TV documentaries: UA:PBC adopts European model

UA:PBC is keen to develop televised documentary co-productions for the Ukrainian public in addition to European audiences at a broader level. This initiative reflects Ukraine's new media law, which is currently being implemented after having been passed by the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada). UA:PBC needs to embrace new international partnerships in order to emulate the European model.
Many connections were established with potential partners over the course of this week at the East Doc Platforme in Prague, and public television has now been identified as a reliable and sound partner in Ukraine.

This event gave the UA:PBC teams the opportunity to share their experiences of adapting to the European model. The East Doc Platform is the largest co-production, funding and distribution platform tailor-made for Central and Eastern European documentaries. Every year, it connects producers, broadcasters and distributors from Eastern Europe with the entire world.

Maintaining varied, high-quality programming

As part of the MediaFit project, which has received EU funding and is being coordinated by Deutsche Welle, CFI is working with Ukrainian public television to help it remain resilient in the wake of the full-scale invasion that Russia has been conducting for over a year, and to ensure that it continues to provide a range of varied and high-quality programme formats. This support began with the introduction of four documentary series production competitions, thereby funding the work of independent film-makers. The aim of this initiative is to ensure that a level of creative diversity continues to exist at Ukrainian public television, which is particularly necessary given the creation of the "news marathon", a perpetual cycle of news in which the main television channels cover wartime events in a consistent way.

Alongside the East Doc Platform, an afternoon session with Czech TV was organised. This marks the initial stage of a collaboration that will enable UA:PBC to draw inspiration from the Czech model in order to revamp and modernise its "documentary" department.