DOCvillage 2026 - Monday October 5th to Saturday October 9th
DOCVillage is an intensive 5-day residency designed to stimulate documentary filmmakers by enhancing their skills, refining their project ideas, and fostering a sense of community.
This residency is ideal for documentary filmmakers at various stages of development, from budding concepts to the first step of pre-productions.
Through interactive (group) sessions, practical exercises, and individual coaching, participants receive the tools and confidence to bring their documentary ideas and visions to life.
Program
The residency takes place in Sittard, and includes coaching sessions, workshops, masterclasses, and the DOCDAYS 2026. The DOCvillage residency is conducted in English.
Coaches for this edition of DOCvillage include John Appel, Martijn Blekendaal and Astrid Bussink. They will guide the participants trough the 5-day on-site training program.
Networking lunches and dinners, film screenings og other events during the DOCDAYS 2026 are also included in the participation.
Schedule
05.10.2026 (Monday)
Arrival
12:30-17:00 DOCvillage | Kick off & Get-together Session
06.10.2026 (Tuesday)
09:30-17:00 DOCvillage | Day 1: Research
07.10.2026 (Wednesday)
09:30-17:00 DOCvillage | Day 2: Observation and storytelling
08.10.2026 (Thursday)
09:30-17:00 DOCvillage | Day 3: Interviews
09.10.2026 (Friday)
10:00-18:00 DOCvillage | Day 4: Directorial Vision and Networking
10.10.2026 (Saturday)
Departure
Who and what are we looking for?
The participants of the DOCvillage are documentary directors who are working on their new short documentary.
in order to be eligible for the submission, the filmmaker needs to have already directed at least one short documentary and no more than three.
Projects must be in creative development or pre-production phase. Projects currently in production or in post-production are not eligible.
No feature documentary project will be accepted. The submissions are limited to one short film project per applicant.
How to apply
Participation in the DOCvillage is limited to twelve selected filmmakers.
Filmmakers from Denmark are eligible to submit if the film workshop in their region is Film Workshop Aarhus (Screen Talent Europe partner).
The participation fee is covered by Film Workshop Aarhus (covers travels, workshop, accomodation and catering costs for the selected participants).
In case you are not connected with one of the Screen Talent Europe partners, you can also apply independently. In that case, the participation fee (after selection) is €1000 excl. VAT (21%).
Submission deadline: Tuesday, 15 July, 12:00 PM
Selection will be announced on Tuesday 28 July.
Application requirements
To apply, please fill out the form below and upload a pitch file of a maximum of 5 pages (max. 5MB, in PDF-format) as an attachment.
If you apply to Film Workshop Aarhus, you can submit in Danish or English. In case you submit in your native language, projects will need to be translated into English after your project is selected.
Examples of what your pitch file can include:
A tagline, logline, and synopsis (1 page)
A motivation/statement (explaining why you want to participate in DOCvillage and what you hope to gain from the experience) (1 page)
A directorial vision (1 page)
CVs of yourself and any cast/crew members involved in the project (1 page)
A mood board or other relevant information (links to previous work are encouraged) (1 page)
To submit your application click here.
Or read more about DOCvillage 2026.