02/01/2010
Calling all social-issue documentary filmmakers! The Good Pitch@ Tribeca is now open for submissions. The deadline is February 8, 2010. For application and eligibility information, click here.
This year’s Good Pitch @ Tribeca will take place April 27, 2010 during the Tribeca Film Festival.
The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program today announced the recipients of its Fall 2009 Grants. Among them are two Cinereach grantees, both selected to receive support for the Production/Post category:
Jennifer Arnold
A Small Act / U.S.A.
A young Kenyan’s life is changed dramatically when his education is sponsored by a Swedish stranger.
Elizabeth Mandel and Beth Davenport
Rose and Nangabire / U.S.A.
Rose Mapendo lost her family and home to the ethnic violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo, yet she emerged from the suffering advocating peace and reconciliation. But after helping numerous survivors to recover and rebuild their lives, there is one person Rose must still teach to forgive – her daughter Nangabire.
Additionally, the first three recipients of the Sundance Reach Fund were announced. This new category is part of the Cinereach Project at the Sundance Institute. The Sundance Reach Fund provides emergency discretionary grants and support for risk-taking features and documentaries that evoke global cultural exchange and social impact. The recipients are:
Michael Brown
25 to Life / U.S.A.
After 25 years of secrecy, William Brawner is finally ready to tell the world that he’s HIV-Positive.
Josh Fox
Gasland / U.S.A.
The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States, which uses a Halliburton-developed drilling technology called “fracking.” But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination.
Blair Doroshwalther
The Fire This Time / U.S.A.
Seven young African American lesbians were attacked in the West Village of NYC in 2006. They defended themselves and were sent to prison.
Read about all 23 projects selected to receive Sundance Documentary Program support here.
09/22/2009
Submissions for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund open October 5th and close January 11th. “The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides finishing funds to feature-length documentaries which highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world. Funded films are driven by thoughtful and indepth storytelling, bolstered by a compelling visual approach.”
Grant amounts are in the range of $10,000 and $25,000. For more information click here.
09/22/2009
A still from BRONX PRINCESS, a film by Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed
Tonight, Tuesday 9/22, Yoni Brook & Musa Syeed’s “Bronx Princess“, a Cinereach grant recipient and RFF Alum, Annie P. Waldman’s “So the Wind Won’t Blow it All Away” will be airing on POV. Click here for a broadcast schedule.
A still from SO THE WIND WON'T BLOW IT ALL AWAY a film by Annie P. Waldman
Cinereach grant recipient OCTOBER COUNTRY, a film by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, will screen in competition at the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival. Screenings are on October 3rd at 7:15pm and October 4th at 3:15pm.
Celebrating a decade of innovative filmmakers & filmmaking, the Woodstock Film Festival has unveiled its 10th Anniversary Line-up of extraordinary films, panels, and events, screening Wednesday Sept. 30 through Sunday Oct. 4, in the arts colony of Woodstock NY, and neighboring towns of Rhinebeck, Kingston and Rosendale. The 2009 line-up embodies the festival’s “fiercely independent” spirit, while upholding the tradition of quality filmmaking, causing filmmakers and industry professionals to hail WFF as “one of the very best regional film festivals in the world”.
October Country
Cinereach grant recipient OCTOBER COUNTRY, a film by Michael Palmieri & Donal Mosher, will screen at the IFC Center in NY on Monday, October 5th as part of the Stranger Than Fiction film series.
08/24/2009
DocuClub is Arts Engine‘s film screening series of works-in-progress documentaries. Every month at DocuClub a filmmaker presents a rough cut of his or her film to DocuClub members and the public, which is followed by a facilitated discussion. Past films have included Born Into Brothels (Academy Award for Best Documentary, 2004) and other major independent films.
If your film is between 45 and 95 minutes, in the rough cut stage, and has specific challenges you would like to workshop, please mail a clearly labeled DVD screener to the address below. (Your screener will not be returned unless you provide a SASE.)
Felix Endara
Filmmaker Services Coordinator
Arts Engine, Inc.
104 West 14th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10011
For more information, visit DocuClub here.
08/05/2009
How do you sell a documentary? In this workshop/competition, five preselected emerging nonfiction filmmakers will pitch their ideas to a panel of distinguished documentary producers. The producers will give them feedback on their concept as well as their presentation skills—great lessons for all aspiring filmmakers. The winner will receive a $5,000 grant, sponsored by SnagFilms, to be used toward the completion of the pitched film.
Selection: Based on the criteria of persuasiveness of the pitch, originality of the vision, and viability of the project, the panel will select one finalist as the winner of a $5,000 grant to be used toward the finalist’s completion of the documentary pitched at the workshop. The decision of the panel will be final and binding.
Entry Deadline: September 25, 2009.
This workshop takes place on October 17, 2009.
Please visit The Paley Center for Media’s website for more information.
06/22/2009
LINK TV presents the U.S. television premiere of the original documentary program CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN, a Cinereach grant recipient. Shot on location in Tehran, this program seeks to bridge the cultural and political rifts between Iran and the U.S. through the collaboration of young Iranian and American filmmakers. In 2007, the Link TV crew followed American filmmakers Yoni Brook, 25, and Musa Syeed, 23, to the Cinema Verite Film Festival in Tehran. There, they meet two Iranian filmmakers, Atefeh Khademolreza, 24, and Abbas Amini, 26, with whom they decide to make a film juxtaposing the lifestyles of a poor carpet weaver and a wealthy carpet merchant in Tehran. The program documents their efforts to overcome cultural, sociopolitical and linguistic barriers using the universal languages of cinema and friendship to create a film together.
CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN is part of the BRIDGE TO IRAN series, Link TV’s response to the cultural and political tensions that have developed between Iran and the U.S. since the 1979 Iranian revolution.
CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN will premiere on Link TV on June 23 at 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT, with repeat broadcasts at 2 :00am ET/11:00pm PT, and on June 25 at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT and 7:36pm ET/4:36pm PT. For full background information, additional airtimes, and to view the program streamed in its entirety, visit http://www.linktv.org/BridgeToIran.