RPFF industry: Lecture "From Vision to Viewer"

Lecturer Petar Mitrić, an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen – lecture "From Vision to Viewer: Audience Design for a Documentary Film"

This lecture explores how audience design can support documentary filmmakers and producers in thinking about audiences from the earliest stages of development. Drawing on the newest book The Co-production Landscape in Europe: From Eurimaged to Netflix by Mitrić, it introduces audience design as a creative and strategic practice built around research, touchpoints, and the idea of spect-acting – the moment when viewers move beyond passive watching towards deeper reflection and engagement. Focusing on the specific potential of documentary cinema, the lecture asks how documentaries can connect with audiences in meaningful, emotionally resonant, and socially relevant ways.

Petar Mitrić is an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen working at the intersection of film research and industry practice. His work focuses on European co-production, audience design, and the practical challenges of developing, financing, and positioning films for contemporary audiences. He has collaborated with key industry organisations including Film i Väst and TorinoFilmLab, and is the author of The Co-production Landscape in Europe: From Eurimages to Netflix (2025), a book that examines how European screen industries are evolving across policy, production, and audience engagement. He leads the research group SCREENING EUROPE on the state of the European audiovisual industries and also develops documentary projects rooted in personal and political histories.

Lecture will be held in English. Free entrance.

RPFF 2026 industry sessions supported by National Film Centre of Latvia and Creative Europe MEDIA.

INDUSTRY PROGRAMME