Documentary films and news in the „POST-TRUTH” ERA

In the “POST-TRUTH” ERA, the 2017 edition of Astra Film Festival brings forward two programmes aimed to look into the issue of truth in documentary cinema and the media landscape. Documentary film has become known as the cinema genre that faithfully renders reality. Given that the production of documentary films has become more widespread over the last two decades and directors use a series of cinematic tools, the questions and discussions in relation to truth or untruth in documentaries have multiplied.   

Mockumentaries under arrest - masterclass -

Mockumentaries or fake documentaries (films in which directors or producers purposely use fake content for their documentary films) have gained notoriety after a few scandals, when commercial documentary channels that relied on commercial agendas produced and aired documentary series which were based on fake information and used the testimonies of fake experts, fooling millions of viewers. At AFF, on the 21st of October, at 3 p.m., at Auditorium, Ruben Vermeesch, the Belgian independent director and producer will bring up the question: Why are independent film directors drawn to mockumentaries?

FAKE NEWS- panel discussion

Along with the change in the media landscape and the information centers from print to online media, the audience has also migrated from classic journalism to social media. The speed by which information spread has changed as well, and in this current situation manipulation through information becomes very easy. Marian Voicu, journalist, director and moderator, Angela Cristea, Head of the European Commission Representation in Romania, and Yevhen Fedchenko, director of the Mohyla School of Journalism (UKMA), co-founder/chief editor at stopfake.org, will participate in the panel discussion held on the 18th of October and address the best solutions against the fake news attacks. 

For 24 years, AFF is a platform dedicated to documentary cinema, bringing to Sibiu the latest and most important names in the field worldwide. This year’s edition welcomes the audience with a collection of more than 130 films, discussions with film industry experts, concerts, and VR and full-dome events. Tickets and full-passes are on sale on www.eventbook.ro.

The schedule for the Post-Truth programme:

http://astrafilm.ro/films-2015-1.aspx?subsection=39

 

Astra Film Festival 2017 is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation
With the support of Sibiu County Council, the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, the European Union – through the Creative Europe-Media programme and the National Centre for Cinematography
Co-financed by Sibiu Local Council through Sibiu City Hall
In collaboration with Lucian Blaga University
Partners: Institutul Cultural Român, Uniunea Cineaștilor, Consulatul Republicii Federale Germania din Sibiu, Ambasada Elveției în România, Cinetic, Refresh, Habitus
Digital partner: Urby
Title sponsor: Construcții SA
Sponsors: Romgaz, Electrica, Banca Transilvania, Takata, Aqua Carpatica, Happy City, HBO, Cinelab, Swiss Sponsors’ Fund
Car of the festival: Toyota
Media partners: TVR, Europa FM, HotNews, Revista 22, VICE, Revista Timpul, Transilvania Reporter, Cineuropa, Film New Europe, Radio România Cultural, Radio România Actualități, Radio Cluj, Radio Antena Sibiului, Radio Târgu Mureș, RFI România, Cinemagia, LiterNet, Cațavencii, CineFan, Sub25, All About Romanian Cinema, Cooperativa Urbană, ÎnFestival, Recorder, Iqads, Filmtett, Thinkout of the Box, Zile și Nopți, Tribuna, Turnul Sfatului, Sibiu 100%, Eveniment TV, Ora de Sibiu

 

The EAST DOC PLATFORM, the largest international platform for Central and East European documentaries, takes place March 3 – 9, 2018 in Prague. Its 7th edition will introduce a number of new program features. In addition to its established sessions, the EDP will also host a pitch for interactive projects and, for the first time, for short documentaries.

“We’d really like the East Doc Platform to be an event that reflects on some of the challenges that have emerged in the field,” says the new EDP Manager Tereza Šimíková. “In the age of Netflix and with the massive shift to online viewing, we’ve seen a renaissance of short documentaries. We’re honored to help some of the best short docs in the region, and to secure funding and distribution on both sides of the Atlantic.”   

Thanks to the unique partnership between the Institute of Documentary Film and Tribeca Film Institute’s IF/Then distribution initiative, short-form documentary projects from Central and Eastern Europe can participate in a competition IF/Then Short Pitch. The winning project will receive USD 20,000 in completion support, ongoing mentorship and it will participate in a year-long distribution initiative run by the Tribeca Film Institute. “Our program has two main goals – to discover and empower an inclusive and representative group of voices in the thriving short documentary space, and to carve out a new model of financial sustainability for these filmmakers.” says Mridu Chandra, Director of the IF/Then Short Documentary Program.

In addition to the new features, the 16th East Doc Forum (formerly ‘East European Forum’) remains the EDP’s flagship program. Its 5-day preparatory workshop focuses on helping directors and producers finalize their visual material, outline a distribution strategy, and improve their communication and presentation skills. The event also includes a series of inspiring lectures for the general public. The pinnacle of the EDP is the central pitch for 21 feature-length documentary projects in development/early production.

The EDP will again host cross-media/interactive projects at any stage of development, production or post-production. The Doc Tank session is now part of the East Doc Forum workshop and will include
a new cross-media round table pitch – East Doc Interactive. Authors have an opportunity to get feedback and secure funding for their projects. It is also the key place to build partnerships with digital media and interactive web professionals, including broadcasters, online media, funds and experts in the interactive storytelling field.

Producers can submit their projects in production/post-production to the East Doc Market (formerly ‘Project Market’) that offers the opportunity to meet with over 100 international festival representatives, broadcasters, distributors and sales agents. Over the course of two days, filmmakers pitch their projects in 15-minute meetings through a speed-dating marathon to partners of their own choice or those who requested to meet the project.

For the third time, the EDP will present Czech Docs… Coming Soon, a selection of Czech documentary projects in production/post-production. Czech producers and directors will introduce their projects to international festival representatives, distributors and sales agents and later attend one-on-one meetings at the East Doc Market.

Application deadline for the 2018 East Doc Platform: November 10, 2017

For more details, go HERE.

The East Doc Platform is organized by the Institute of Documentary Film in association with the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.

Contact for media:
Marta Jallageas
+420 775 669 222

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

The International Co-Production Forum Regiofund will be held in Katowice from 4th through 7th October. The event is visited by film producers, representatives of European film funds, financial institutions, regional film funds, and local authorities, as well as private investors, television broadcasters, distributors, sales agents, and film distributors.

From among the projects submitted to Regiofund Forum from all over the world, the organizers have chosen 10 carefully selected film and TV series projects with international co-production potential. The qualified projects come from Poland, Albania, Romania, Italy, Austria, and Great Britain.

The pitching session is scheduled for the 6th of October and will be conducted before an international group of Regiofund’s guests who represent various areas of film industry, from financial institutions and regional film funds to film distributors and sales agents. Regiofund’s participants, who will present their projects during the pitching session, had a say in preparing the list of guests, as they were asked by the organizers about their demands and expectations. The session will be moderated by Karolina Lidin, a representative of Nordisk Film&TV Fund.

The following fiction and documentary films and animated TV series will be presented in Katowice:

• Film Odyssey – an inventive feature film for children, directed by Piotr Stasik and produced by Telemark, Poland
• Flesh – director Marcin Koszałka’s documentary attempt at facing the inevitability of death, produced by Szarobiuro Production, Poland
• Mediterrencee – an animated TV series focused on a number of important European women, directed by Bepi Vigna and produced by Zena Film, Italy
• Sirena (Hear The Whisper) – a surreal feature film about a certain graphic novel artist, directed by Giorgio Borgazzi and produced by Topanga, Austria/Italy
• Squeek – an animated TV series about the struggle of Maya’s gang of mice against the totalitarian rule of Julius, directed by Łukasz Kacprowicz and Marcin Wasilewski, and produced by GS Animation, Poland
• The Anselins – a suspenseful feature film by Dan Radu Mihai, described by the filmmakers as a project about duality. Produced by Anchor Films, Romania
• The Deathless Woman – an experimental documentary feature film about the poignant history of the Roma in Europe, directed by Roz Mortimer and produced by Animate Projects Productions, Great Britain
• The Gingers – a Christmas musical about a singing-loving family who own a gingerbread shop. Produced by Artcore, Poland
• The War Has Ended – Hagar Ben-Asher’s feature film set after World War II and telling a story about the meeting of 13-year-old Lily with master marionettist Joseph. Produced by Madants, Poland/Israel
• Three Lions Heading Venice – a story of filmmakers whose journey to the Venice Film Festival is a truly wild ride, directed by Jonid Jorgji and produced by EJF Production, Albania

All presentations are scheduled for Friday and will be preceded by two days of intense training course lead by Regiofund’s pitching experts: Maggie Ellis and Katrin Nandelstädt.

Maggie Ellis has been co-operating with the organizers for several years now, and she has almost 30 years of experience in running film trainings and schemes. As Film London’s Head of Production and Talent Development, she has commissioned hundreds of films from new and emergent talent. Katrin Nandelstädt, however, will train the participants in the art of presentation by exploring such areas as body language, voice training, managing the emotions, working on beliefs and attitudes, stage presence as well as formulating core messages and storytelling.

This year’s edition of Regiofund Forum will be held in Katowice from 4th through 7th of October. Its organizer, Silesia Film Commission, is a part of Silesia Film Institute, a cultural institution of the Silesian voivodeship.

You can still purchase Regiofund’s Observer Pass that enables participation in pitching session, discussion panels, workshops, and network meetings.

You can find more information on the event’s website: http://forumregiofund.pl/en/acreditation/

 

 

Part of the tradition of CAMERIMAGE Film Festival is to help young filmmakers and film school students to improve their skills through numerous workshops and seminars led by recognised film professionals. To support student attendance at the Festival, the organizers offer a special price for STUDENT Entry Cards and free accommodation for students as part of the Homestay Program. 

Homestay was established in 1997. According to its guidelines, students from all over the world can find free of charge accommodation at the private flats and houses of Bydgoszcz host families who, in return, take part in the festival events. This initiative often proves to be a great opportunity to start an unbreakable friendship and learn more about Polish culture, tradition and hospitality. 

To enrol for the Homestay Program:

• purchase your Student Entry Card online (registration and payments available HERE)
• fill out the Homestay entry form (HERE)
• wait for your Homestay offer* (will put you in touch with your host)
• arrange your arrival and stay with the host

  *Please note:

• We can only provide accommodation offered by those Bydgoszcz families that decided to take part in the program.
• Since there are always more students than families interested, we cannot guarantee that accommodation will be found for everyone.
• Accommodation will be granted on a "first come first served" basis.

Deadline for Homestay student applications: 6 October 2017.

 

Digital Single Market
25/09: European Audiovisual Observatory publishes results of its Brussels SATCAB workshop – EAO website
The publication summarises the main points of the discussion during the round-table workshop,which was held on 21 June in Brussels in order to explore certain aspects of the Regulation Proposal. The workshop was organised, and the discussion facilitated by the European Audiovisual Observatory (Strasbourg) upon request of the European Commission. 
15/09: Expert Survey Shows Direct Injection as the Principal Form of Broadcasting in Europe – SAA
The Ampere Analysis economic survey of channel distribution in the EU confirms that broadcast signals, whether domestic or cross-border, are overwhelmingly transmitted to retransmission platforms such as cable using a method known as Direct Injection.

Copyright
21/09: Hidden European Commission's study copyright study leaked – Netzpolitik 
The study ‘Estimated displacements rates of copyrighted content in the EU’ commissioned by the European Commission explores the relation between online copyright infringement (digital piracy) and sales of copyrighted content.
12/09: The urgent for a reform of EU copyright law by MEP Axel Voss – EP Magazine  

‘The proposal is a great opportunity not only to adapt the legal situation, but also to generate economic success for European works within the EU. In this connection, we need to strive for a good balance between all players. Ultimately, we are protecting cultural diversity in the EU and thus our European identity, thereby helping to make sure that it is still worthwhile to be creative’ stated MEP Axel Voss.  

European Commission
13/09: Juncker’s full 2017 State of the Union speech – European Commission
The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, delivered his annual State of the Union speech and presented the EU plan on a number of institutional, economic and political reforms.

Events 
27/09: European Audiovisual Observatory Conference on media convergence – Brussels 
29/09: Workshop on the Promotion of European Works in Audiovisual Media Services – Brussels
27-28/11: Estonian Presidency conference on audiovisual content, technology and policy – Tallinn – more information here