INTERACTION: DOCUCONNECT BALKANS 2026 – OPEN CALL

INTERACTION: DOCUCONNECT BALKANS 2026 – OPEN CALL

Applications are now open for Interaction: DocuConnect Balkans – Regional Documentary Co-production Lab, a new documentary project development programme for emerging filmmakers from across the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Read more about the programme, mentors, eligibility criteria, and application process below.

Develop your documentary project with leading regional and European experts

Interaction: DocuConnect Balkans – Regional Documentary Co-production Lab is a five-day programme supporting emerging filmmakers from the Western Balkans in the development of creative documentary projects. The programme brings together six director–producer teams and leading regional and European documentary professionals.

Through individual mentoring, lectures, networking activities and a final public pitching session, participants will strengthen the creative and production aspects of their projects, expand their professional networks, and explore opportunities for regional and international collaboration.

Mentors: Kumjana Novakova and Ilija Tiricovski from North Macedonia, Zoran Galić and Nevena Milašinović from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iris Elezi from Albania, and Iva Plemić Divjak and Ivan Marković from Serbia. 

Lectures by: Rada Šešić, Wouter Jansen, and Corina Schwingruber Ilić, 

Important dates

Application deadline: 27 July 2026

Programme dates: 21–25 August 2026

Selection results: Early August 2026

Participation

The programme is open to emerging director–producer teams from the Western Balkans developing short or feature-length creative documentary projects in the development, production or rough-cut stage.

Participation is free of charge.

Learn more

➜ Read the Programme

For questions, please contact marija@film-art.org

If you know filmmakers or organisations who may be interested, please feel free to share this call within your professional network.

Interaction: DocuConnect Balkans – Regional Documentary Co-production Lab is co-funded by the Western Balkans Fund and the European Union as part of the WBF–EU Joint Action and is implemented by IFC Filmart in partnership with FusionACT Centre (Albania), Association for Visual Culture VIZART (Bosnia and Herzegovina), KINEMATIKA Skopje (North Macedonia), and NGO Montenegro Film Festival / Underhill Festival (Montenegro).