Today, the market and conference is focused on nonfiction filmmaking. It's a bit quieter than the last couple of days, with most of the staff off-site prepping for the filmmaker awards luncheon in a few hours at Chinatown Brasserie just down the street.
The day started with the "Public Television in the 21st Century" panel moderated by
International Documentary Association's executive director,
Sandra Ruch. She was joined by
Claire Aguilar of
ITVS,
Kathy Lo of PBS'
Independent Lens,
Simon Kilmurry of PBS'
POV and, the very charming,
Christoph Jorg of
ARTE. Ruch encouraged the panelists to provide practical advice to the audience on how to submit to these various broadcasters--the whos, whats and wheres of navigating the process each series or channel has for their annual programming.
Documentary folks, as a rule, are much easier to access than people who produce and buy fiction and also tend to be extremely forthcoming and open about their process selection and any other issues or questions a filmmaker might have. They will give you their email, their phone number, their time and attention. But, as with most things discussed here, the onus is on the filmmaker to do the necessary research and present as professional a package as you possibly can when you're ready to go through their submission process. You don't want to get kicked out of the pile due to not doing your homework--it's a waste of everyone's time, especially yours. And be prepared to submit to the same entities several times. Ruch says, "Don't be discouraged. If they're writing you back inviting you to re-submit, take that as a positive sign and try again."
Also this morning,
Thom Powers, nonfiction programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival will talk to
Participant Productions'
Diane Weyermann for the last "A Conversation With. . .".
There are four more panels throughout the day with the superstars of the doc world--filmmakers, programmers, and executives working exclusively in nonfiction. And, there is also a focus on doc/narrative hybrids, a burgeoning category discussed frequently in the nonfiction filmmaking community.
And tomorrow, the whole day (free to anyone who wants to attend) is devoted to Fair Use in Documentary--"Fair Use 101" with
Michael Donaldson (who, literally, wrote the book on
these issues), "E&O and You" (errors & omissions insurance) and, finally, a "Filmmaker Roundtable" continuing the discussion about these essential issues for film producers.
# posted by Pamela Cohn @ 9/20/2007 10:24:00 AM
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