I'm delighted to report that the English-speaking group won, despite the fact that I hadn't rolled a ball since I was sixteen. We were all awarded with medals bearing the Cologne Coat-of-Arms. It was great fun.

Then came the serious business over the remaining three days. Each of us had a tight schedule of one-to-one meetings lasting thirty minutes with an array of commissioners. I met representatives from ZDF, France 3, Minotaur International, TV3 Spain, La Sept Arte, Arte-Thema, YLE TV1 Finland, SVT Sweden to name a few. I had fourteen meetings in all and enjoyed some success.

Before departure I received the good news that I had been successful with my lottery application for my project. Having support from home gave me leverage. My meetings brought co-production interest from ZDF and France 3, several offers of pre-sales from Portugal, Spain and Finland plus interest from the UK distributor Minotaur. Now, of course it's up to me to pull these deals off.

So for me this course has been inspirational, and proof that there is another market to tap into which champions strong international stories - thank goodness. So any of you out there with a big story to tell should give serious thought to applying to Eurodoc. It's a course well worth doing, but don't be fooled by the glamorous locations. It requires dedication and lots of hard work. As a result of this course, I now have friends and supportive colleagues in Europe. Need I say more? (Back to articles page)

© Elly Taylor.