Doc/Fest - Sheffield

Take a break from all the pitching and remember why you wanted to make documentaries in the first place. Find out what works, what doesn’t and why at this hugely popular workshop, where three selected filmmakers will screen up to 10 minutes of a doc-in-progress and receive 10 minutes of directed feedback from you, the audience. Work screened here has ranged from first works from up-and-coming f...

In Jakarta, a 1972 theme park represents all 17,000 islands of Indonesia’s archipelago. Fascinated by this artifice, the directors invite you to explore and manipulate related documentary footage in a cutting edge, experimental, virtual world, weaving-in your own interpretations and context.

Can’t sleep? Take yourself to A Journal of Insomnia, a collaborative experiment where the public is invited to mortgage part of their night to experience insomnia. Perusing hundreds of first person insomniac accounts, at least you will know you are not alone…

In a live, interactive case study, a fictitious cross-platform documentary will be put before a panel of real decision-makers with the goal of assembling a finance plan that could serve as a starting point for any cross-platform project. Cross-platform producers will leave with a strong sense of where to go to begin putting together a budget, financing, and revenue plan for their next project.

Everyone wants their film to be shown on the big screen. There’s a variety of ways to achieve this in post production. Preparation is all important! Prime Focus brings you a panel of experts to explain the options for preparing documentaries for the cinema screen. Come and hear answers to questions you never knew existed. Listen to first hand stories of what to do and what to avoid. We will e...

Looking back across key European countries to the top rated/most talked about documentaries and factual successes of 2012/2013, are there current international trends in content and form, or instead very distinctive national tastes? With the economic crisis hitting so many countries, are viewer’s tastes shifting towards lighter fare? What lessons can be learnt that can help define an internatio...

Desperate to belong, Alma did what she had to do to join a Guatemalan gang: she killed someone. She was 15. This is her devastating confession. Told on the most intimate platforms, the IPad, we stroke her face to navigate, struggling to decide whether she’s a monster or a victim.

Easter Eggs Live was a unique, multiplatform nature series, and a first for both science and TV. It welcomed viewers into the weird and wonderful world of eggs like never before. And thanks to around-the-clock live streams, its digital presence was used to grow the broadcast audience into the millions. In a discussion with its digital and TV producers and funders we will dissect how Easter Eggs...

Our vision is to aid blind people with an adapted smartphone app. We see it as the modern way to beat isolation through a tweet five mates, being able to tell them you are pissed off (p'ed off, if you prefer) and arrange to meet up.

As the field of documentary outreach matures from one where stories merely "raise awareness” to one where they may seed direct action, hear from three world-renowned impact producers and social engagement strategists, Lina Srivastava, Jennifer Macarthur, and Patricia Finneran, about the need and benefits to proactively plan and execute impact strategies for social issue films during production ...

Join award-winning producer John Battsek, Executive Producer of BAFTA and Oscar-winning Searching for Sugarman and the BAFTA-winning The Imposter for a masterclass on the craft of producing feature documentaries. John will discuss his process of shepherding films to the big screen, talking through how he finds projects and works with both established international and first time filmmakers to g...

Do filmmakers get paid for festival screenings? And do festival programmers play favourites? Which festivals are worth applying to, and what are the dos and don’ts of submitting to a festival? Is a film festival even the right place to premiere your documentary? And do programmers watch all of the DVDs they receive? In this must-catch session, leading festival programmers and seasoned filmmaker...

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines’ 94 million citizens live under frequent threats from natural disasters. This immersive documentary tells how Filipino slum-dwellers embrace scientific solutions to fight flooding. Built using Storyplanet, which creates interactive narratives from simple building-blocks, it demonstrates how effective story-telling needn’t be big budget.

Selling your film on the international market is difficult enough without having to spend an additional £3-8k to reversion it because the music and archive isn’t cleared for world wide all media. Our panel brings leading international distributor Zodiak Rights and Getty Archive together to walk you through the process of acquiring a film and getting it ready for international sales.
Producers...

Australian co-productions are still a widely unknown territory for many potential partners, here and there. They cover indeed a quite complex blend of opportunities, constraints and traps, regardless of where a project is coming from. This session tries to explore, through the contribution of European and Australian producers as well as the main Australian broadcasters, what are the experiences...

Looking for answers on how you can monetise quality content online when you're competing with dancing kittens and teen-age makeup tips? Come hear from experts that run the platforms, networks and services that can make your videos win online. Get tips on what works and what doesn't and learn how to work with the pros in this emerging space.

This time we’re whisking our panelists away to dream up their desert island docs, and share with us what inspires them, both on their own channel and others. Through their choices, you’ll get to understand what makes them tick, and have the facility to ask questions about what they are looking for.

How do you engage, inform and entertain a young audience active on the internet and social media with potentially a short attention span? Focusing on recent audience successes from the UK and other European countries, our panelists will look at some of the common elements they respond to well providing insights into opportunities for factual producers to explore further.

This session will be focused on discussing convergence and its impact on new content experiences. It will be looking at the current challenges that come with developing converged formats including audience behavior, discoverability and user interfaces. Including lessons learnt and practical key takeaways to consider when designing content for next generation devices such as Connected TVs.

Crowdfunding is entering its 2nd age, let’s explore what’s new. Is the money raised still going up or is contributor fatigue setting in? What’s the impact now on distribution and traditional funding?

Located in North Kena, Dadaab is the world’s largest refugee camp, home to half a million people. FilmAid is helping the refugees tell their stories through video, photography, poetry, music and journalism. Simple, direct and effective, the beautiful design pulls you into the lives of a people trapped in limbo.

The director’s role is becoming more fragmented in some factual programmes. Programmes are increasingly made to conform to strict pre-set formats with less room for distinct and innovative authors’ voices, with filming and post-production split between individual directors and edit producers. What impact does this have on the quality of programmes and the careers and skills of directors? Direct...

Off screen, Britain’s institutions – from the NHS to the police - are increasingly facing a crisis of trust. Many have responded by inviting camera crews in to offer a closer insight into their inner workings resulting in hit shows such as Keeping Britain Alive, Britain Behind Bars and Coppers. Do such collaborations offer an important corrective to a cynical mistrust in institutions, or is th...

Several highly experienced and passionate professionals will offer invaluable tips on how to get over tech (yes tech!) barriers which are stopping you from managing your media asset, growing your business and ensuring your shows have better chances of being shown around the world.

Dr Rebekka Kill will perform Facebook is like Disco and Twitter is like Punk. This has been performed at several ideas festivals and can be found on her blog

Napoleon once warned against waking the sleeping giant. He was talking about China, but the entire Far East that is waking from its apparent documentary slumber. In this panel we will look at the rapidly changing documentary scene in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and, of course, China. A bewildering number of doors are opening, but on which ones should you knock? What are they looking for? Is ...

This BBC Academy workshop is for you if you make films or documentaries for broadcast and never want to miss a sequence. Or maybe you make films for the web and want to maximise the amazing camera in your pocket? The BBC Academy’s Samantha Upton shares the expertise that BBC journalists use to capture stories on the go. This practical workshop gives current BBC best practice in recording, editi...

How much do filmmakers really get paid? Where does the money go? Who gets it? By examining the financial models for filmmaking in both North America and Europe, the panel will reveal just how films get financed and who gets the money. What are the differences between territories and who benefits the most. The panelists will reveal the real budgets, cost reports and financing deals on their pro...

Documentary makers are increasingly looking outside of the traditional 'broadcast commission' and turning to Foundations to help them produce their films. These Foundations have become important players in the international documentary industry, having helped to make some of the most acclaimed films of the last decade. Featuring panelists from some of the biggest Foundations, this session will ...