NORTH PITCH — Below Zero is an international pitching session for documentary projects focusing on life above the Arctic Circle.

The event will take place from 20-23 January 2026.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE 3RD OF NOVEMBER 2025

The Arctic Documentary Award (NOK 60 000), selected by attending panelists, will go to the project which has the greatest political, environmental or cultural relevance to the Arctic, with an international potential for financing and distribution.

The Below Zero Award (NOK 15 000), selected by the workshop tutors, will go to a project that, while hard to categorize, captivates and shows potential beyond the mainstream.

Projects Selected for NORTH PITCH 2025

• Aron - North of Darkness | Prod: Anna Sunna | Dir: Håkan Berthas | Driva Production | Sweden
• Finding Kvens | Prod: Marianne Mäkelä | Dir: Einari Paakkanen | napafilms oy | Finland
• Hopefully Not Today | Prod: Peter Engel | Dir: Tereza Šimíková/ Eivind H. Natvig | Wingmand Media| Denmark
• Ice Women | Prod: Dorothea Braun| Dir: Jens Becker/Dorothea Braun| DOOR+BRIDGE FILM | Germany
• Inuguiniq | Prod: Nadia Koromyslova | Dir: Olivia Ikey Duncan | Terre Innue| Canada
• Just an Ordinary Guy | Co-prod SE: Fredrik Oskarsson | Dir: Kenneth Elvebakk | Cylinder Production/ Bautafilm | Norway, Sweden
• Mother of the Sámi Flag | Script: Ingir Ane Bål | Dir: Marja Bål Nango | 7išh Film | Norway
• Norway vs Sapmi | Prod: Håvard Bustnes | Dir: Håvard Bustnes| UpNorth Film | Norway
• Ove | Prod: Linn henriksen | Dir: Nils Gaup | Paranord Film | Norway
• The Heath | Prod: Hanna Björk Valsdottir | Dir: Jessica Auer | Akkeri Films | Iceland
• The Road of Bones | Prod: Anna Gudkova | Dir: Ayaal Adamov | Ak Too Film Studio| Kyrgyzstan
• The Ship that wasn't There | Prod: Michael Bévort | Dir: Inuk Jørgensen | Script: Claus Pilehave | Wintertales Aps | Denmark, Greenland

Panelists 2025:

• Anna Weitz, Swedish Film Institute, Sweden
• Heidi Kim Andersen, Danish Film Institute, Denmark
• Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen, DR Sales, Denmark
• Mikko Peltonen, YLE, Finland
• Anna Svensson, SVT, Sweden
• Anna J. Ljungmark, Norwegian Film Institute, Norway
• Rachel Andersen Gomez, Arctic Film Norway, Norway
• Eveliina Kantola, Finnish Film Foundation, Finland
• Ralf Quibeldey, NDR, Germany
• Philippe Müller, ARTE, France
• Katja Härkönen, Filmpool Nord, Sweden
• Oskar Forstén, AVEK, Finland
• Maëlle Guenegues, Cat & Docs, France
• Silja Somby, International Sami Film Institute, Norway
  
• Robert Smith, Blue Ice Docs, Canada
• Fredrik Færden, NRK, Norway

The NORTH PITCH — Below Zero program

The program will consist of the following elements:

• a pre-pitching workshop where the selected projects will be developed under guidance from experienced international experts from the documentary business. The workshop will focus on how the project can be developed in the best possible direction and how the presentation of the project can be optimized. During the workshop, there will be a possibility to work with both the pitch trailer and the written presentation.
• a project presentation where each project will be presented to a selection of decision makers.

How to Participate

You submit your project by sending a written 2-page presentation of your project accompanied by visual material. The deadline for submitting projects is November 8 2024. You can submit your 2-page presentation by email to: bz@northpitch.no

North Pitch is open for medium to long format documentaries, and documentary series.

The 2-page presentation

Your written 2-page presentation must be in English and should include the following elements:

• Project info: project title, status of the project, expected time of delivery, length, & format
• The film: depending on the nature of the project this can include the story, characters, visual approach, director’s note, etc.
• Contacts: name of producer, production company, director and contact information
• Profiles: short CV & filmography of company and director
• Financing: budget sum (total sum for the production, not the whole budget) and brief financing plan.

The visual material

Applications must be accompanied by visual material shot for the submitted project. It can be a trailer or other material with max duration of 15 minutes, with English subtitles. Applications with no visual material / visual material as a previous work will normally not be considered. You submit your visual material by including a link to an online streaming facility like Vimeo or YouTube when you email your 2-page presentation.

Participation fee

Each selected project pays a participation fee of 350 Euro, which includes the fee for one person. We strongly recommend participation of both director and producer, and the extra fee for additional participants is 220 Euro. The fee includes lunch Wednesday-Friday, and dinner Tuesday and Friday.

Participating as Observer

For NORTH PITCH - Below Zero a number of observer seats are available. When participating as an observer you will take part in all sessions on equal terms with the pitching participants. Only exception is not having a concrete project developed and pitched. Observers pay 200 Euro for participating.

For questions regarding the pitch, please contact Gitte Schnyder-Hansen, gitte@northpitch.no
For practical questions regarding the event, please contact Herdis Levang, herdis@nnfs.no

The NORTH PITCH - BELOW ZERO Tutors 2025

An essential part of the Below ZERO is the pre-pitch workshop, where the selected projects will be developed under guidance from experienced international experts from the documentary business.

Tutor team for the workshop in 2025:

• Liisa Karpo, Finland, Producer
• Gitte Hansen, Switzerland, Consultant
• Jesper Osmund, Denmark, Editor
• Salomé Jashi, Georgia, Director & Consultant
• Emile Hertling Péronard, Greenland, Producer

North Pitch - Below Zero 2024 summarized:

Winner of the Arctic Documentary Award 2024 was:

Frost without Snow and Ice | Prod: Ageliki Lefkaditou | Dir: Asgeir Helgestadr | Artic Light| Norway

and the Below Zero Award went to:

Arctic Blue | Prod: Anita Norfolk | Dir: Ismaele Tortella | Folk Film | Norway, Sweden, Scotland

A very successful workshop and pitch was held in Tromsø from 16-19 of January, with this great crowd of participants:

Hope to see you in the crowd in January 2025, deadline for submissions November 8th 2024.

What do previous participants say about NORTH PITCH — Below Zero?

The 2018 participant at NORTH PITCH – Below Zero "Where Man Returns" (working title ‘The last Hunter’) was the opening film of Tromsø International Film Festival 2019. Producer Racha Nia says this about NORTH PITCH:

"Below Zero became a very important arena for our film and for whom we ended up collaborating with. We got incredible support, and not least important feedback to determine and understand the strengths and weaknesses of our project. We encountered a lot of resistance, but also met the people who loved our project and became our invaluable partners."

Background on NORTH PITCH - Below Zero

The NORTH PITCH - Below Zero event was initiated in 2009 to bring together filmmakers, producers, decision makers and organisations whose common interest is documentaries thematically rooted in the Northern Polar region. Building on the success of the first twelve editions of NORTH PITCH - Below Zero, this thirteenth edition will further strengthen and develop the international network for documentaries made around or focusing on the Arctic region. NORTH PITCH - Below Zero is set in Tromsø, Northern Norway, during the last days of the polar night.

For questions regarding the pitch, please contact Gitte Schnyder-Hansen, gitte@northpitch.no
For practical questions regarding the event, please contact Herdis Levang, herdis@nnfs.no