Doc/Fest Blog
Paa Joe - Blog 7
By Chris Black 20 March, 2012
Continuing from his previous posts, here are the final two posts from Ben Wigley blogging about his recent participation in Documentary Campus Masterschool:
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS MASTERSCHOOL: DAY 5
How to: Write Treatments
How to: Titles, Tag-lines and the Elevator Pitch
with Mark Atkin
Following last night’s tour of Bovarian drinking culture today’s Masterclass started an hour later than usual. There were some sleepy eyes and lots of water being consumed as Mark presented the importance of multi-platform content.
One of the many and really fun examples he showed as Italy, Love it or Leave it, which is also a Documentary Campus alumni project.
With television becoming much more of an ambient medium these days it’s super important that we all think about the 2 screen format: having something that your audience can engage with on their computers / laptops / tablets / mobile phones while they are watching your content on television.
The weather today has been beautiful and so for lunch we were taken to a Bovarian restaurant where we sat in the sunshine and allowed the rays to sooth our tired, or as some might say hungover, bodies. I stuck to my roots and ordered roast beef with roast potatoes. You can take the girl out of Nottingham…
Feeling refreshed we went back to the class and were taught the principles of good treatment writing. This is such an important part of the development process and something that can be really difficult to get right. Open the treatment with what the film is about and then continue to convey what the film is really about and be sure to include your stylistic vision and two pages seems to be the optimum length.
Our brains were tested right through to the very end as we were asked to pitch other people’s projects in the style of the “elevator pitch”. This is just as important as the treatment, if not more so, as it is this is what you need to convince commissioning editors to meet with you again.
This has been such an incredible experience and everyone’s projects have progressed exponentially in just five days.
Munich has been good to us. With the next campus taking place in Sheffield in June it’s the turn of us Brits to host our European friends.
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Paa Joe - Blog 6
By Chris Black 20 March, 2012
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS MASTERSCHOOL: DAY 4
The "Pre-roll" with Roger Graef
Last night finished with a screening of a fantastic film called Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go. The film was shot and directed by Kim Longinotto and produced through Roger’s company, Films of Record. The film, shot over 6 months, followed a class of children at the Mulberry Bush School which has 108 teachers to 40 pupils. The children have often been expelled from or simply can’t cope with normal schooling, their behaviour often a result of very traumatic experiences at home. The film sparked great conversation between us all afterwards and Roger talked us through the process of gaining access, building trust and the choice to leave it at 100minutes in length.
Following yesterday’s seminar on the importance of the first two minutes of the film, or the “pre-roll”, we all presented our ideas for our own film’s pre-rolls.
The first two minutes must set up the film, but Roger referenced the idea of “game theory”, where the rules of the games are defined at the beginning. That may be your stylistic approach, whom the film will follow (if it is character lead) and what you expect to see.
What I loved about Roger’s approach when he discussed our projects was that he encouraged us to use the power of the image to tell the story… Less is more or as Kafka would say, “It is the job of fiction to put the ice pick in the brain” and this must be done with pictures, not words.
Roger’s words resonated with me as I had actually tried to explain too much in my pre-roll storyboard, and he wasn’t slow in telling me that! I was encouraged to show the powerful imagery of Paa Joe’s work in the very first moments as this will grab viewers’ attention. The rest of the group gave me some great feedback too.
There seem to be some clear do’s and don’t of the pre-roll…find the spice of your film and avoid any cliché and never tell people how to feel. As Bergmann quoted from William Faulkner, when you edit your pre-roll you must be prepared to “kill all your darlings” and take risks.
The day has been wrapped up with the screening of another fantastic and emotionally impactful film from Films of Record called The Truth about Adoption. And I can’t finish this post without spreading the word of Roger’s latest Internet film series, CERN People. Follow this link to meet the most engaging geeks you could ever hope meet.
ALL of the sessions have been totally insightful and incredibly fruitful and we’re really looking forward to the final day, but not before we partake in the Munchen Olympics under the guidance of our Bovarian contemporaries, Maren and Philip. So far, all I know is that this entails weissbier and currywurst. Tomorrow could be interesting…
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Paa Joe - Blog 5
By Charlie Phillips 07 March, 2012
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS MASTERSCHOOL: DAY 3
Workshop with Tom Roberts
Today was our final day of group workshops and today it was Tom Roberts we had to impress. In only three days it was clear to see the progression of all of the projects and all of the participants were speaking with energy and confidence.
It was the first time that we had been in a group with Alba Moraroca whose project, A Child's Game, is an incredibly important and poignant one. Alba intends to merge stop motion animation, user generated content and camera work imitating a child's perspective to convey the reality of a child's life in New Mexico where drugs cartels and the consequent violence are the constant backdrop. This project, even on paper, immediately struck a cord with both Ben and I and we are really excited to see it develop.
For the first time we showed the trailer for Paa Joe: Dead not Buried as part of the pitch and it was wonderful to watch peoples' reactions to the footage, the beautiful coffins and Paa Joe himself. It was even more wonderful that the reactions were overwhelmingly positive. Tom said it was clear that we have a film that could competently stands it's own as an "art film" but in order for the film to reach the next level and resonate we, and Paa Joe, need time. And that is fine by us.
After lunch all of the participants regrouped and were introduced to think about the importance and structure of the first two minutes of films, the "pre-roll". The lecture was lead by Roger Graef who showed us the first two minutes of some brilliant and very contrasting films. This lead to some great discussion and tomorrow the conversations will continue as we present our ideas for our own films' pre-rolls.
Here are the links incase they haven't translated properly:
Alba - http://albamoraroca.tumblr.com/
Tom - http://www.imdb.de/name/nm0731631/
And remember our blog link: http://www.paajoefilm.tumblr.com
Paa Joe - Blog 4
By Charlie Phillips 06 March, 2012
As explained last week, one of our favourite filmmakers, Ben Wigley, is blogging about his adventures at the Documentary Campus Masterschool - here's his 4th blog:
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS MASTERSCHOOL: DAY 2
After yesterday’s jam packed and very insightful sessions I awoke slightly jaded and had to energise myself with less chocolate and more fruit for breakfast this morning.
Some new characters arrived at the breakfast table who transpired to be the latest Masters to lead the fresh new breed of Masterschool pupils.
Our day started with an introductory talk by Richard Bradley from the very reputable production company, Lion TV, who have offices in London, New York and China. Richard built on many of the subjects that Tom talked about yesterday – regarding the importance of the story in your pitch and throughout your film.
He talked of the three most important pillars of documentary:
Story
Character
Access
We were encouraged to think about what may not happen in the film, as opposed to what will, and the consequences of this. Richard also talked about the important, but often forgotten, middle section of the film, or as he described it, the “meat and two veg of the film”. This middle section is what keeps the audience engaged and should be where the tension mounts.
After Richard’s seminar the Masterschool students separated into three rooms where three individual round table pitch/development sessions were lead by, Richard, Tom Roberts and a new Master, Roger Graef.
Anna and I were in Roger’s group first. Roger is an incredibly experienced documentary filmmaker who has made films for most international channels. The session was fantastically productive and enlightening for all of the filmmakers. We were invited to deliver our “Elevator Pitch”. The term is in reference to stories that Alfred Hitchcock would tell in an elevator. His storytelling and delivery would be so refined that people would be gripped after only traveling up four or five floors that people would stay in the lift to hear more…
“…then he grabbed the knife and held the woman by the throat and…” (an example of a Hitchcock elevator pitch, massively paraphrased)
We took it in turns to pitch our projects and then each one was interrogated by Roger and the rest of the group with an emphasis on the forensic analysis of what the story might be. This fed into what Tom was saying yesterday about the archetypal story of the films. For us, at this stage, we feel that the story of Paa Joe trying to secure a future for his family is the ‘archetypal’ story. We came away from the discussion realising that we need to begin to imagine and prepare for the ‘hinge’ moments in the film, what are the specific threats to Paa Joe, our film’s character?
The afternoon session was lead by Richard Bradley, with Mark Atkin. We heard from other teams whose pitches we hadn’t yet heard. One being Wild Moves. It’s no secret that Anna was enamoured by the project’s director and presenter, Giuseppe Bucciarelli, and by the end of the session I think the entire group felt the same way.
It was heartening to hear that Richard already had a knowledge of Paa Joe, and in fact, Roger had mentioned in the morning's session that he had wanted to make a film of Paa Joe some years ago but hadn’t found the story. He was incredibly pleased to tell us that he thinks we have now found that story.
We finished the day at a restaurant called Roxy for fodder, weissbier and internet connection for our only night off this week.
Paa Joe - Blog 3
By Charlie Phillips 06 March, 2012
As explained last week, one of our favourite filmmakers, Ben Wigley, is blogging about his adventures at the Documentary Campus Masterschool - here's his 3rd blog:
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS: DAY 1, PART 1
An introduction to the campus with Mark Atkin & Manuela Winkler
We started the day with a bizarre breakfast of chocolate museli and boiled eggs then made our way down to the seminar room. The chairs were in a full circle with welcome packs on each one. When chairs are laid out in such a way you know there is going to be a let’s-all-get-to-know-one-another session…a time in which you talk about yourself and ultimately say everything you don’t want to and forget everything you should. But Mark, who was leading this session, eased the tension by introducing us to the “Name Game”.
One by one we did have to introduce ourselves but in a way that probably none of us had ever done before…we were to tell the room our name and a story surrounding it. My name’s Anna and all I know is that my Dad had a crush on Anna Ford and my Mum thought the name was “classic”. Throughout my life I’ve been known as Anna-Banana and Spanner, neither one attractive nor classic. Ben likened himself to a dog and told that if his wife had double-barralled her maiden and married names then their son would ultimately be called Bryn Jolly-Wigley. Needless to say we now all know each other’s names.
Manuela spoke to us about the grants that each project is eligible to apply for. One team member is entitled to up to 3,400 Euros to use on internships, visiting assigned mentors or to attend film festivals. This is so fantastic and we’re really looking forward to meeting our mentors and making connections once the first workshop is over.
DOCUMENTARY CAMPUS: DAY 1, PART 2
Finding your Story, with Tom Roberts
Tom Roberts is a world-renowned and multi award-winning director who, in recent years, has also undertaken the role of executive producer on many successful films.
The fundamental message of his lecture was, how to find and tell your story.
“The rules of storytelling exist to be broken. The principles of storytelling exist to be respected.”
Once more we were all put on the spot and asked to tell our film’s story in 30 seconds. This is a really tough challenge but we left the session confident that in Paa Joe: Dead not Buried we have a truly unique and exciting story.
Tom spoke to us about his personal experiences of filmmaking and the instinctive approaches that are imperative for a documentary filmmaker to have in order for them to nurture the story from their subjects/characters. You can have a location, or a “precinct”, but you need instinct to find the story within it. You can have a character, a protagonist, but without instinct you will not find the truth behind their lives. And you can only tell the truth that you, as a filmmaker, see and find. You can never, ever make a film that deals with the “truth” that your character wants to project. That’s they’re persona, not the truth.
Tom is an insightful man and an incredibly good storyteller, not only through the medium of film but verbally too. His lecture was itself one big story, with arches, curves and changing tempos.
We ended the night with pizza, beer and a screening of a film produced and directed by his wife, Pamela Gordon. Wasted is a film that follows 10 days in the life of Whitechapel resident, Stacey. The majority of the film is set in Tower House, a doss house with a history dating back to the 1900s. The colloquialisms may have changed over the course of a century but the residents and their habits are timeless and universal.
There is one quote that from Tom that really struck a cord with us today, and that was…
“[documentary is the] use of concrete reality to make a timeless film”.
Wasted is a true embodiment of this notion.
Paa Joe - Blog 2
By Charlie Phillips 05 March, 2012
As explained last week, one of our favourite filmmakers, Ben Wigley, is blogging about his adventures at the Documentary Campus Masterschool - here's his 2nd blog:
Guten Abend!
We arrived in the beautiful city of Munich this afternoon ready for our intensive week of Documentary Campus Mastersclassing. To welcome everyone to the campus, and the city, the guys at DCM treated us to some authentic German weissbier at Weisses Brauhaus, which is an uber authentic Bavarian bar with lederhosen and sausages!
It was fantastic to meet everyone and chat about all the amazing films. Really looking forward to hearing more about the projects and the filmmakers themselves. The team from Clear Water were actually wearing lederhosen. Brilliant.
We have some super exciting workshop leaders, Tom Roberts, Richard Bradley, Karolina Lidin, Roger Graef, and Mark Atkin & Manuela Winkler from DCM itself.
Now vier wiess biere down it’s time for bed.
PAA JOE: DEAD NOT BURIED
By Charlie Phillips 29 February, 2012
Paa Joe: Dead not Buried is the first feature documentary film from award winning filmmaker, Benjamin Wigley, and is being produced through his own company, Artdocs.
It is a film about legacy and ambition that sees a pioneer of the fantasy coffin trade seek success in the contemporary art world.
The film has been selected, along with only 14 other projects from Europe, to become part of this year’s Documentary Campus Masterschool, founded by the Discovery Channel. The Masterschool is a nine month programme with four residential week long workshops taking place in four different cities in Europe: Munich, Sheffield, Bucharest and Leipzig respectively. The dates for the first workshop are 5th – 9th March 2012.
Benjamin and the film’s producer, Anna Griffin, will be blogging about the film’s developments and their experiences at the Masterschool and you can follow them directly through their blogs, which will be reproducing here for you.

Sundance highlights
By Hussain Currimbhoy 14 February, 2012
An update on some of the stellar works I caught at Sundance last month that will either be coming to a cinema near you –or coming to a documentary festival in Sheffield. You never know your luck.
My second trip to Sundance was one filled with high expectations. After 2011’s marvels like ‘Senna’ (nice work at the BAFTAs guys), ‘ The Interrupters’, ‘Resurrect Dead’ and ‘Position Among the Stars’ it would be hard for filmmakers to come up with the goods like that two years running. Early vibes about the programme was that is it was very good, expansive, diverse - but many of the films were all transfixed with the dismal state of American culture and politics. To an extent, I can see how many subjects were a tad gloom with a dash of doom. But in the end I found myself actually thinking that many of the films kinda made me smile and believe in the wild fortune of life after the credits rolled. Hell, I even felt, good about films after I left them. A few highlights:
One film that (every so) nearly made me loose my sugar was the Mariana Abramovic documentary, ‘The Artist is Present”. If you know her work you are will be in heaven. If you are under-acquainted with her, as I was, you will be a total convert. Like I am now. If this detailed and poignant portrait of a wild and charismatic performance artist was a cult you’d be sipping the Abramovic kool aid in minutes. The balance of documenting her struggle to find her real voice in her art, threaded with the great love story of her life and the months spent preparing her newest work at MoMA are constructed in such a way that you forget you are watching a documentary. Abramovic is complex, brave, incredibly strong and has such a pure foundation for her art that you might suddenly find Fine Art just a bit less exhilarating. Yet, as ground breaking and deceptively simple her work is you realise this is a film not just about one woman but a symbol of the amount of work and sacrifice all artists produce just to make their art. This was a theme that I felt ran through many of the films at Sundance this year.
I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the new documentary about Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei. The now world renowned artist and human rights activist gives an all access pass to young filmmaker Alison Klayman to examine the life and circumstances surrounding his work – (the factory atmosphere was a real insight, especially seeing so many constructing many of his works for him. One artist quips that they are like assassins. Weiwei tells them what to do and they do it. They don’t ask why), his private life and his pursuit of some kind of simple justice for the Chinese people. These all come with arrests, the occasional police beating and political confrontations, most of which are captured on twitter or his blog. Its his defiant openness that has created a great swell of support from the people themselves who look to him not only as a great artist and visionary, but to be their “man standing in the way of the tank”. Intentional or not, his work was always political, even in early days as an artist in New York, where he created playful and deceptive works about AIDS and the gay community before gay artists were themselves. Art and politics have always melded together on an everyday basis in Weiwei’s world. So much so that he has the good sense to keep someone filming him almost all the time. My favourite scene is when Weiwei has dinner al fresco with some friends, only to be filmed by the police. (naturally.) But the artist turns the event around by having one of his crew film the police officer filming the dinner. It says volumes about his perception of China’s authority machine and the stultifying nature of their obsessive mistreatment of emerging new Chinese culture. Weiwei was rumoured to appear on Skype after the screening, but after you see the film you realise the unnecessary harm done to him out weighs our need to hear him.
One feature of Sundance that I had to make time for was the New Frontier programme. The Art based programme is specially curated by Shari Frilot that encompasses a collection of cross media and digital works from around the world set in a more people-orientated setting rather than too ‘gallery’. The high points for me had to be Evolution (Megaplex) by Marco Brambilla – a dreamlike collage of hundreds of small (and some overt) snippets of classic film scenes from Dirty Harry to the Empire Strikes back to Pasolini’s Salo, slowly dancing in against a loop of an infinite galaxy. It was heavenly. Running at only three minutes you COULD watch it and get out of there. But as its in 3D and presented on a huge, glorious screen with startling colour, force and detail, I was hard pressed to find anyone slipping away in under an hour of dream-like viewing. My favorite way to describe it would be to imagine what a die hard cinephile would see if his life flashed before his eyes, moments before his death.
The other favorite, that still haunts, me is Question Bridge by Hank Thomas. A simple multi-screen installation in a darkened room displays front-on talking heads of African American males talking about their opinions of their experience in today’s America. They are not posited questions, but are asked to share opinions. The difference is startling and brings out some of the most honest and insightful opinions on race I’ve ever seen in a work of art or a film. Easily more honest, engaging and compelling than any doc could be, Question Bridge slyly dances between issues of sexuality, masculinity, power, pride and education. One young subject in the film brought up the idea of fear of intelligence - of sounding intelligent - in the African American community. He asked, “Why are we afraid to be smart?” The culture of being too tough to talk brings with it a tight limit to how articulate you can be, almost truncating the life of an African American male. It was a really confronting moment that was brought up again only a few hours later when I saw Ice T’s hip hop documentary "Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap". While Ice T’s work is purely an aficicionado’s treat, an interesting sentiment expressed by one subject struck me: he stated that at the turn of the last century, it was not uncommon for African American musicians to learn instruments like the piano, the flute, the trumpet and play them like virtuosos. These were the founders of jazz. Then he pointed out that gradually, education cut backs meant musical training became out of reach of students, leaving hip-hop and electronic music the only musical outlet. Another wholly new genre of music is invented, hip hop, yet when seen after viewing ‘Question Bridge’ you get the sense that hip hop culture has helped to form this ‘tough as nails’ façade that, even in Obama’s America, has a hand in stifling the true nuances of African American culture. In light of ‘Question Bridge’ you see the pressure on African American males comes from inside and out.
Many of the docs I encountered at Sundance were powerful diatribes against some of the US’s often bizarre medical, political and envirionmental policies. They certainly resonated with the crowds in Utah. One audience broke into spontanteous reciting of the Bill of Rights after a particularly politically charged screening. Some of the more North American flavored films were heavy on information and I felt best seen by US audiences so they can feel what docs do best: they hold up a mirror make you take a good hard look at your own culture.
In the end it was the work by two UK based producers that got me dancing in my seat. John Battsek and Simon Chin were present with two films at the festival: the rollercoaster ride of ‘The Imposter’ has to be experienced to believed, carrying so many twists and unbelievable turns you end up having discussions with total strangers about everything from the incompetence of the police to the eternal question: how well do you ever really know someone? As many of the reviews have stated so far, the film is exquisitely crafted with the reenactments looking so sharp you don’t want them to end. Its not often you see such attention to sound and picture in documentary these days. And knowing that this is the director’s first film… you don’t whether to love him or hate him!
The same team also came up with the documentary opening night film, ‘Searching for Sugarman’. This is what I was talking about when I said I left the cinema feeling HAPPY for a change! Thankfully I said, feck the jetlag, and made it out to the opening screening and it turned out to be a great decision.
The story of 70s singer/songwriter Rodriguez and his failure to get recognition is one of the classic tales of music history. His music is ubiquitous. You may not know the name but you have certainly heard the music. I had always assumed that his brilliant melodies, penetrating and prescient lyrics and guitar abilities were cemented in the canon of Vietnam era of American music that has been a part of pop culture for 40 years – just like Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Doors and the like. But it turns out that the gifted yet introverted performer, after making two incredible records with some of the best producers in music, was dropped from his label after totally failing on the US market and left out in the cold. He returned to his work as a labourer and played guitar at home for the last four decades.
Little does he know that in the meantime his music is embraced by South Africa as an anti-establishment soundtrack of South Africa’s youth, struggling with apartheid and fighting against the oppressor role they were born into. The film, gloriously shot and married to the music almost all the way, traces the journey of two South African fans who hear the legends of Rodriguez’s on stage suicide and decide to find out what really happened to him. What emerges is a spellbinding journey of the two fans who, without almost any information existing about the singer analyse his lyrics, spend years tracking him down to find the truth.
The undercurrents about the illogical nature of the music industry and the details of Rodreiquez himself will make this a musicologist’s perfect film, but by no means is ‘Sugarman’ just a music-fan’s doc. Sugarman is in its own right an incredible journey. ‘Searching for Sugarman’ is a tale not unlike that of British singer/songwriter and guitarist Nick Drake. He too was a young enigma who wrote some timeless, beautifully sad and prophetic songs during his short career in the 70s but was so shy he could not find his audience during his time. Both suffered from a complete lack of marketing for one thing – the record producers and other musicians loved the music, but the labels had no idea how to sell it or who would listen to it. They both had a profound message that came with beautiful chords that you couldn’t resist listening. Most often discovered at a friend’s apartment at 2am, once you heard them you were hooked. Both had resurgence many years after their prime as well. But what got me about ‘Sugarman’ is how America could not have embraced him, even without the right sales strategies. America too was engaged in social and cultural upheaval, the war in Vietnam and was opening up its mind and heart to other voices in art. The references to drugs in his music are no different to what was heard in Doors lyrics or the Rolling Stones, so it’s not like being counter-culture was keeping him off the radio. At first I thought it was just a lack of taste that prevailed at the time, but during the walk home from the cinema I thought of Orwell who said something like: “Actions are not good or bad depending on their merits, but on who does them”. I found myself so disappointed and almost angry that Rodreiguez, a genuine talent that had something to say about his world, would not have been ignored if he wasn’t of Mexican origin and come from inner city Detroit. It’s a genuine tragedy. From the film you’ll see that Rodriguez really couldn’t care either way – he was just doing his thing and not in it for the money at all. He lived modestly to say the least. But the lack of respect for his music is a crime and the good thing about this doc, made by a Swedish chap no less, has the narrative drive and cinematic charm to get that resurgence happening. This film has the power to resonate in the US, especially now, when everything we are hearing now about America’s culture, when a few years ago was based on race, is now surrounded by the issue of class.
Marx Reloaded
By Charlie Phillips 08 February, 2012
We like to keep you up to date on progress of MeetMarket projects, and in the case of some, there's a whole lot of news, such as 5 Broken Cameras winning awards at IDFA and Sundance, Just Do It touring the nation, and Looking for Sarkozy getting a major French cinema release, to name a few.
But one you may know less about is Marx Reloaded, which pitched at MeetMarket in 2009, and is getting a week's release at the ICA from this Friday. A German production with a British director, it's a timely recontextualisation of Karl Marx's relevance (or not) in the current economic crises and various international uprisings.
When the director, Jason Barker, pitched it here a few years back, we couldn't have known how relevant the film was going to become. Back then, though the banking crisis had already hit, its effects were only just emerging and we hadn't yet seen the grassroots reaction to it and the subsequent revival in interest in looking beyond our current economic organisation. Now, the cliche no longer holds that it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of Capitalism.
But, this isn't a dogmatic Marxist documentary - don't worry, it's more exciting than the theoretical soup you might be scared about. It's a rollicking ride through philosophy, anchored by that matinee idol of intelligent docs, Slavoj Zizek. You'll think, you'll laugh, you'll get angry, you'll come out wondering whether we still need Marx or whether he's just someone to occasionally ponder on and then put back in the cupboard of history.
So if you're around London, go to the ICA and see what you think. Major kudos to Jason for making the doc, and to the ICA for giving a home to the thinking person's doc too.
Don't forget, by the way, that if you'd like to pitch your own politico-philosophical doc at MeetMarket, or indeed any kind of doc or factual programming at all, then MM is still open for entries til March 29th.
MeetMarket 2012 opens for entries
By Charlie Phillips 04 January, 2012
It's time - we're very excited...
The call for applications for the 2012 MeetMarket at Sheffield Doc/Fest is now open online for 3 months until Thursday 29th March here. This is your opportunity for pitching new documentary, factual and cross-platform projects to over 200 decision makers, buyers, funders and mentors in one of the world's top factual media marketplaces
MeetMarket is Doc/Fest's pitching initiative offering matchmade meetings between the world's best documentary and digital creators and the top funders and mentors who can support them. Over 2 days, those pitching can expect 15-20 meetings, all based on their requests and needs.
"MeetMarket was fantastic for us. It really gave me faith in our project - we didn’t have one meeting that wasn’t relevant or useful in some way"
"A fantastic way to meet all the people it would normally take a year to set up meetings with"
"Buzzing with excitement and anticipation, with enough space to have privacy and to talk freely. Plus great support from all the team, allowing producers to concentrate on pitching."
Previous MeetMarket Participants
In 2012, we will select approximately 65 projects to pitch, all of whom will have one-to-one meeting with key funders and decision-makers match-made and scheduled. Projects can be at any stage from early development to post-production, and don't need to have financing secured already. Producers can be from anywhere in the world and we welcome international submissions.
Projects can also be in any genre of documentary/factual, from factual entertainment through to art/installation documentaries. We also welcome cross-platform/interactive projects and those projects looking to raise finance and distribute/exhibit their projects through alternative strategies including via crowd funding and third sector. Once again, MeetMarket will feature experts in these areas for you to meet, alongside broadcasters, film funds, sales agents and distributors. The MeetMarket form for 2012 has been updated to allow more space for describing interactive and cross platform elements, outreach strategies and innovative distribution/exhibition plans
For more information on the process of applying for MeetMarket plus useful tips on the process, go here
If you're selected you are offered the opportunity to request meetings with, and pitch to, a high number of decision makers - last year 217 in total, including BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Five, ARTE France, ARTE ZDF, Irish Film Board, RTE, Ford Foundation, VPRO, YouTube, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, NHK, TRT, Tribeca Film Funds, PBS, Sundance Institute, ETV, DR TV, CBC, Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, SVT, Sky, Current TV, YLE, TG4, Dogwoof, AVRO, SBS, and many more. They represent creative documentary, science, history, arts, theatrical, online and broadcast distribution, sales agents, interactive media, and more beyond. To see the full list of who attended in 2011 look here - this list will be updated with the 2012 decision makers very soon.
MeetMarket generated millions of pounds in deals done and in negotiation in 2011, with the matchmaking personalised format meaning you can discuss your project creatively in detail. In total, there were over 1300 matchmade meetings in MeetMarket 2011. Now firmly settled in our June slot, MeetMarket will occupy an even more crucial slot in the cycle of the international funding of documentary, factual and cross-platform media.
The application process requires a synopsis, one-minute teaser, headline budget figures, and biographical information on participants. We're delighted that for the first time, teaser uploads will be powered and securely hosted by our partners at Distrify
Submissions for the the 2012 MeetMarket are subject to an administration fee of £20 plus VAT per project.
Submissions close Thursday 29th March 2011 and late applications will not be accepted. For more info on MeetMarket, and to enquire about applying and whether your projects are suitable, contact Doc/Fest's Marketplace Director Charlie Phillips at charlie@sidf.co.uk