FIDBA presents broad range of nonfiction work.
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A temple entrance in Vientaine, Laos. Photo: Rachel Gardin Mark Earlier this year, I was invited to be a film envoy for the American Film Showcase (AFS), a cultural diplomacy program sponsored by the US Department of State and managed by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, with IDA and Film Independent as partners. I would be going to Laos for two weeks as the part of the first delegation of Year 2 of the AFS. Even before I boarded a plane in Boston on a Friday this past May, I had wondered what being a film envoy really meant. I arrived in Narita Airport, Tokyo, 16 hours later, and awaited a
'Let the Film Burn' opens October 2 in New York City.
'American Promise' opens in theaters October 18 through Impact Partners.
This year's WESTDOC conference—which took place in mid-September at The Landmark Theaters in West Los Angeles—saw the best of both worlds for documentary filmmakers. Hosting conversations with prolific filmmakers such as Ondi Timoner and Rory Kennedy on one hand, while presenting panels with funding and digital distribution experts on the other, WESTDOC struck a perfect balance between the creative and business sides of documentary filmmaking. The conference covered all the steps between these two sides—starting with fundraising, an essential component of the filmmaking process. The first
'Valentine Road' premieres October 7 on HBO.
IFP's Independent Film Week, which ran September 15 through 19 in New York City, offered arguably its most diverse schedule in recent years. Blame it on the shifting landscape of independent film, or the increase in funding and distribution opportunities for documentaries—either way, the conference gave attendees the chance to fully understand how to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace. Held at the New York Public Library's Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, the annual conference was divided into five, day-long categories: "Future Forward"; "The Truth About Non-Fiction"; "Crafting
You have an idea for a great documentary. You've done your preliminary research and are almost ready to get going. But you still need funds to start the filmmaking process. So what's the best way to get this process started, and what are the different types of funding grants you can apply for? The participants on our recent panel Doc U: More Than Money—Getting Foundation Support for Your Doc, including the filmmakers from American Winter and funding experts from IDA and The Fledgling Fund, told us 5 things to keep in mind when seeking funding from foundations. 1. Develop a plan to execute your
Journalistic Privilege Prevails for Filmmakers
Documentaries seem to have latched onto the public conscience in a big way in recent years, thanks in large part to passionate filmmakers with a message, and liberal, yet discernible venues like the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute However, the entertainment/education mission of the institute doesn't end with the week-long festival in late October, where nearly 24,000 showed up last year for great films like A Tribe of His Own: The Journalism of P. Sainath (Joe Moulins, prod./dir.), and Horns and Halos (Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky, prods./dirs.; David Beilinson, prod.), on renegade