The critically-acclaimed documentary I Am will have its television debut on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network's "Super Soul Sunday," New Year's Day, Sunday, January 1 (8-11:00 a.m. ET/PT, with an encore airing at noon ET/PT).  The documentary will also be available on DVD from Gaiam on January 3 wherever DVDs are sold.

Written and Directed by Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor), I Am engages some of today's most inspired minds in a quest to answer two practical and provocative questions: "What's wrong with the world" and "What can we do about it?"  Inspired by the painful aftermath of a cycling accident, Shadyac sets out on a twenty-first century quest for enlightenment, interviewing remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, academia and faith--including such luminaries as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Lynne McTaggart, Ray Anderson, John Francis, Coleman Barks and Marc Ian Barasch.

In the January 1st New Year's Day "Super Soul Sunday" programming block titled "What's Right with the World," Oprah Winfrey first talks with Shadyac in an eye-opening interview from The Oprah Winfrey Show about the life-altering event that inspired him to leave his Beverly Hills lifestyle behind.  Following the interview will be the world television premiere of Shadyac's film I Am.  Afterward, Oprah features the story of the boy she couldn't forget and a rescue mission that stretched across an ocean. Finally, SoulPancake presents their latest short film: "Pop Your Problems."

Location Name:  OWN

The "So You Think You Can Pitch" session at the 2012 RealScreen Summit takes place on January 31, offering brave producers the opportunity to pitch their projects to a panel of discerning industry judges. Now, producers and filmmakers have until Friday, January 6, 2012, to submit their projects. Prizes include a pass to the 2013 Realscreen Summit, a one-year subscription to CableU and a GoPro HD Helmet HERO Camera.
The session, sponsored by CABLEready, provides an invaluable experience for participants as well as great entertainment and learning value for producers and broadcasters in attendance.
Judges confirmed for the competition include Simon Andreae, SVP development and production, West Coast, for Discovery Channel; Bridget Whalen Hunnicutt, SVP of global development and production for National Geographic Channel; Gary Lico, president and CEO of CABLEready; and Brandon Riegg,vice president, alternative programming & development, NBC and Universal Television.

 

To submit your project go to http://summit.realscreen.com/2012/pitchit/index.cgi!

Location Name:  Realscreen

Address: Toronto, Ontario

Working Films, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, announces Reel Aging: Real Change, an initiative that will tie compelling documentary films and transmedia projects that explore aging to ongoing policy work and grassroots campaigns supporting older populations globally. This new initiative will bring together media makers and advocates of elder rights for a residency and collaborative campaign that will offer audiences a unique way to reflect on how the aging process affects multiple generations all at once, as we head towards a future we all face - growing older.

We are seeking applications from media makers for participation in Reel Aging: Real Change. All nonfiction projects that explore the aging experience are eligible to apply, and applicants may be at any stage of production or distribution, from new and completed projects to works-in-progress.

Reel Aging: Real Change will begin with a four-day residency for the accepted media makers held from March 23 - 26, 2012 near Washington, DC. On Tuesday, March 27, the media makers will present their projects to regional, national and global NGOs, funders, government agencies, activists, and policy makers - all leaders in the field of aging who have a track record of supporting elder rights, respect and health. The goal: to embed the film and media projects into on-the-ground efforts by the advocates in the room. Hosted in Washington, DC in collaboration with the Center for Social Media at American University, this day-long strategic convening will launch a collaborative campaign between the participating media makers and the NGOs and foundations.

The central idea behind Reel Aging: Real Change is that organizers and advocates need numerous media tools to enliven their efforts for progressive change: poignant first-person feature-length narratives, concise shorts highlighting human struggles and triumphs, and "buzz" on multiple platforms - including social media networks. Authentic change and real transformation of the status quo requires many types of stories that can catalyze action by audiences, constituents and those entrusted with decision-making.

Reel Aging will transform competition into collaboration between eight to ten teams of selected social issue documentary and media makers. At the residency they will sharpen their strategies for audience and community engagement and brainstorm about a collaborative campaign featuring the full group of participating projects. Participants will identify target audiences and develop tactics to reach them through non-traditional outreach and distribution, including interactive technologies and social media.

On day five the residents will start to develop collaborative relationships with funders, government agencies, and advocacy organizations. Each project team will leave the retreat with a series of next-steps and commitments with the convened allies. Each organization and foundation will leave the convening with new films and media they can embed into their short and long-term strategies to support concrete change.

After the residency, Working Films will aggregate and capture the collective energy of the participating media makers and the NGOs to design an integrated, multi-tier campaign that will:  

• Strengthen the voice of older adults and more actively involve them in advocating on their own and others behalf,
  Extend and protect the rights of older adults to health and economic security through policy change, and
  Sustain the capacity of organizations focused on aging issues to respond to future challenges.

Application Deadline:  January 6, 2012

Registration Fee: NONE. The residency includes lodging, meals, and materials. Participants are responsible for covering their own travel; stipends are available.

Location Name:  Working Films

Address: Wilmington, NC

Louder Than a Bomb, by Jon Siskel and Greg Jacobs, chronicles four teams as they compete in the Chicago area teen poetry slam. Hopeful and heartbreaking, the film captures the tempestuous lives of these young poets, exploring ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa. This is not just "high school poetry"; this is language as a joyful release, irrepressibly talented teenagers obsessed with making words dance.

Location Name:  OWN

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is hosting the second annual Big Sky International Documentary Pitch Session on February 23, 2012. The pitch will take place as part of Big Sky Doc Shop (Feb 21-24), a four day non-fiction industry forum during the ninth annual film festival.

Entry Fee: $25

Submission Deadline: January 6, 2012

Filmmakers have the opportunity to pitch their work-in-progress(WIP)documentaries to some of the top commissioning editors and funders for documentary film in North America. All documentary forms and all subjects are eligible to submit. Commissioning editors will critique and comment on each pitch. A maximum of 15 projects will be accepted to pitch in this session. Potential participants should submit a brief (250 words maximum) project summary and an additional one-paragraph project status report. A short (5 minutes maximum) sample reel of the work-in-progress may be submitted (via vimeo, youtube.com, blip.tv, etc.) in addition to the written application. Selected projects will have 20 minutes to pitch their project and show a short sample (if available) for the panel. Selected projects will be required to pay an additional $75 to participate, and will be notified of their acceptance by January 11, 2012.

Confirmed participants include: Diane Weyermann (Executive Vice President, Documentary Films, Participant Media), Yance Ford (Series Producer, POV/The American Documentary), and Reva Goldberg (Communications and Fellowships Manager at Cinereach).

Enter via Withoutabox.com.

The official submission deadline for the Non Violence International Film Festival (NVIFF) is set for January 6, 2012, as organizers prepare for the March event.

Now in its 3rd season, NVIFF celebrates the artistic expression of non violence in all forms. With seven film categories (student, short and feature animated, short and feature documentary, short and feature live action), NVIFF will be holding its festival from March 8 until 10 in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. NVIFF will continue to accept films through an extended deadline until January 20, 2012.

"As the only international film festival dedicated strictly to the idea of non violence, this year’s event will continue to challenge concepts of discrimination and the impact of violence on peoples’ lives," says Steve Cross, founder and director of NVIFF. "This year’s festival will educate and inspire viewers."

Filmmakers selected to participate in this year’s festival will be notified by February 1, 2012.To learn more about NVIFF, including sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.nviff.com or contact kdias@nviff.com.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 130,000 attendees each year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries.  The festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Bridges, Danny Boyle, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Colin Firth, Ron Howard, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman and Kate Winslet.

The John Schlesinger Award for outstanding first documentary feature acknowledges the work of a first-time filmmaker whose documentary is presented in any section of the Festival.  The films will be judged by Mark Jonathan Harris, three-time Oscar-winning documentary director of Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, The Long Way Home, and The Redwoods; Oliver Ike, director of theatrical and non-theatrical sales at Seventh Art Releasing; and Michael Lumpkin, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (IDA). 

Location Name:  Palm Springs International Film Festival

Address: Palm Springs, CA

Truly CA, KQED's showcase for the best documentaries about the Golden State, has announced a call for entries for feature documentaries. Truly CA is looking for well-crafted stories featuring compelling characters - stories that are provocative, passionate, and unforgettable. Not only do we want well-told stories, we're interested in well-made films - works that are both thought-provoking and eye-opening.

Truly CA films must be about California in some way - not just taking place in California. The films must also be primarily shot in California, and preferably made by California's talented, independent, documentary filmmakers.

The deadline to submit your feature-length documentary to Truly CA Season Eight: Entries must arrive at KQED by Monday, January 9, 2012 at 5pm - this is not a postmark deadline.

Get more information and download the application at Call for Entries.

Regarded as the most effective international documentary market in North America, the Hot Docs Forum (formerly the Toronto Documentary Forum) is a dynamic pitching event that stimulates international co-production financing for projects at various levels of completion.

The Hot Docs Forum is a two-day, limited-seating event. Focused around a slate of pre-selected international project presentations showcased in front of a round table of commissioning editors, programming executives and delegates from around the globe, the Hot Docs Forum's intimate and intense format has proven extremely successful in building international partnerships and raising additional financing for both presenting and observing producers.

Hot Docs Forum 2012

May 2 & 3, 2012

Hart House
7 Hart House Circle
University of Toronto

Project Submissions Open: November 16, 2011
Project Submissions Deadline: January 11, 2012

To submit your project now, please review our Hot Docs Forum Project Submissions Guidelines.

 

Location Name:  Hot Docs

Address: Toronto, Ontario

The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking were founded in late 2007 to recognize and honor exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film. Cinema Eye's mission has been to advocate for, recognize and promote the highest commitment to rigor and artistry in the nonfiction field.

Location Name:  Museum of the Moving Image

Address: New York City, NY

The Division of Public Programs offers support for a wide range of public humanities programs that engage citizens in thoughtful reflection upon culture, identity and history. Projects must be well grounded in scholarship and illuminate ideas and insights central to the humanities.

Grants for America’s Media Makers support projects in a range of formats, including interactive digital media and radio and television programs that engage the public in the humanities and explore stories, ideas, and beliefs in order to deepen our understanding of our lives and our world. Projects should encourage dialogue, discussion, and civic engagement, and they should foster learning among people of all ages. To that end, the Division of Public Programs urges applicants to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public.

NEH offers two categories of grants for media projects: development grants and production grants.

Development grants enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and format and to prepare programs for production. These grants cover a wide range of activities that include, but are not limited to, meetings and individual consultations with scholars, research, preliminary interviews, preparation of program scripts, designs for interactivity and digital distribution, and the creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement with the humanities. Development grants should culminate in the refinement of a project’s humanities ideas, and in a script or a design document for (or a prototype of) digital media components or projects. Development grants should also yield a detailed plan for outreach and public engagement, in collaboration with a partner organization (or organizations).

A sample narrative from a successful development grant application is available under the Program Resources section of the sidebar on the first page of the guidelines. You may request additional samples by sending an e-mail message to publicpgms@neh.gov. Read more. 

Production grants support the production and distribution of digital media projects, radio and television programs, and related programs that promise to engage the public. Applicants must submit a prototype or storyboard for a digital media project, or a script for a radio or television program, that demonstrates a solid command of the humanities ideas and scholarship related to a subject. Some production grant projects are designated as Chairman’s Special Award projects. These projects are more complex and would be of compelling interest to the general public; they have the capacity to examine important humanities ideas in new ways and promise to reach large audiences. These goals can often be accomplished through combining a variety of program formats, forming creative collaborations among diverse institutions, and expanding the scope and reach of a project. Note that the Chairman’s Special Award is offered only at the production stage, but not at the development stage. See application guidelines for Production Grants.

Applications that respond to NEH’s Bridging Cultures initiative are welcome. Read more.

For the past 17 years, the Los Angeles Film Festival has been a preeminent cinematic event, showcasing the world's best independent features, including premieres of smash-hits The Devil Wears Prada and Sunshine.  The festival connects the movie-loving public to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent in the heart of Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.

The festival features unique signature programs including the Filmmaker Retreat, Ford Amphitheater Outdoor Screenings, Poolside Chats, and more. Additionally, the festival screens short films created by high school students and has a special section devoted to music videos.

The Los Angeles Film Festival is produced by Film Independent, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to promoting and supporting independent films and filmmakers. Film Independent produces the acclaimed Spirit Awards, honoring vanguard films that embody innovation and originality.

For submission guidelines, click here.

Location Name:  Film Independent

Address: Los Angeles, CA

The Peabody Awards is issuing a call for entries for its 71st annual ceremony, recognizing excellence, distinguished achievement, and meritorious public service in electronic media.

The entry deadline is January 13, 2012, and is open to original broadcast, cablecast and webcast programs presented in 2011. The online application can be found at www.peabody.uga.edu.

The Peabody Awards competition, presented by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, recognizes distinguished achievement and public service by television and radio stations, broadcast and cable.

The Peabody Awards will be presented in May 2012.

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary festival, conference and market. Each year, the Festival presents a selection of more than 150 cutting-edge documentaries from Canada and around the globe. Through its industry programs, Hot Docs also provides a full range of professional development, market and networking opportunities for documentary professionals.

Film submissions to the Hot Docs 2012 official program are now being accepted. The guidelines below are subject to change without notice. The next edition of Hot Docs takes place April 26 to May 6, in Toronto, Canada.

• Final Film Submission Deadline: January 13, 2012

Please consult the submissions FAQ page for additional information. Please note that submission guidelines for Hot Docs 2012 are subject to change without notice.

 

Location Name:  Hot Docs

Address: Toronto, Ontario

Firmly ensconced in the geeky pantheon of computer legends since high school, Richard Garriott can afford to pursue his dreams - even the wildly improbable ones. For instance, following in his astronaut father's footsteps. NASA won't take you because of bad eyes? No problem! Pioneer your own private space industry and buy a $30 million seat on a Russian Soyuz. Richly funny and invigorating, Man on a Mission,  directed by Mike Woolf and produced by Brady Dial, tags along with Richard on his years-long quest to be the second Garriott into space. And maybe come back.

Location Name:  Cinema Village

Address: New York City, NY

Frederick Wiseman's film is a stark and graphic portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Titicut Follies documents the various ways the inmates are treated by the guards, social workers and psychiatrists.

"Titicut Follies is a documentary film that tells you more than you could possibly want to know - but no more than you should know - about life behind the walls of one of those institutions where we file and forget the criminal insane... A society's treatment of the least of its citizens - and surely these are the least of ours - is perhaps the best measure of its civilization. The repulsive reality revealed in Titicut Follies forces us to contemplate our capacity for callousness." -Richard Schickel, Life

 

Frederick Wiseman will participate in a Q&A following the screening.

 

Location Name:  IFC Center

Address: 323 6th Avenue & 3rd Street, New York City, New York

Packed mainly into December, Stranger Than Fiction screens seven films co-presented with DOC NYC's "Short List" section. See all these award contenders for FREE with the purchase of a STF Winter Season pass; or purchase tickets to individual shows.

The films and dates are as follows. All shows begin at 8pm:

PINA (in 3-D)
Mon. Dec. 12

Battle for Brooklyn
Tues. Dec. 13

Semper Fi: Always Faithful
Wed. Dec 14

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Thurs. Dec. 15

Buck
Mon. Dec. 19

Undefeated
Tues. Dec. 20

The Interrupters
Thurs. Jan. 12

Titicut Follies
Tues. Jan. 17

The official Winter Season will run Jan. 31 - March 20. Buy a Season Pass now, and get all 15 films for $100 ($80 for IFC members), free popcorn at all shows, and a free DVD from Docurama.

Location Name:  IFC Center

Address: 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street, New York, NY

Inside Paris's Crazy Horse cabaret--the most famous nude dance show in the world. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman explores one of the most mythic and colorful places dedicated to women, the Crazy Horse--a legendary Parisian cabaret club, founded in 1951 by Alain Bernardin. Over the years it has become the Parisian nightlife "must" for visitors, ranking alongside the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Wiseman's impeccable eye finds the Crazy Horse a uniquely French showcase, with an emphasis on elegance, perfectionism and a grueling schedule (two shows a night and three on Saturdays, seven days a week). The film shows us the rehearsals for and the unveiling of the brand new show-Désir--created by the renowned French choreographer Philippe Decouffle.

Location Name:  Film Forum

Address: New York City, NY

The Boyle Heights Latina Independent Film Extravaganza (BHLIFE) has extended its submission deadline. The new deadline is January 18, 2012.

BHLIFE is a celebration of Latinas, their voices and their visions. The mission of the festival is to build a network of Latina filmmakers that will draw attention to the growing number of Latinas working behind the camera. The films of these Latinas constitute a body of work that acts as a powerful statement against the stereotypical portrayals of Latinas on screen. The festival will take place March 2-4, 2012 in celebration of International Women's Day.

To request a SUBMISSION FORM for the 2012 Festival please email us at bhlife.festival@gmail.com.

Each year the Sundance Film Festival selects 200 films for exhibition from more than 9,000 submissions. More than 50,000 people attend screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah. In addition to discovering filmmaking's newest talent through the Festival's program of documentary, dramatic, and short films, Festivalgoers experience live music performances, panel discussions with leading filmmakers and industry figures, cutting-edge media installations, parties celebrating the Festival community, and more.

Location Name:  Sundance Film Festival

Address: Park City, UT

Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging independent artists and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of their vision. We accept films in every genre, on any topic from every country around the world. The festival program is selected from 100 percent blind submissions and we do not disqualify any films based on premiere status or date of completion.

Location Name:  Slamdance

Address: Park City, UT

A special program organized in conjunction with the exhibition Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World. Hosted by Edward James Olmos, actor, producer, director and community activist, and curated by Marlene Dermer, co-director of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), this two-day film program explores themes from the exhibition through cinema.

On January 21, the program includes a fascinating selection of feature films followed by a roundtable discussion with some of the directors and actors (the roundtable discussion starts at 6:45 p.m., after the last film of the day).

On January 22, a series of compelling shorts and documentaries will be screened. 

Bing Theater | Free, tickets required | Please refer to each film below to reserve your tickets.

Location Name:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art--Bing Theater

Address: Los Angeles, CA

Attracting producers and broadcasters from over 20 countries actively pursuing partnerships, History Makers International brings together the world's best program makers to share their insights on this year's significant events affecting programming, while also looking forward to future trends in history, archives, and investigative and social issue programming. Once again this year, we are pleased to offer digital media sessions from nextMEDIA, Canada's premiere digital conference, which will equip you with knowledge of the newest digital innovations. Also, again this year, the History Makers International program will feature the History Makers Awards, bringing you the very best in history, archives, current affairs and social issue programming.

With an American presidential election just around the corner, the 100-year anniversary of WW1 on the horizon, the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and current democratic uprisings and unrest in many parts of the world, 2012 is sure to be a busy year for program makers. History Makers International provides sessions on the geo-political changes that are engaging the public and broadcasters worldwide.

Location Name:  Millennium Broadway Hotel

Address: New York City, NY

The Realscreen Summit is the most important nonfiction film and television industry event. Now in its 14th year, this highly anticipated annual event is dedicated to the development of business and creative opportunities for those in nonfiction and factual programming and content creation. In partnership with realscreen magazine, the ongoing mandate is to identify the best new ideas, recognize top industry talent, offer the forum for discussion and debate, explore issues and uncover trends and ultimately create an international network of connected individuals leading to business growth and career development.

Location Name:  Renaissance Washington DC Hotel

Address: 999 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC 20001

The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund is the first European-based outreach and engagement fund, and is open to filmmakers from around the world.

Films have inspired people to engage and to act. They have led to changes in law, policy and practice. They have led viewers to question the status quo and to care more about their communities and the world around them. They have affected the way people give and/or invest money.

But for a film to achieve all this, it needs a structured outreach and audience engagement plan, and the capacity to implement it.

The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund is a joint initiative between The Bertha Foundation and the BRITDOC Foundation.

The fund is looking to support smart, strategic outreach campaigns for ambitious independent documentary films with a social issue at their core; films which have the ability to achieve real change on a local, regional or global level.

Social impact can be achieved in a myriad of ways and we are looking for outreach plans that engage audiences, have identifiable goals and partners to help achieve them.

Grants will be in the range of £5,000 – £50,000.

Applications can come at the planning, trial, delivery or evaluation stage of a campaign. Films can apply more than once, for different parts or phases of a campaign.

There will be two application rounds per year.

The next round closes at 6pm UK time on January 31st 2012. There will be no deadline extensions.

For example our funds could support:

• Funding a strategic summit with potential partners including media, NGOs Foundations and Campaigners, to identify target audiences and brainstorm how best to use the film to augment existing campaign strategies.
• The development and production of school curriculum packs.
• Support for design and build of innovative online tools to enhance audience engagement.
• Funding for the re-versioning of the feature documentary into shorts, which could be used on multiple platforms including online and on mobile devices.
• Funding for strategic screening tours: through schools, universities and relevant community groups, for political or corporate lobbying.
• Support for an outreach staffer to action the outreach plan, book the screening tour and act as point person between the filmmakers and NGO partners.
• Support for evaluation analysis, capturing data on the social impact of the film.

The Call for Entries for the Red Rock Film Festival of Zion Canyon is open and the entry fee is just $11 until January 2012! Held beneath the red rocks of Zion National Park in culturally unaware* Southern Utah, the tiny international 6th Annual Red Rock Film Festival comes back in November of 2012 with more excellent programming that will both challenge and educate the mind. In 2011, the festival screened 144 films!

The Xtreme sports docs and off-the-charts dramatic features make for surprising accessories to the festival’s staple of humanity-themed documentaries and foreign film.

The festival boasts a strict "no back-door" fairness policy directing all competition entrants, including friends and "high-profile" films to submit online and get in line like everyone else. Judges in the Documentary categories have included Oscar nominee Adrian Belic, Oscar nominee Mia Iskander, Oscar winner Steven Okazaki and several others.

ENTRY FEES & DEADLINES
Early Bird Deadline: January 31, 2012, $16
Quadruple Chance Deadline: February 28, 2012, $20, $16 Student
Triple Chance Deadline: March 31, 2012, $25, $20 Student
Double Chance Deadline: April 30, 2012, $30, $25 Student
Regular Deadline: May 31, 2012, $40, $35 Student
Late Deadline: June 30, 2012, $50, $45 Student

You may enter on withoutabox or link to our online form.

*Meaning, this is the place where audiences NEED to hear your message. Plus the filmmaker hikes in the Canyons are the icing on the cake!