The 16th Los Angeles International Short Film Festival LA Shorts Fest is now accepting film submissions. Running September 6th - 13th, the Festival is accepting submissions through Friday, July 6, 2012.

The LA Shorts Fest is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and is the only film festival with six awards categories recognized by the Academy, including Best of Fest, Foreign Film, Drama, Comedy, Animation, and Experimental. In the past, 41 films to come out of LA Shorts Fest have received Oscar® nominations, with 12 winning the coveted Oscar® statue. The Festival annually attracts more than 7,000 moviegoers, filmmakers and entertainment professionals looking for the hottest new talent.

Submit online by July 6 to be considered for this year's batch of high-quality shorts!

To see all the photos from this event, visit us on Facebook.

In this increasingly globalized world, more and more documentary filmmakers are finding themselves traveling to all parts of the globe to get their story. Just last year, American filmmakers whose work was nominated at the 27th annual IDA Documentary Awards traveled as far afoot as Afghanistan, Liberia, Japan, and China, to name a few. As these filmmakers and many others can probably verify, shooting in a foreign country can be intimidating, frustrating, and rife with problems for even the most experienced filmmaker. But with the right preparation and local partners, filming overseas can be the experience of a lifetime.

It was only appropriate that our Doc U panel Shooting Overseas: Making Your Doc on Foreign Soil would be featured at the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Locations Show, which took place June 15 and 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. On the afternoon of June 15, we gathered doc filmmakers who have traveled the globe and film commissioners who make filming in their countries as straightforward as possible to discuss their experiences in their respective fields.

The panel was moderated by IDA Board Member Senain Kheshgi (Project Kashmir) and included filmmakers Laura Nix (The Light In Her Eyes (Syria)), Amanda Pope, co-director with Tchavdar Georgiev of The Desert of Forbidden Art (Uzbekistan & Russia), Till Schauder (The Iran Job (Iran)) and Katherine Fairfax Wright (Call Me Kuchu (Uganda)). The filmmakers were joined by George David, General Manager of The Royal Film Commission in Jordan, and Thandeka Zwana, Production & Development Executive at the National Film and Video Foundation in South Africa.

Introducing the panel was Mary Nelson, president of the AFCI and a film commissioner herself in her home state of Virginia. She spoke to the importance of the AFCI, a nonprofit educational association with members from around the world who serve as commissioners for their governmental jurisdictions, whether city, county, state, or regional. AFCI's Locations Show, the film industry's premier arena for bringing together filmmaking professionals, was organized this year with the goal of ensuring that the production community could have access to everything film commissions have to offer, including incentives, locations, and supportive services essential to a high industry-wide performance standard.

Ms. Nelson next handed over the mic to Senain Kheshgi, producer of several documentaries including How to Hold a Flag, The First Year, and the aforementioned Project Kashmir. With all the projects she has produced both at home and abroad, she admitted, she never once has enlisted the help of a film commissioner. "Documentary filmmakers have such an indie spirit," she emphasized, with most of them preferring to work on their own. Actually, none of the filmmakers on the panel had ever actually sought out the help of a film commission either. Senain asked each filmmaker to explain why they hadn't chosen to go that route, and whether they were happy with the shooting process while working on overseas.

Starting with Till Schauder and his Los Angeles Film Festival-selected project The Iran Job, Kheshgi asked him how he got started shooting in a country known for its aversion to foreign journalists. Schauder tried to get a journalist visa because initially, the film was supported by HBO Real Sports. Problems arose, however, when HBO was unable to insure their crew because of an embargo with Iran. That roadblock lead them to enter the country as tourists, which put the film on a totally different trajectory. Having to hide and contain all of their equipment so it didn't appear to be a professional operation, Schauder and his small crew had just a tiny camera, a wireless mic and a clip-on mic. This set up worked out better than it would have with a ton of heavy equipment, he said, because it made them much less obtrusive.

One of the more difficult things, Schauder admitted, was not being able to divulge the full story he was filming to anyone. The sensitive nature of some of the things he was capturing on camera - for example, unmarried women visiting a man in his apartment without supervision and openly discussing sex, politics, and religion - lead him to keep most of his project under wraps. The basketball team he spent the most time with, however, was extremely supportive of his work, giving him access to their apartments before a game, the courts during gameplay, and the locker room after a victory.

On to Katherine Fairfax Wright, the Columbia University grad who already has a number credits under her belt. Her latest film, also an official LAFF selection, is Call Me Kuchu, a chronicle of the LGBT activist community in Uganda. Much like Schauder, Wright and her small team did not use a film commissioner. They didn't have much prep time, but they were able to secure media passes. She admitted that while she was happy with her crew, a database or open communication with a government officer might have been helpful to her and her team.

Again, much like Schauder's project, Wright was documenting a very sensitive issue in Uganda, where the new Anti-Homosexuality Bill would mean that HIV-positive gay men could be killed and those who fail to turn in an openly homosexual individual face a prison sentence. It was for this reason that she knew she would be filming behind closed doors for much of her time in the country, but obtained the media pass for occasional on-the-street filming. When describing the project to officials and locals, Wright and her team didn't hide the fact that they were following the gay community, but they also didn't entirely disclose it either. This is because although there is some sense of freedom of the press in Uganda, the filmmaking crew wanted to go to lengths to insure the safety of their subjects.

Laura Nix, whose film The Light in Her Eyes was shot at a Qur'an school for women and girls in Syria, decided to enter the country on a tourist visa--since there is no freedom of the press in this country, a media pass just wasn't a possibility. They lied to most people and said they were shooting a wedding, an effective diversion since a lot of weddings are sex-segregated. Of her own admission, "people tend to not take you seriously (in Syria) if you are a woman." When they were on the street, they used their Canon 5D camera so as not to be conspicuous. All of their equipment was in backpacks or otherwise disguised, allowing them move around with their all-women crew without drawing too much attention or suspicion.

For various reasons, filmmaker and USC professor Amanda Pope's The Desert of Forbidden Art (co-directed by Tchavdar Georgiev) took six years to make. They felt that their biggest initial challenge was learning something about the culture they were entering. They also hit a roadblock when they tried to work with a film commission, who wanted to charge her and Georgiev $200 a day to film there in Uzbekistan. After trying to work with a film commission and choosing to instead work on their own, they had to stay under the radar and work very privately. She emphasized the importance of field producers, who along with her her co-director could help navigate the unfamiliar territories.

After all the filmmakers had their chance to speak, the film commissioners were asked to describe a bit about their organizations. Thandeka Zwana, the Production & Development Executive at the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) in South Africa, spoke to how her organization acted as a mother figure for the three film commissions in South Africa. NFVF would be the first stop when someone wants to shoot in South Africa, a location coveted by dozens of narrative and non-fiction filmmakers from inside South Africa and beyond. While Zwana mostly works with narrative features, she also has a counterpart for documentary filmmaking, which lately they are trying to encourage. She made a point of mentioning that South Africa is fiercely protective of its citizens’ freedom of speech, which means that those seeking to work with NFVF wouldn't have to deal with any interference from them in terms of content.

Moving over to the only actual film commissioner on the panel, the General Manager of The Royal Film Commission in Jordan David George admitted that not many films have come out of Jordan. One of the main reasons for forming this commission was to nurture and advance the local film industry through various efforts, including a film school that focuses on documentary filmmaking, a film fund with a special section for docs, as well as massive incentives for filming in the country. In fact, George insisted, documentaries are even more advanced than narrative filmmaking in Jordan. The main goal of the Royal Film Commission, he emphasized, was to promote expression through films. And that can only be done through a lenient content policy and adequate financial support.

The audience was next allowed to ask questions, including how to find the films discussed and what happens to the subjects after a film is released they are filmed discussing a sensitive subject. After the panel, commissioners, filmmakers and industry professionals mingled in the conference room and hopped from booth to booth at within the convention center, speaking with representatives from as close as Ventura and as far as Morocco.

The IDA was so happy to be a part of this exciting show, and we hope to work with the great people at the AFCI some time soon!

The IDA is proud to announce that it has partnered with the Games for Change Festival to present its 9th edition on June 18-20, 2012. Founded in 2004, Games for Change (G4C) facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts. Unlike the commercial gaming industry, G4C aims to leverage entertainment and engagement for social good. To further grow the field, G4C convenes multiple stakeholders, highlights best practices, incubates games, and helps create and direct investment into new projects.

The Festival, which will take place at NYU’s Skirball Center, will kick-off its Opening Day of June 19 with keynotes including leading games for change evangelist Jane McGonigal (Author of the New York Times Best-Seller Reality Is Broken and Chief Creative Officer for SuperBetter Labs) and the legendary Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari Corporation and Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater and frequently acknowledged as the father of the video game industry. Bookending the final day will be leading linguist and researcher Dr. James Paul Gee (as presented by the Games for Learning Institute) and a closing program with Lucy Bradshaw (General Manager, Maxis/EA) and Michael D. Gallagher (President/CEO, Entertainment Software Association).

Festival tickets are only available until June 8. This Festival sold out in 2011, so take the time to register now and avoid missing out on amazing speakers and great events.

Find them on Facebook and Twitter for updates and things to watch out for at #G4C12!

The IDA is pleased to announce that it has signed on as an official presenter of the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival, running from June 6 to June 10 at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2009, The Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the commercial and culture exchange between Hollywood and Brazil. Its mission is to create a bridge between the international film community and Brazil, raise public awareness of Brazilian culture, and cultivate production and financing opportunities for international productions shooting in Brazil. Now in its fourth year, the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival is a five-day free event that will celebrate the preeminent in contemporary Brazilian independent cinema.

The 20 films in the "IndieBrasil Competition" will highlight multi-award-winning talent from the four corners of Brazil, offering Angelenos a rare opportunity to discover the latest and best in Brazilian independent productions. This year, the 4th edition adds the Documentary Competition, a new category to promote the Los Angeles premieres of stellar Brazilian non-fiction cinema. Most directors will be in attendance to discuss their work with the audience during post-screening Q&A sessions.

For screening schedules, volunteer information, and other inquiries please visit their official website. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @HollywoodBrazil.

We are pleased to announce that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has provided the IDA with a $10,000 grant through their Institutional Grants Program, 2012-2013. The generous funding will help the IDA make Doc U On The Road happen once again.

In 2011, Doc U traveled to Brooklyn and Washington, DC, where panelists explored whether a documentary film could change the world. This year, we will be drawing on a variety of themes and asking you, our faithful community, to decide what you would like to hear discussed by a curated panel of experts from the field.

This is the third year in a row that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is funding the Doc U program outside of its home in Los Angeles, and we’re excited for the opportunity to reach audiences beyond Southern California once again.

We cannot thank The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences enough for believing in IDA’s mission and for their ongoing support and generosity.

Stay tuned to see if Doc U is coming to a city near you!

The IDA is proud to announce that not one but four films from our fiscal sponsorship program have been accepted into the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. Mai Iskander's Words of Witness, Lauren Greenfield's Queen of Versailles, Kirby Dick's The Invisible War and Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman's Remote Area Medical have been chosen as part of a diverse slate of nearly 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos that will be screened at L.A. LIVE in Downtown Los Angeles from June 14-24, 2012.

As part of the Documentary Competition program, Mai Iskander's feature film Words of Witness is screening alongside films by the likes of Katherine Fairfax Wright and Till Schauder—both panelists in our upcoming Doc U: Shooting Overseas panel on June 15 at the AFCI Locations Show. Lauren Greenfield's Queen of Versailles, which premiered at Sundance a few months back, will be featured in the Summer Showcase program, which offers an advance look at this summer’s most talked about independent film releases from the festival circuit. Another one of our FSP projects and Sundance Audience Award winner The Invisible War is being offered as a free screening as part of the Festival in advance of its June 22 theatrical release date. The FSP-supported short film Remote Area Medical is one of the brief subject docs chosen for the Short Films in Competition slate.

The films represented above are all a part of our Fiscal Sponsorship Program, a formal arrangement in which the IDA, a 501(c)(3) public charity, agrees to sponsor a project that furthers our mission, for the purpose of fundraising through grants and donations. This alternative to starting your own nonprofit allows you to seek grants and solicit tax-deductible donations for your documentary, with the oversight, support and endorsement of IDA. Learn more about the benefits of Fiscal Sponsorship through your favorite non-fiction non-profit!

For tickets to screenings and more information about the documentary films screening at this year's event, head to the LA Film Festival website. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. 

IDA is proud to announce submissions are open for the 28th annual IDA Awards. The IDA Documentary Awards is the foremost event dedicated to the art of documentary film. All winners will be honored at the IDA Documentary Awards Gala in Los Angeles, December 7, 2012. See last year's winners.

Entry is open to any documentary, nonfiction or factual program completed between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012 that qualifies for one of the five main award categories. Projects submitted to prior IDA Awards shows are not eligible. Please contact awards@documentary.org with any questions.

For more information, please visit the 28th annual IDA Documentary Awards page.

Earlybird Deadline: June 8, 2012
Regular Deadline: June 22, 2012
Late Deadline: July 6, 2012

Click to submit.

From Emmys.com:

North Hollywood, CA - The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors voted this evening to approve the creation of the first-ever Reality Peer Group and rename the current Nonfiction Peer Group as the Documentary Peer Group. Prior to tonight's vote, both reality and documentary television professionals comprised the membership of the Nonfiction Peer Group.

The new Reality Peer Group will be made up of Academy members engaged in reality programming for national exhibition. The renamed Documentary Peer Group will continue to include members involved in documentary programming, produced for informational or entertainment value by programmers and filmmakers, as opposed to documentaries produced by news organizations for national exhibition.

In this increasingly globalized world, more and more documentary filmmakers are finding themselves traveling to all parts of the globe to get their story. Even if you're not covering the most recent civil conflict on the other side of the world, shooting in a foreign country can be intimidating, frustrating and rife with pitfalls for even the most experienced filmmakers. With the right preparation and local partners, filming overseas can be the experience of a lifetime. So on Friday, June 15, we are hosting Doc U of doc filmmakers who have traveled the globe and film commissioners whose job it is to make filming in their countries as straightforward as possible.

This panel is moderated by IDA Board Member Senain Kheshgi (Project Kashmir). Panelists, including filmmakers Laura Nix (The Light In Her Eyes (Syria)), Amanda Pope, co-director with Tchavdar Georgiev The Desert of Forbidden Art (Uzbekistan & Russia), Till Schauder (The Iran Job (Iran)) and Katherine Fairfax Wright (Call Me Kuchu (Uganda)), will take the time to discuss the logistics of overseas doc filmmaking. The filmmakers will be joined by George David, General Manager of The Royal Film Commission (Jordan), and Thandeka Zwana, Production & Development Executive at the National Film and Video Foundation (South Africa).

This panel will take place at the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Locations Show, the industry’s premier platform for bringing together the full scope of industry professionals, at the LA Convention Center. From independent filmmakers to industry veterans, this is the one location where the production community has access to the vast range of incentives, production locations, and business and support services essential to the industry. Once the panel has ended, wet your whistle at the Variety—LAFF cocktail party on the Expo floor from 6 – 7:30pm. The first 150 attendees of the panel get a free drink ticket for the cocktail party!

To attend this panel and register for a pass to the AFCI Locations Show, visit www.afcilocationsshow.com/register-attend. Click on the "Register to Attend" button, and fill out the information requested. Make sure to select IDA as the organization with which you are affiliated! You'll create your own account by entering a password you can remember. Once you’ve created your account, you'll receive an email confirmation with information on how to pick up your pass. Use your login/password again later to access your account online, or via the show's mobile site. It's all free!

Debra Chasnoff, Chair for the filmmakers of New Day Films, has written a letter to Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, who was detained most recently at Newark International Airport on April 5, 2012. Ms. Poitras, an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, has left the US 40+ times over the past 6 years to film and work in places such as Iraq and Yemen. Almost every time she has attempted to come back home to the U.S., she has been detained and interrogated at length about her activities overseas by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Items such as her pens and notepads have been confiscated; some of her equipment has been seized and not returned for weeks.

These actions are making Poitras's job all the more difficult as CBP and DHS agents suspect her of crimes she has never committed. It is for this reason that Chasnoff and the 150+ filmmakers and members who comprise New Day Films ask the following questions of Ms. Napolitano and the DHS:

1. Are pens among the "terrorist weapons" that concern you? Ms. Poitras was told by multiple CBP agents that she was prohibited from taking notes, on the grounds that her pen could be used as a weapon.
2. Is taking notes really prohibited at the border? CBP agent Wassum threatened to handcuff Ms. Poitras if she continued taking notes at this detainment. (Ms. Poitras had been advised by her attorney to do so, after facing repeated border detainments whenever she re-entered the United States from travel abroad.)
3. If the answers to these questions is no, has the CBP taken any disciplinary action against CBP agents Wassum and Lopez? (CBP Chief Deputy Lopez also told Ms. Poitras that she was prohibited from taking notes, and accused her of "refusing to cooperate with an investigation;" the CBP later "clarified" that there was no "investigation," only "questioning.")
4. Can you clarify any DHS or CBP policy vis-à-vis Ms. Poitras, and/or explain why she is being singled out for such scrutiny?

Along with reading the letter from New Day Films, you can learn more from a Salon.com article that looks at the issues controversial filmmakers must face—and the shortcuts and workarounds they must take—in this post-911 world.