Dogwoof Cannes 2013 report

Team Dogwoof were one again out in Cannes, our home away from home, and in high spirits for the 2013 festival. We were on the lookout, as usual, for the best documentaries to buy and also in the market selling, with Dogwoof Global representing Blackfish which had a screening on Sunday at the Palais and also showcasing 112 Weddings with a sneaky peek at new footage.

With around 500 documentaries in the market the challenge was on for us to find the very best, the finest films to buy. The task was made a little easier by the addition of the Doc Corner in the Palais, in its second year it's a great resource for documentary specialists and also holds a bank of 200 documentaries to view. It's definitely something that will get bigger and bigger each year and is proof that docs are moving more into the mainstream film world.

Dogwoof CEO Anna Godas attended the annual Doc Brunch on Sunday and was included in a two page documentary feature from Screen International talking about the increased international appetite for non-fiction. Everyone is sitting up and taking notice of Docs!

And of course Cannes is as well known for its parties as much as the premieres and we did try to represent and show the French how it’s done, notables include Organic Marketing’s Boat (no shoes) drinks; the Mexican reception with mariachi band and tequila; and The Gulf/Screen drinks where a couple of Dogwoofers even managed to make it into the centrefold of the follow day’s Screen.

So without further ado and without going too much into how much rain poured down on us, below are the highlights from Team Dogwoof in Cannes:

Yung's highlight was The Story of Children in Film by Mark Cousins - another passionate piece of filmmaking by Mark Cousins, tracing the history of representation of children in film, throughout the world. It's obvious that Mark lives and breathes film and his passion for his subjects is infectious. Her other highlights include our announcement of the UK and international acquisition of Beeban Kidron's InRealLife and BFI drinks, which is always hugely popular and a great opportunity to see "Brits Abroad".

Meanwhile Dogwoof Global's Ana was pleased to see Blackfish sold to key European territories like Germany, France and Spain - more details soon. There was a great reception and  interest in the teaser clip of 112 Weddings and a sunny Doc Brunch in Plage Royale on Monday and meeting producers of the Mexican film La Jaula de Oro – fingers crossed they win Un Certain Regard!

Terry's highlight was the wonderful DocCorner, giving a space to documentaries within the market for people to meet, watch and enjoy the films was really great, a notable watch was Flex is Kings a film about Brooklyn street dancers, the moves were insane and almost unbelievable.

Emma's favourite screening was the restored Formula 1 doc Weekend of a Champion, with loads of F1 stars in attendance as the film was introduced by Jackie Stewart and Roman Polanski. Good times were also had at the Scottish party, with plenty of Scot producers and film champions about.

See loads more pictures in the Dogwoof Facebook album here