dok.incubator BUZZ

• Czech feature, documentary and animated films

• communication and marketing strategy

No film today can succeed without a clear idea of how to reach its audience, a solid strategy, and the right tools. At the dok.incubator BUZZ workshop, filmmakers work under the guidance of experienced marketing experts to develop effective, targeted strategies for connecting their films with the right viewers. The program consists of three intensive sessions which are hosted by dok.incubator in collaboration with P2M Consulting.

The program is held in Czech, you can find more information in Czech here.

participants with project

participants without a project

extended deadline: November 6, 2025

apply here

Timeline

October 29

Deadline for applications (projects & observers)

November 21

Selected projects announcement

December 9

BUZZ online kickoff meeting

December 11

1ST session / strategy & AI

January 15–16

2ND session / audience, messaging & brand identity

February 5–6

3RD session / digital strategy, community & funding

1ST session / strategy & AI / December 11

The goal of the first session is to stop just thinking about marketing and start strategically building it. Define your film’s unique DNA, uncover its hidden potential, and formulate a clear vision for its societal impact. Learn to use AI tools not as a substitute for creativity, but as a powerful accelerator for deep research and generating unexpected ideas. During this session you will lay the marketing foundation for your film, defining why it exists and what mark it should leave on the world.

What to expect from the 1st session:

Pecha Kucha Pitch & Immediate Feedback: A fast, intensive presentation of your project in front of an expert panel. No fluff, just constructive criticism that will push you forward.
Masterclass: Defining Your Impact: How do we define "impact"? Dive into campaigns that not only sold tickets but also became part of a national conversation.
AI-Powered Discovery Lab: A hands-on workshop where you learn the art of the prompt. Use AI for in-depth research, identifying unexpected target audiences, and generating creative marketing hypotheses.
The Core DNA Workshop: Uncover your film’s DNA. The output: a powerful creative brief, a no-nonsense SWOT analysis, and clearly defined goals for the entire workshop.

2ND session / audience, messaging & brand identity / January 15–16

Give your film an unforgettable voice and face! At the 2nd session we forge strategy into tangible creative outputs that have the power to captivate and resonate. You will dive deep into audience analysis to understand not just who they are, but what they crave. Based on these insights, you will craft key messages and a professional brief for your key art that will become the essence of your film.

What to expect from the 2nd session:

Deep Dive: Audience Architecture: A workshop focused on defining and segmenting target groups. You create detailed personas and map their journey to your film.
Key Visual Masterclass: Your entire film condensed into a single image. A lecture and workshop on how iconic film posters are made and how to brief a design studio to get what you truly want (not just what you think you want).
Brand Identity Workshop: Learn how to develop your key art into a cohesive visual identity for social media, web, and other channels. Work on your own brief and get direct feedback from top designers.
Copywriting Lab: From Logline to Movement: How do you write a synopsis that sells? How do you create a tagline that gets under your skin? Learn to formulate a brief and think like a copywriter.

3RD session / digital strategy, community & funding / February 5–6

Ignite the spark and turn your campaign into a self-sustaining movement. At the final session you will focus on executing a digital strategy designed to build an active and engaged community long before the premiere. You will get know effective tools for creating a content plan, setting up effective paid advertising, and establishing strategic partnerships. Important part of this session is also a workshop on how to find alternative resources for marketing funding.

What to expect from the 3rd session:

Social Media Deep Dive: How do you create a content plan that tells a story, not just a series of posts? How do you effectively set up a paid campaign for maximum engagement and conversions?
Case Studies: The Best of the Best: We analyze the most successful campaigns (KVIFF and others) with their creators. What worked, what failed, and what can you learn from it?
Community Building & Partnerships: Your greatest marketers are your fans. A workshop on how to build, activate, and mobilize your community, and how to create partnerships with brands and influencers.
Funding Beyond the Funds: How and where can you find money for marketing outside of traditional grants? A lecture and workshop on alternative financing models, sponsorships, and distribution paths.
Grand Finale: The Final Pitch: At the end of the workshop, you present a complete marketing, distribution, and financial strategy for your film. Ready to take on the world.

How we work

Over three intensive sessions, Buzz workshop transforms your marketing from a line item in the budget into an integral, creative, and even fun part of your film's communication strategy. Program is open to 6 selected arthouse, documentary and animated feature film projects, which reached the first-cut and later stage.

We believe in one method: real work on real projects. After five years of experience dok.incubator BUZZ is not a series of passive lectures but an intensive marketing lab for your film. During three in-person sessions and follow-up online consultations, we guide each of the six teams through a structured process: from creating a foundational marketing brief to preparing a professional assignment for creative agencies and developing concrete tools for your campaign. The key is individual brainstorming and mentoring, where top-tier lecturers dedicate their time to an in-depth focus on your film.

The workshop takeaways:

A communication and impact strategy with ambition, soul, and measurable goals (KPIs).
A deep understanding of your target audiences—you'll know who they are, where they live, and the language they speak.
A professional brief for a powerful visual identity and key art that is bold, memorable, and works across all channels.
Data-driven know-how: Learn to master AI tools to uncover hidden insights, not just to generate average copy.
An actionable plan and creative concepts for social media that build community and generate real engagement.
A strategy for finding partners and funding that goes beyond traditional grants.

Our mission is not only to help six selected films reach new, young audiences but also enrich the community of marketing experts who understand film and can translate its power into today's digital world. In the role of observers, the workshop involves junior marketing experts from digital marketing agencies showing them how to implement the marketing process into films’ development. The workshop ensures participants that they can reach new, especially young audiences by using promotional and distribution platforms online and learning new digital tools.

How to apply

The program is open to feature films, animated films and documentaries (not series) with different types of planned distribution - both classic in cinemas, festivals or VOD. A minimum first cut of the film (later add updated versions) is required and the film's premiere should be March 2026 earliest. Selection of participants with a film project is done through an online selection platform.

What you should submit through the online selection platform:

a rough cut of the film
basic info about the project – production stage, time-line, financing plan
marketing outcomes – synopsis, stills, poster, trailer
intended marketing and communication strategy + channels, estimated budget and partners
in-depth personal motivation by each member of the team and the CV, info about production company

An important criterion for the selection of film projects is the quality and potential of the project at the level of marketing communication and audience outreach.

For the selection of participants, we consider:

the team's motivation to participate (in the form of a letter)
the creative credit of the participants / the profile and credit of their company
the team's previous experience in marketing and PR
the potential of the film project and the planned strategy of the participating project

You can fill in the application here.

Observers can apply here.

Fees & scholarship

For each selected project, the fee for 3 practical workshops and consultations is CZK 15.000. The fee for marketing specialists without a film project is CZK 6.000.