ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Doc Lounge Stora Varvsgatan 6a 21119 Malmö Sweden doclounge.se Front page photo: Doc Lounge Malmö DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 2018 has been quite a milestone year for the Doc Lounge Head Office in Malmö, carrying out our first two Swedish releases (Punk Voyage and Leslie Brinner) as an official Swedish distributor and kicked off a major new project - Doc Lounge Impact Hub with the goal of developing innovative distribution focusing on outreach and impact. All while finishing off the very successful Doc Lounge Prison Project, and continuing on working with Doc Lounge Caucasus, Moving Docs and Doc Lounge Live. The network of Doc Lounge clubs is still going strong, delivering high qual- ity events reaching out to broad audiences all over the Nordic countries and in spring we welcomed Doc Lounge Umeå to the family. In total, 73 films from 33 different countries were screened around the network. At Doc Lounge Malmö, we keep on working on local community building and expanding our events to give the best experience possible to our audi- ence. Read on to dive further into all the exciting activities we have been up to during 2018. Andrea & Maja 1 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENT CONTENT 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 2018 3 7. DOC LOUNGE MALMÖ EVENTS 2018 29 1.1 BACKGROUND 4 7.1 EVENTS 31 1.2 MISSION STATEMENT 5 7.2 CREATIVE COLLABORATE 32 1.3 WHAT WE DO 6 7.3 THEME: THE FUTURE 33 2. STAFF AND BOARD 2018 9 8. DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 2018 34 8.1 MOVING DOCS 35 3. FILM AND DISTRIBUTION 2018 11 8.2 DOC LOUNGE CAUCASUS 36 8.3 DOC LOUNGE IMPACT HUB 37 3.1 FILM PROGRAM AND OFFICIAL SELECTION 12 3.2 SWEDISH DISTRIBUTION: PUNK VOYAGE 13 3.3 SWEDISH DISTRIBUTION: LESLIE ON FIRE/LESLIE BRINNER 14 9. FINANCES 2018 39 3.4 DOC LOUNGE LIVE 15 9.1 DOC LOUNGE HEAD OFFICE FINANCES 40 3.5 DOC LOUNGE POP UP 17 9.2 DOC LOUNGE MALMÖ FINANCES 41 4. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION 2018 10. STATISTICS 2018 42 18 10.1 DOC LOUNGE STATISTICS 2018 43 10.2 DOC LOUNGE MALMÖ STATISTICS 2018 44 4.1 MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION DOC LOUNGE HQ 2018 19 4.2 MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION DOC LOUNGE MALMÖ 2018 22 APPENDIX 1: STATISTICS 2018 46 5. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY 2018 24 APPENDIX 2: DOC LOUNGE MALMÖ EVENTS 6. DOC LOUNGE NETWORK 2018 26 56 6.1 HEAD OFFICE AND THE DOC LOUNGE NETWORK 27 6.2 EXPANSION 28 6.3 MEET-UP: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 28 2 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 2018 3 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 1.1 BACKGROUND Doc Lounge was founded in Malmö 2006 by documentary filmmaker launching platform and alternative distribution channel for new docu- Fredrik Gertten and musician and club organizer Gudrun Hauksdottir. mentaries from all over the world. Today we have Doc Lounge clubs in The mission was to boost the documentary genre, broaden its audience 17 cities, and we are constantly growing. After working towards launch- and to create a meeting space open to all kinds of people. With this mis- ing an official distribution strand for a long time, Doc Lounge was sion, a new concept and various collaborations with Malmö’s social and registered as Swedish distributor in 2017, releasing the first titles (Punk cultural scene, Doc Lounge was an immediate success! The Doc Lounge Voyage and Leslie on Fire) in 2018. We are happy to call Malmö our events in Malmö attracted people from all over the city, of all ages. The home and our headquarter. We have strong support from Swedish Film citizens of Malmö took Doc Lounge to their hearts and made it a part Institute, Malmö Stad and Film i Skåne, as well as good partnerships of their daily lives. People all over the Nordic countries started to hear with international, Nordic and local festivals, organizations and produc- about the successful project in Malmö and wanted to join the movement. tion- and distribution companies. New Doc Lounge clubs started to open up, building up a network. From being a cool documentary club in Malmö, Doc Lounge became a Nordic 4 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 1.2 MISSION STATEMENT “ Our aim is to attract new audiences to documentaries and create new, innovative ways of presenting the best documentaries to the people. Doc Lounge strives to be a catalyst for discussion and inspiration leading to positive change in personal lives and the wider society. We aim for gender balance in our programming and to bring voices from all over the world, including those not usually heard in the mainstream media, to our audiences. ” - Extract from Doc Lounge Mission Statement. 5 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 1.3 WHAT WE DO With the distribution concept Doc Lounge Pop Up, organizers that are not official Doc Lounge clubs can show films from Doc Lounge Official 1.3.1 The distribution Selection and create their own events. And through Doc Lounge Live, we extend our events from Doc Lounge Malmö via live broadcasting, Doc Lounge is specialising in innovative distribution, and uses various reaching new audiences at culture houses and libraries in smaller strategies and concepts to bring documentaries from all over the world cities. to our audiences across the Nordic countries. In addition to the above, we constantly work to develop new distribu- Since 2017, we are registered as an official Swedish distributor and take tion models with Doc Lounge. This way, even more people get access on full-scale distribution of a few selected titles per year. to the Doc Lounge films and experience. We continue to offer our Doc Lounge Network an Official Selection of 15 In our programming, we look for the most exciting films from all over to 20 films a year, screened during exclusive event based premieres and the world, ensuring that our program has an international flavor and we previews at our clubs, serving as a launching platform and discussion can share a diversity of interesting voices. trigger. 6 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE We emphasize both quality and accessibility as well as a connection to the concept, which encourages people to take a chance on films they the social society. We deliberately mix the themes and subjects, ensuring wouldn’t usually see. The local Doc Lounge teams work actively on that we have a range of types of documentaries on offer - from political audience development strategies in their city - reaching out to groups to personal, from poetic to hard-hitting calls to action, but always with an interested in the topics of the individual films, and encourage them engaging story or message worth sharing. We are committed to working to engage and participate, as an audience, but also as co-creators, towards gender equality in our programming and seek out female direc- performers, collaboration partners and ambassadors. Through the tors and female-led stories that are lacking in other areas of the media. regular events and a welcoming environment we build a local commu- nity around the Doc Lounge brand in each city. After over twelve years of practicing, we’ve built up a unique and extensive experience of how to build and broaden the audience, and we are now frequently sharing 1.3.2 The event concept this knowledge through workshops and masterclasses at festivals and industry events both locally and internationally. The Doc Lounge clubs presents documentaries as an event, and a cultural and social meeting place. Drawing people together to experi- ence the best new feature documentaries at Doc Lounge clubs across the Nordic region, we build a buzz for documentary and encourage 1.3.4 The network of Doc Lounge clubs people to engage in discussion. Doc Lounge events always take place in non-cinema venues such as concert venues, bars or cultural hous- The Doc Lounge Network today consist of local Doc Lounge clubs in es. These social environments attract new audiences for the films and 17 cities across four Nordic countries. (Sweden, Finland, Denmark and encourage new meetings and conversations. Doc Lounge screen doc- Norway). Each club runs the Doc Lounge event concept locally in their umentaries accompanied by live music, discussion, director Q&As, multi- city, independently but in line with the Doc Lounge mission and col- art performances, exhibitions and relevant speakers on political, cultural laboration agreement. As part of this agreement, all Doc Lounge head or social themes. Events are run by local Doc Lounge teams in each city office provide certain services to local Doc Lounge clubs, including the and take place on a weekly or monthly basis. On occasion, we export Official Selection (film program), website, email service, graphic profile, the event concept to other settings and/or development projects. professional development and additional support. Doc Lounge head offices strive to create opportunities for the local Doc Lounge project managers to meet up for professional training, 1.3.3 The audience development knowledge exchange and development. Most important is the yearly Doc Lounge Meetup, organized by Doc Lounge head office. A core part of the Doc Lounge success is the focus on innovation with- in audience development and engagement. Always bringing high-qual- ity content, we teach our audiences to trust our programming and 7 DOC LOUNGE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1. ABOUT DOC LOUNGE 1.3.5 Doc Lounge Malmö Doc Lounge Malmö is our flagship club and showcase for the Doc Lounge brand and concept, and a key part of the Doc Lounge head office.