences.
Viki Réka Kiss is a Hungarian producer from Budapest. She has worked in a variety of international film productions in different roles for over 10 years now, including the Academy Award winning ‘SON OF SAUL’. Her films as a producer include ‘A WOMAN CAPTURED’ (a Sundance title, has been sold to 120 territories worldwide and shown by 74 broadcasters) and 'KIX' (a multi-awarded festival hit and a multilateral international co-production shot over 12 years). She is a member of the EFA, a DOKIncubator and an ExOriente Alumna, an Emerging Producer and a Sarajevo Talent. Her projects are being supported/financed by CNC, ARTE France, HBO Max, Creative Europe, Visegrad Fund, Current Time TV and many more. She is a certified Advanced Leadership Coach (educated at the Gestalt Coaching Center) and a proactive member of the independent Hungarian film industry community, managing activities at Cine-Collegium Budapest and Budapest International Film Festival.
László Józsa is a documentary producer known for ULTRA (HBO Europe, EFA shortlist), Ghetto Balboa (Best Documentary, Hungarian Film Awards) and Pogány Induló - What would Mom Say (HBO Original). His production company, SpeakEasy Project, creates commercials and specializes in documentary filmmaking, with offices in Budapest, Izmir, and Berlin. László was the first president of MADOKE – the Hungarian Documentary Association – and is a member of both the European and Hungarian Film Academies.
Theodora Moisescu is currently Project Manager for Bio to B – Industry Days | Doc&Drama, the audiovisual market organized by Biografilm Festival, dedicated to showcasing projects in development, discovering new talent, and fostering professional networking. She has been working in the documentary field since 2021. Previously, she served as Secretary at Doc/it – Italian Documentary Association and was involved in organizing the IDS – Italian Doc Screenings industry event. As a freelancer, she has also managed training projects in audiovisual media for both adults and young people.
OLIVER SERTIĆ is a documentary producer and festival programmer from Croatia, currently living in Bucharest, Romania. Until now, he has produced and co-produced around 40 feature and short documentary and experimental films. For 18 years, worked as a journalist and editor-in-chief in different media and as an organizer of cultural events. The founder of the organization RESTART (2007), where he established Restart Laboratory, Dokukino, and the distribution department Restart Label. The last 15 years has been tutoring at the School of Documentary Film in Zagreb. Has cooperated with numerous film festivals as a PR, programmer, producer, and advisor (Zagreb FF, ZagrebDox, DokuFest, Vukovar FF, Makedox, DORF, RAF, Supetar Super FF, Moldox…). Since 2007, he has worked as a selector and programming director at the Liburnia Film Festival, a Croatian documentary film festival in Opatija, where he served as director for nine years.
Hana Kulhánková is currently part of the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) as East Doc Manager, where she oversees the market strand and East Doc Platform - a key hub connecting Central and Eastern European documentary filmmakers with international industry players.
She has worked as a pre-selector for major festivals and training initiatives including Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, One World Human Rights Film Festival and DOK.Incubator, and she serves as an independent expert for the Czech Audiovisual Fund and the Czech Ministry of Culture. She has curated cultural and human rights conferences in cooperation with Creative Europe Culture, Trans Europe Halles, and Prague Pride.
Previously, Hana was Director of the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival and Director of the Prague Pride Festival, where she combined cultural leadership with a strong commitment to equality and social impact. She also co-edited the international handbooks How to Set Up a Screening Venue and Setting Up a Human Rights Film Festival, Vol. 2.
Hana graduated from Masaryk University in Brno, where she studied English and American Studies and Film Theory, and she studied at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany. Hana strongly believes in gender equality in the film industry.
