Guidelines and Applications available now at www.lpbp.org. 

Deadline: June 2, 2008 5 PM
*this is not a postmark date

Open Call is an open invitation to independent producers to submit proposals for a public television program or series on any subject that relates to or is representative of Latino Americans.

Programs should bring new audiences to public television and have a recognizable impact on a broad range of viewers, presenting a range of subjects, viewpoints and forms from a variety of Latino producers across the country that complement and challenge existing public television offerings.

All funding requests must be submitted in accordance with LPB’s Guidelines.

You may submit only one application, for one program or series, per review period. If your proposal is among those advanced to the panel, you may be asked to submit additional supporting materials.

Funding Request

LPB funding will average between $5,000 and $100,000 for programs of most genres, including drama, comedy, animation, documentary, or mixed genre. LPB will consider funding projects at any production stage. LPB Funding for each stage ranges as follows:

• Research and Development $5,000 - $20,000
• Production $25,000 - $100,000
• Post-Production $25,000 - $100,000
• Outreach $10,000-$25,000

Submission Deadline: Monday, June 2, 2008 5PM (This is not a postmark date)

Applications must be received in the LPB office by 5:00 PM on Monday, June 2, 2008. Packages received after the closing date will not be accepted. LPB will not be responsible for postal service delays or late deliveries.

For complete guidelines, applications, application instructions and outreach guidelines, please log on to www.lpbp.org.

Just to announce that Prison Pups will be screening at the Regent Theater on Medford Street, Arlington, on

Thursday, May 22 at 7:30pm.

http://www.regenttheatre.com/events/prison_pups.htm
Prison Pups follows four inmates as they raise and train service dogs for the handicapped and hearing impaired. At Concord Farm, a minimum-security facility in Massachusetts, these inmates learn to take on the responsibility of a puppy and find in themselves not only a sense of confidence but also a capacity for nurturing and affection. This experience is profound as they become empowered by their role as trainers. DVD’s can be purchased at: www.der.org/films/prison-pups.html

Please be so kind as to spread the word, put it in your newsletters, websites, mailing lists etc.  I would really appreciate it.  It is screening as a fundraiser for A-dog, an advocacy group in support of dogs and their owners.

Also, Former Commissioner of Corrections, Kathleen Dennehy will be there to introduce the film and Superintendent Lynn Bissonnette of MCI Framingham will be there for a Q & A afterward.

DER is pleased to announce the latest round of LEF Grant awards for the following projects supported under our fiscal sponsorship program.

$15,000 – Production for For the Price of Freedom by Jeff Silva
$10,000 – Production for Doppelganger Diaries by Joe Gibbons
$20,000 – Production for Into the Light by Robert Fenz
$15,000 – Production for Offerings by Louise Bourque
$5,000 – Pre-production for Can You See Everything From Here? By Abigail Child

These projects clearly push the envelop on the definition of Documentary, sitting more comfortably in the genre of “experimental” film, but in recent years DER has expanded our vision, choosing to support films in our sponsorship program that represent creative approaches to the visual representation of ideas, whether or not they are considered “Documentary.” Decisions are made based on the existing track record of a particular artist, and if that artists previous work supports the current vision we feel there is a good chance for a successful out come as these artists have demonstrated.

We also want to thank THE LEF FOUNDATION for their continued belief in supporting independent artists during a time when there are fewer funding options for experimental creative work.

Friday, May 30th from 9:00 – 6:30 pm at Bentley College, Waltham, MA.

As a participant of this exciting event, I’m writing to encourage you to
attend the Making Media Now conference, a full day of programming and
events dedicated to “The Art & Business of Filmmaking.” Held this year on
Friday, May 30th at Bentley College, Making Media Now will continue its
tradition of bringing film industry professionals, independent filmmakers,
and special guests from around the country together for an intensive day
of cutting-edge learning, networking, and opportunity.

Panels will feature topics such as:

• Financing Documentaries: What Does the Future Hold?
• Finding Work in the Massachusetts Film Industry
• Story Structure Case Study with the Doc Doctor
• Marketing Film for Engagement & Impact,
• Equity Film Financing
• Music for Film 2.0
• Incorporating Animation into your Feature Film or Documentary
• The Future of Documentary in the Age of Internet Video
• Perfecting Your Pitch

PLUS:
• Trade show with vendor demonstrations — come visit the DER table!!
• Free 15-minute one-on-one consultations with experts (sign-up that
day, first come, first serve):
• Legal Issues
• Tax Incentives
• Story Structure/Trailer advice
• POV Representative
• ITVS Representative
• Technology Consulting
• Animator
• Catered lunch w/ keynote speaker (to be announced)
• Pitch Session - three projects will have the chance to practice
their pitch to a panel of industry experts! (visit the FC website to
apply to be one of the three filmmakers chosen to pitch)

National industry guests so far include:

• Ellen Stanley, VP Communications, National Geographic
• Cynthia Lopez, Vice President of POV
• Suzanne Lyons, Snowfall Films
• Dan Cogan, Impact Partners
• Kathryn Washington, ITVS
• Fernanda Rossi, The Doc Doctor
• Ryan Harrington, Gucci-Tribeca Fund
• Bonnie Abaunza, Participant Media
• Slava Rubin, indiegogo.com
• Roland Tec, Pinkplot Productions
• Scott Kirsner, Author & Boston Globe writer
and more to be announced!

The price between April 26th – May 9th is $125; and after May 9th, $150.
Price includes luncheon and snacks. We have a discounted rate for students
with valid IDs.

Registration is available now at www.filmmakerscollab.org. For more
information, contact Filmmakers Collaborative at 781-647-1102 or
info@filmmakerscollab.org.

Internship with the John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection

The Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution, is accepting applications for a summer internship with one of the seminal collections of ethnographic film – the John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection.

Intern will assist in researching information and existing documentation to be used for descriptive cataloging of this unique and important audio-visual collection which documents the Ju/’hoansi of Namibia’s Kalahari Desert from 1950 - 2000.   The intern, under the guidance of the processing archivist, will aid in conforming and improving existing shot logs and content descriptions, and in creating cataloging content descriptions for both outtakes and edited titles in the collection.

This project will involve working with both paper records and film and video elements; certain aspects of the project can be tailored to the intern’s particular interests.  In addition to making the John Marshall collection more accessible for research and use, the intern will gain familiarity with a wide variety of film and video elements and formats, as well as with its fascinating cultural and political content.  No technical experience with film or video is required, only an interest in audio-visual collections, ethnographic film, and/or the history and culture of the Ju/’hoansi.  More information about the Marshall collection is available at:  www.der.org/kalfam  and   www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/whatsnew.htm

Please direct inquiries and applications to:
Pamela Wintle
Senior Archivist
Human Studies Film Archives
Smithsonian Institution
wintlep@si.edu

After winning the top prize (the Golden Bear) at the Berlin Film Festival, and coming from 5 sold out screenings at Tribeca, we were treated to an under the radar screening of Brazilian filmmaker Jose Padilha’s The Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite) at the Harvard Film Archive last night (5/5).

It had been over a year since I last had contact with Jose. He and I had been collaborating on a documentary film about anthropologists, inspired by a very controversial book “Darkness in El Dorado” that caused a near riot at the American Anthropological Association’s Annual Meeting the year it was published. The controversy involved perhaps the most widely studied indigenous group of people in the world, the Yanomamo of the Amazon. Our company (DER) happens to hold the copyright to the largest film record, starting from “first contact”, of those people.
I first met Jose here when his break through film, the documentary “Bus 174″ was screening at the Boston International Film Festival. That film was widely acclaimed, and for a documentary, had the rare honor of being picked up by a theatrical distributor, Think Film. At the time I hadn’t realized it (I don’t think Jose did either) this film has become the first in what he now says, will be a trilogy.

At Harvard last night, there was a line of people that had to be turned away from the theater. Standing room only. I spied Jose, wearing what looked like the same faded blue baseball cap he wore when he was shooting interviews in my living room a few years ago. He was leaning against the wall, waiting to be introduced. I waved at him, he came over and hugged me, whispering that he had met with someone in NY who had promised to give him the money to finish our film. I felt a wave of excitement, anticipation and gratitude that I was lucky enough to know one of the most brilliant, young filmmakers in the world today.

The audience understandably consisted of a large number of Brazilian students and academics. This was HARVARD after all. There was a loud din with the hum of Portuguese being spoken all around me. The film is subtitled. It has gotten a huge amount of press, in the NYTimes and everywhere it has screened so far. Jose is articulate, but says few words in the intro saving his incise intellect for the Q & A after.

The theater darkens and the total assault on our senses begins. The core of the film is about BOPE, an elite squad of police trained to the level of Navy Seals in our country. They are intended to counter the corruption and collaboration between the regular police and the drug lords in the favellas of Rio. The audio track is masterful as we feel sucked into the world of bullets and mayhem that epitomizes the “war on drugs”. There is blood, a lot of blood. There is torture that made me reflect immediately on Abu Ghraib. But above all there is moral ambiguity. The questions that ask who is responsible for all this when apparently none of the characters seem to be in control. None of them have what philosophers call “free will”. They are all trapped in a system that we can identify as “the State”.

Theoretically, we should find most of the characters in Jose’s film reprehensible, but we don’t. They are sympathetic, we feel for them, even as they kick and beat and twist plastic bags over the heads of the punks and thugs they are sent out to hunt down and destroy.

The film has been misconstrued as an “action film” in the manner of Bruce Willis. It is anything but. It is an ode to our elemental inhumanity, our powerlessness when the policies of governments create environments that we have to evolve to fit, in order to survive. It is a complex structure that rises to the highest level of “Art” with a capitol “A”.

By the end of the on-rushing two hours I was limp as a dish rag. Stunned, I sat in my seat wondering what to make of what I had seen. Two academics, (whose names and specialities I have forgotten) start the dialogue about the film with Jose. He is thoughtful and respectful of all reactions. He has heard it all by now. He tells how he originally started to make a documentary about this subject, an outgrowth of his work on BUS 174. But soon he realized he could get himself killed, following BOPE on their excursions into the slums. So, based on his many interviews with police and with the Bope, he constructed the narrative script for the film. Before it actually was released the Brazilian government and the cops sued him to prevent the film from screening, but the public had already seen pirated copies of the film and demanded it be shown. It was released, to wild acclaim, and the lawsuits seem to have faded away.

Jose is fearless. Like all greatest artists, he takes risks that no others dare to do. His intellect seems to be able to embrace far reaching ideas and weave them together in a coherent whole. The resulting work may be approached and perceived at many levels. For some, it may always remain simply an action film. For others, it is a meditation on what it means to be human.

Elite Squad is sceduled for theatrical release in this country in September 2008. Go see it if it appears in a theater near you.

“What’s the Big Idea?” Clip

SUNDANCE CHANNEL ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL USER-GENERATED ECO-CONTEST
“WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?”

Participants Submit
“Big Ideas” To Green The Planet

Contest Continues Until May 20th, 2008

Sundance Channel invites consumers to share their inspired eco-solutions in the second annual national contest entitled “What’s The Big Idea?” presented by Lexus Hybrid Living. The contest, in which consumers submit a short film or photo essay demonstrating how they work green, play green, eat green or live green, helps to kick off season two of Sundance Channel’s original series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” which launches on April 1 as part of The Green, Sundance Channel’s weekly destination focusing on environmental topics. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 to help make their “Big Idea” a reality as well as a private green audit by “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” subject Current Energy. Four runners up will receive a Sundance Channel Green VIP Bag.

Current Energy provides energy-efficient solutions that are environmentally sensitive or advanced. Focusing on home and business systems as a whole, Current Energy saves customers money on products, services and utility bills. They are featured in “Big ideas for a Small Planet: Gadgets” airing on June 17th.

Contestants will submit their one-minute short film or photo essay featuring their “Big Idea” via www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen#/bigIdeasContest:overview between April 1 and May 20. Sundance Channel will select the top 25 entries to be viewed and voted on by users between May 27 and June 24. The five proposals to receive the most votes will be reviewed by a panel of environmental experts who will pick the winner. Pieces will be judged on creativity, overall theme, feasibility and presentation.The winner will be announced the week of July 7th.

The Green presents a lively mix of original series, documentary premieres and interstitial series about the earth’s ecology which provide viewers with ideas on how to work green, play green, eat green, dress green and live green. Its documentary presentations survey a broad scope of eco-related topics, from climate change and energy to design, fashion and architecture. “The GREEN” airs every Tuesday night at 9pm et/pt and is presented by Lexus Hybrid Living and Citi Smith Barney.

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, CBS and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel’s website address is www.sundancechannel.com.

Visit our Resources page to find valuable books about documentary film. Recent additions to the list include Jean Rouch’s Ciné-Ethnography (Visible Evidence, V. 13), Robert Gardner’s Making Dead Birds: Chronicle of a Film, and the new edition of Karl Heider’s Ethnographic Film.

Deadline March 31, 2008

Working Films is seeking candidates with a demonstrated commitment to
social justice and an interest in the role of documentary filmmaking
and new technology for the George Stoney Fellowship. Candidates will be
assisted in conceptualization, writing and research on Working Films
campaigns. Regular responsibilities include sitting in as colleagues in
all development meetings between filmmakers, activists and other
Working Films staff, and traveling when necessary to rough-cut
screenings and community organizing meetings.
The fellowship is expected to last 8-10 weeks in the
Wilmington office, starting in May or June  2008. The Fellow will serve as
part-time, temporary staff, earning $10-15 an hour. For more
information about the work of  Working Films and how to apply,
please see www.workingfilms.org.

--

The LEF Foundation is pleased to announce its support of a new film screening series, Facing Realities: Dialogues in Boston Documentary Filmmaking. Having recognized and supported documentary filmmaking in Boston for many years, this film series is part of a larger effort to highlight the history and deepen the understanding of Boston’s remarkable documentary tradition, which continues today.

The screening series begins on Saturday, March 22 at 12:30 pm at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The intent of the series is to juxtapose important documentary films from different generations of Boston based filmmakers, thereby revealing the connections between the earliest innovators and filmmakers today. For the first screening, curator Peter Dowd has selected Forest of Bliss by Robert Gardner and Today the Hawk Takes One Chick, by Jane Gillolly.

A discussion between the filmmakers will be facilitated by film scholar Scott MacDonald, author of numerous books about experimental film, including the series A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. For complete details on this initial screening, please reference the attached flyer or visit the project’s website at www.filmandreality.org.

This screening series is part of a multi-platform effort, Film & Reality: Boston Documentary, being sponsored by LEF to shed new light on Boston’s documentary filmmaking tradition and its significant, yet under-recognized, contribution to the history of cinema and modern moving image culture. Through film screenings, critical writing and discourse, and filmmaking itself, this project highlights the work of area filmmakers who continue to explore the risk and friction that occur when film meets reality, and who produce highly original work that wrestles with the depiction of “truth” in our complex world.

Facing Realities: Dialogues in Boston Documentary Filmmaking
Saturday 22 March, 2008
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Remis Auditorium

12:30
Forest of Bliss by Robert Gardner, 1986, 90 min.

2:15
Today the Hawk Takes One Chick by Jane Gillooly, 2007, 72 min.

3:30
Discussion with Robert Gardner and Jane Gillooly led by film scholar Scott
MacDonald
For more information, please email info@facingreality.org

May 29. - June 1st, 2008, NAFA (The Nordic Anthropological Film Association), The Museum of Jón Sigurðsson, The University Centre of West fjords, Edinborgarhúsið (a cultural centre in Ísafjörður) and Roots (a non- governmental organisation for multicultural society), will hold an international documentary film festival and a conference at Ísafjördur in the West fjords of Iceland, in association with University of Iceland and The Icelandic Anthropology Association.

CONGRATS to DER Filmmakers Melissa Peabody (SAN FRANCISCO: STILL WILD AT HEART) and Catherine Mullins (BEING INNU) for their films acceptance for screening at the 10th Anniversary edition of the Wisconsin Film Festival.

This prestigious festival has screened more than 1100 films from around the world in it’s first nine years.

We hope to see an enthusiastic audience in Madison Wisconcin on April 3rd-6th  for these two fine films.

Check here for details: www.wifilmfest.org/

OPEN CALL FOR PRODUCTION FUNDS
Annual Deadline: April 3, 2008 by 5pm Pacific *

Offered once a year, this round of funding is for applicants with projects at the production and/or post-production stage. Project should be intended for public television broadcast. Awards average from $20,000 to $50,000, though exceptions may be made. NOTE: Projects in research and development or script development phases are not eligible to apply.

CAAM convenes an independent panel of media professionals including producers, directors, and programmers who evaluate proposals and sample tapes, and then make recommendations to the CAAM staff and Board of Directors. The Board makes final approval. The review process for Open Call takes approximately 4 months.

Through this call, CAAM also offers the James T. Yee Fellowship [link] named in honor of CAAM’s founding Executive Director. This award offers funding coupled with a mentorship for first-time or emerging filmmakers. This is not a separate funding initiative. Candidates are nominated from the Open Call applicant pool.

OPEN DOOR COMPLETION FUND
Winter Deadline: February 7, 2008 by 5pm Pacific *
Summer Deadline: August 7, 2008 by 5pm Pacific *

Offered twice a year, this round of funding is for applicants with projects in the final post-production phase. To be eligible a full-length rough cut must be submitted with the proposal. Awards average $20,000 and CAAM funds should be the last monies needed to finish the project and deliver the broadcast master.

CAAM programming staff will review proposals and rough cuts and then make recommendations to the CAAM Board of Directors. The Board makes final approval. The review process takes approximately 3 months.

* PLEASE NOTE: These are NOT postmark deadlines. Complete applications must be received in our office no later than 5pm on the date indicated. We do not accept late applications for any reason nor do we offer extensions on the deadline.

On February 8th, we’re launching UP THE YANGTZE, our 4 year-in-the-
making epic documentary on China’s devastating Three Gorges Dam. We’ve
gambled it all and gone to 35mm film print (beautifully done by
Technicolor), launching an open run at the Cumberland in Toronto,
followed by Vancouver (feb 15), Montreal (feb 22), Ottawa (feb 29),
etc. then the U.S. in April with Zeitgeist. In order to help support
the existence of feature docs in cinemas, we need your help forwarding
this message, and showing up to the theater on OPENING WEEKEND! Also,
we’re up against a big rival: Paris Hilton’s new film also opens Feb
8th. Please, if only for this reason, please help UP THE YANGTZE beat
THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE on opening weekend!
Thanks  - Mila Aung-Thwin, producer
trailer:
“Outstanding … gorgeously shot and as gripping as an epic novel”
-Liam Lacey, THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“A gloriously cinematic doc”
-John Anderson, VARIETY

SYNOPSIS: In China, the mighty Yangtze is known simply as “The River.”
It is about to be transformed by the biggest hydroelectric dam in
history, the Three Gorges Project.  At the river’s edge, a girl named
Yu Shui says goodbye to her family as the floodwaters rise towards
their small homestead. She is leaving to work on a cruise line that
takes tourists on a “Farewell to the Three Gorges Tour”, where
visitors get to wave goodbye to 5000 years of civilization. It’s “The
Love Boat” meets “Apocalypse Now”. The Three Gorges Dam — contested
symbol of the Chinese economic miracle — provides the epic backdrop
for Up the Yangtze, a dramatic feature documentary on life inside
modern China. 95 minutes, 35mm. Named one of Canada’s Top Ten Films,
winner of best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver Film Festival, UP
THE YANGTZE opens its theatrical run in Canada on February 8th, 2008.
Presented in glorious 35mm in Dolby 5.1 Surround , UP THE YANGTZE is a
cinematic immersion in China’s rapidly changing landscape. Please show
your support by coming out OPENING WEEKEND. Documentaries don’t last
long in theaters without your SUPPORT!
Opens:
Toronto, February 8th, 2008: CUMBERLAND Cinemas - 159 Cumberland St.
(at Avenue Rd.)  tel. (416) 964-9359
Vancouver, February 15th:  THE RIDGE - 3131 Arbutus.  tel. (604)
738-6311
Montreal, February 22nd: AMC FORUM - 2313 Ste-Catherine Ouest tel.
(514) 904-1250
Ottawa, February 29th: BYTOWNE -  325 Rideau  tel. (613) 789-3456

U.S. release is slated for April 2008 by Zeitgeist

“Restores your faith in the documentary film medium”
– MATTHEW HAYS, MONTREAL MIRROR (full review)

FURTHER SCREENINGS:

February 1 – Canada’s Top Ten, TIFFG, Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto
February 3 - Empire Theatres Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street, Toronto
February 6 – Doc Soup, Hot Docs, Bloor Cinema, Toronto
February 8 – Cineplex Odeon, Toronto (open run)
February 15 – Ridge Cinema, Vancouver (open run)
February 9 - Powell River Film Festival, Evergreen Theatre, Powell
River, BC
February 14-16 - The Capitol Theatre, Nelson, BC
February 22-March 1, Salmon Arm Film Festival, Salmon Arm, BC
February 22 – AMC Forum, Montreal (open run, date tbc)
February 22 – Quartier Latin, Montreal (French version) - (open run,
date tbc)
February 22 - Port Moody Film Society Canadian Film Festival (www.pmfilm.ca
)
February 27- Village Cinemas, Whistler, BC
February 28-March 2 - Kingston Canadian Film Festival
February 29-March 4 - Bytowne Cinema, Ottawa
March 6-9 - London Canadian Film Festival (www.londoncanfilmfest.ca)
March 7-13 - Princess Cinemas, Waterloo, ON
March 24 - Cine-Club Laval, Quebec (French version)
March 27 - MUN Cinema Series, Memorial University, St.John’s, NFLD
March 28 - April 2 - Cinematheque Winnipeg, Dave Barber
April 3 - Sackville Film Society, Vogue Cinema, Sackville, NB
April 10 - Cape Breton Island Film Series, Empire Sydney Theatres,
Sydney, NS
April 26 - CNC Theatre Film Group, College of New Caladonia, Prince
George, BC
May 7 - Galaxy Theatre, Brockville, ON

International Festival schedule

Sundance Film Festival
From January 17, 2008 to January 27, 2008
Park City, USA
International Film Festival
From January 24, 2008 to February 03, 2008
Santa Barbara, USA
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
From February 14, 2008 to February 20, 2008
Missoula, USA
One World International Human Rights Film Festival
From March 05, 2008 to March 13, 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
International Film Festival
From March 06, 2008 to March 16, 2008
Cleveland, USA
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
From March 07, 2008 to March 16, 2008
Athens, Greece
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
From March 13, 2008 to March 21, 2008
London, England
International Film Festival
From March 17, 2008 to April 06, 2008
Hong Kong, China
DocAviv - International Documentary Film Festival
From April 03, 2008 to April 13, 2008
Tel Aviv, Israël
Golden Gate Awards Competition & International Film Festival
From April 24, 2008 to May 08, 2008
San Francisco, USA
New Zealand Film Festival
From July 11, 2008 to August 03, 2008
Wellington, New.Zealand

After a sold-out screening in 2007, The International Documentary
Challenge returns to Hot Docs in April 2008! Registration for the 3rd
annual Doc Challenge, held March 6-10, 2008, is now open.

The Premise: Filmmakers from around the world have just 5 days to
make a short non-fiction film. Hot Docs Canadian International
Documentary Film Festival, the Presenting Partner, will once again
host the theatrical premiere of the finalists and the awards ceremony
during the Festival. After the premiere of the finalists, showcases
of regionally produced films will be held, including an IDA sponsored
screening in Los Angeles, a SILVERDOCS sponsored screening in
Washington DC, a Big Sky Documentary Film Festival screening in
Montana, a DOC sponsored screening in Toronto, a Northwest Film Forum
sponsored screening in Seattle, a Film Action Oregon sponsored
screening in Portland and many more! Additionally, a Best of DVD will
be released and television distribution will be pursued by a
distribution partner.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Early Registration Deadline: February 11, 2008
Final Registration Deadline: March 5, 2008
Doc Challenge: March 6-10, 2008
Hot Docs Premiere of Finalists: April 2008

Complete details and entry forms can be found online at
www.docchallenge.org

Check out Hot Docs here: www.hotdocs.ca

The Doc Challenge is produced by Doug Whyte of KDHX Community Media
and sponsored by Hot Docs, the International Documentary Association,
the Documentary Organization of Canada, SILVERDOCS, the Big Sky
Documentary Film Festival, Film Action Oregon and the creators of the
48 Hour Film Project.

The International Documentary Challenge.
Real Life. Filmed Real Fast.

The Toronto Doc Forum is currently accepting project submissions from producers worldwide via its online entry form.  Deadline is Monday, January 28.

The TDF is North America’s most effective international market for documentary and non-fiction projects.  A limited seating event for 450 delegates, the event draws over 140 of the world’s key buyers for its two-day schedule of thirty pre-selected project presentations, April 23-24.  The TDF’s format has proved highly successful for the projects presented, as well as its other delegates who value the TDF’s sociable setting for their business and market intelligence needs.

New for 2008! TDF has broadened its genre focus to include history, science, the environment and health, and will now accept mini-series and series proposals. The TDF has also introduced a private meeting option to the selected projects.

In addition to the project teams and their partners, approximately 300 Observer seats are made available for other industry professionals.  Observer seat deadline is March 13.  Application is now open via Hot Docs’ online registration form.

For more details on the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF) and its programmes please visit www.hotdocs.ca.

There are many things I’ve discovered as a result of my job as the director of a documentary film distribution company (www.der.org) that I would never have known about because they were someone else’s passion, not my own.

One of those discoveries came about when a southern ethnomusicologist, Oliver Greene, brought us a film he had made titled Play, Jankunú Play - The Garifuna Wanaragua Ritual of Belize. Oliver (www.der.org/films/filmmakers/oliver-greene.html) is an assistant professor of Music at Georgia State University who teaches courses in traditional and popular world music from places like Trinidad, Tobago and Brazil. He has a deep knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject, and while his film was very informative, it needed a little tightening, editorially speaking and he was very open to our critique. He took the time and made the effort to craft a better film, which we then agreed to distribute. (www.der.org/films/play-jankunu-play.html)

It was this film and the enthusiastic conversations I had with Oliver Greene over the course of our negotiations, that enticed me into experiencing the world of Garifuna (pronounced ga-RI-foo-nah) music first hand. It was last summer and the word was out that Andy Palacio, the musician who appears in the film and who almost single handedly is credited with saving Garifuna culture and music from extinction, was scheduled to perform with his Garifuna Collective, here at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The summer concerts in the evening in the courtyard at the museum are delightful events, where you can bring a blanket to spread on the grass and sit with family and friends, or reserve one of the tables and enjoy a beer or a glass of wine. As my newly hired Director of Production was also a musician, a drummer, I figured the company would buy a block of tickets to this event and I and my staff would be able to experience Garifuna music first hand. We were also scheduled to meet Andy Palacio and give him DVD copies of Oliver’s film.

The evening was perfect, warm, dry with a gentle breeze. The courtyard was comfortably full, and everyone was in an upbeat mood. The music was fabulous. The kind of infectious music that makes it virtually impossible to sit still, even for a normally sedate museum going crowd. Within a few minutes of Andy’s groups singing and playing, we were all standing and swaying and clapping to the music. The band played up a storm and the energy was electric. I never thought I’d experience an event like this at the MFA. While they played countless encores, at some point it all had to end. There were long lines of people waiting to get autographed copies of Andy’s latest album “Watina” which was acclaimed as the best world music release of 2007.

So it was with great sadness that I read in the obituaries in Monday’s (1/21/08) NYTimes that Andy Palacio, a guy who only months ago had been full of the energy that music gives to life, had died in his native Belize at the age of 47. He died of respiratory failure after a stroke and a heart attack.

But his spirit and talent remains to be experienced through his recordings, and the film Play, Jankunú Play. I am grateful that our company, in some small way (thanks to Oliver Greene), is able to help keep his memory alive.

We’ve launched a new section of our blog entitled Film Reviews. The first post is about moving Katrina documentary The Axe in the Attic. Please check back often, don’t forget you can always signup for our newsletter to be notified of new articles and upcoming events.

SUBMIT YOUR STUDENT FILMS TO DOC IT! AND SIGN UP YOUR CLASS FOR DOCS FOR SCHOOLS

Submissions for the second annual Doc It! are now being accepted. The programme’s goal is to stimulate non-fiction filmmaking among youth, as well as to provide a showcase for their perspectives on the world around them. All works screened in the DOC IT! programme are eligible to win juried prizes, and the DOC IT! Audience Award. Students have until February 15 to submit their film!

Submitted films must be documentaries and must not exceed 12 minutes in total length. Fiction, animated fiction, mock-documentaries, etc. will not be considered. The principle creative team for each project, including the director, must be between the ages of 14 and 18 (as of 2008), AND/OR be enrolled in a secondary school for the 2007/08 academic year. Upon selection, Hot Docs will require age verification.

More information and Doc It! submission forms can be found at www.hotdocs.ca.

Now in its third year, Docs for Schools provides FREE daytime screenings during the festival for Toronto-area high schools and youth organizations. An overwhelming success, last year more than 15,000 students and educators participated in the programme. Screenings are offered both at Festival venues and in schools, and whenever possible filmmakers are in attendance to participate in question-and-answer sessions with students.

To get involved, please contact Leah Venturina or 416-203-2155 ext.249.

Many of you have asked to be regularly notified of new releases and filmmaking related events. Now you can signup on our Resources page, or do it right here:

You can signup for the D.E.R. newsletter or the Doc Doctor’s Clinic, or both. If you are already a Doc Doctor list subscriber, you’ll be prompted to update your account with us. It’s quick and easy! We look forward to keeping you informed.

www.fifeq.ca

Hello to everyone!

Previously known as the FFEM, the FIFEQ (Quebec international ethnographic film festival) celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2008 and is also bringing together five Universities from across Quebec for the first time, namely those of Chicoutimi, Laval, Concordia, McGill and Universite de Montreal.

On the 25th, 26th, and 27th of January 2008, we invite professors, professionals, film and visual anthropology enthusiasts to join us at the festival, during which we will be screening numerous films, holding photography exhibitions, discussion sessions, and much more, all of which will be free of charge.

Dedicated to the promotion of ethnographic films, the FIFEQ will screen films created by new filmmakers from both Canada and abroad as well as from renowned figures in the discipline of visual anthropology and the social documentary genre.  The festival is both a celebration of the discipline of visual anthropology, as well as a reflection on the debates and ethical issues surrounding the utility and relevance of employing visual media when studying cultures and societies.

For a full listing of our activities and films please visit our website, at www.fifeq.ca.

Looking forward to seeing you!

The 2008 FIFEQ Team
For further enquiries please contact:

ethnographik@gmail.com
–
Catherine Lavoie-Marcus
Coordonnatrice, FFEM 2008
514-279-0387

Independent Television Service, Inc. (www.itvs.org) is a nonprofit organization created and chartered by Congress to make unique, provocative, compelling programs for public television by independent producers. ITVS is an equal opportunity employer; women and people of color are encouraged to apply.

Title: DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING
Reports to: Vice President of Programming
Salary/Status: DOE/Exempt
Benefits: Excellent

Job Summary: This position is responsible for managing the LINCS program solicitation and other programming initiatives through all phases of review, evaluation and selection. Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the programming department in the absence of the Vice President of Programming, including oversight of initiatives and fulfilling administrative and organizational duties. Assigns and trains department staff for field relations outreach. Manages the Program Manager for Diversity Development Fund and Programming Assistant. Managerial Responsibilities: Programming Manager (DDF), Programming Assistant.

Title: INDEPENDENT LENS PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Reports to: Independent Lens Assistant Producer
Status: Exempt, full benefits
Salary: DOE

Job Summary: please go to:

For more information on ITVS please visit www.itvs.org.

please circulate -

Position: Managing Director, one-year contract
Deadline: Monday, January 7, 2008
Start Date: January 2008.

Organization: The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, now in its 9th year, is an international festival that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples on the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio, and new media. Each fall, the festival presents a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the globe. The festival’s screenings, parties, panel discussions, and cultural events attract and connect filmmakers, media artists, programmers, buyers, and industry professionals. The works accepted reflect the diversity of the world’s Indigenous nations and illustrate the vitality and excellence of our art and culture in contemporary media.

Summary: The Managing Director of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will play a pivotal role in the media arts sector in Toronto and beyond. The Managing Director manages all operations and affairs of the organization and reports directly to the Board of Directors.

Responsibilities:
The Managing Director’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Festival Execution, Profile, and Outreach

• Oversee and ensure effective execution of the festival, including programming, events, community, and industry initiatives.
• Create and implement festival plan and timelines in accordance to annual strategic priorities as set by the Board of Directors.
• Develop and increase imagineNATIVE’s festival and year-round profile, including overseeing marketing materials, publicity and promotions.
• Maintain current and build new relationships with funders and private sector sponsors in conjunction with the Director of Development and Artistic Director.
• Represent imagineNATIVE at events, meetings, and other festivals.
• Build stronger national and international network of community organizations, media arts presenters and advocacy organizations.
• Conduct an annual evaluation of the festival.
  
  Organizational and Financial Management and Development
  
• Manage the organization’s financial business, including the development of the annual budget and audit, in conjunction with the Board.
• Write public and private grant proposals in compliance with established deadlines established for each, collect and maintain all data and records required for such grants, in conjunction with the Director of Development and the Artistic Director.
• Develop and implement a strategic plan in conjunction with the Board.
• Develop and implement strategic public and private fundraising and wage subsidy initiatives in conjunction with the Director of Development, and with approval of the Board.
  
  Administration and Operational Management
  
• Manage all staff, department and personnel issues, including supervision, hiring, termination, training and conduct performance reviews in conjunction with the Board.
• Liaise between staff, board and committees; oversee the implementation of policies being developed by the Board of Directors.
• Prepare monthly reports and statements on imagineNATIVE’s operations and financial business for monthly board meetings.
• Assist the Chair of the Board in developing agenda and materials for board meetings.
• Provide other information as necessary to the Board of Directors.
  
  An ideal candidate has:
  
• Experience working in the not-for-profit arts sector and/or strong interest in media arts study and/or practice.
• Possess an appreciation, knowledge and understanding that encompasses the diversity of Aboriginal arts and Aboriginal peoples.
• Background in management, grant-writing and/or events.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Highly organized, able to multitask, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Computer literacy (word processing, email, web, spreadsheets).

Apply in writing to: Hiring Committee, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, 401 Richmond St. West, Suite 417, Toronto, ON, M5V 3A8, fax: (416) 585-2333, email: employment@imaginenative.org

This position is open to all qualified candidates. The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is an equal opportunity employer. For more information about the festival please visit our website at www.imaginenative.org We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

TORONTO DOCUMENTARY FORUM
April 23 - 24, 2008 (During Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)  April 17 - 27, 2008
The Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF) is North America’s premier market event for the international documentary industry working in the social, cultural and political genres and, new in 2008, will be opening its Regular Program to a broader genre spectrum of non-fiction projects in series and mini-series formats.
Project Presentation Submission Deadline:  MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008. For more information, visit www.hotdocs.ca

CALL FOR ENTRIES

2ND ANNUAL ANTHROPOLOGY FILM FESTIVAL
VANCOUVER, BC
MARCH 7&8, 2008

We invite submissions for the 2nd Annual Anthropology Film Festival at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. This intimate festival takes place March 7&8 on the university campus. Our theme is new trends in anthropological film, with a focus on collaborative production. A jury prize for best film in category will be awarded.

The entry deadline is February 8, 2008. For more information, contacts and submission forms, visit us at http://anthfilm.anth.ubc.ca

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Boston’s own Rhonda Moskowitz won a commendation from the Boston Society of Film Critics for her work as founder and programmer for the innovative networking group Connect the Docs, which meets monthly at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline.

DER recently collaborated with Rhonda to sponsor her programs into 2008. We are pleased to see that she is getting recognition for a job well done.

See commendation here: www.thebsfc.org/2007/Awards-Comm.html

EyeSteelFilm congratulates their directors Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze)
and Jeff Barnaby (The Colony) on being named to the Toronto
International Film Festival Group’s annual Top Ten Canadian Film list!

Canada’s Top Ten is a unique annual event, established in 2001 by the
Toronto International Film Festival Group to honour excellence in
contemporary Canadian cinema. Canada’s Top Ten celebrates and
promotes contemporary Canadian cinema and is intended to raise public
awareness of Canadian achievements. A 10-member national panel of
filmmakers, programmers, journalists, and indus