For the sixth time, the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) is organizing the East Doc Platform in Prague. The public is welcome to join Open Program (held in English). Most of the events take place at the Cervantes Institute (Na Rybníčku 6, Prague 2).
Free entry.
More info: dokweb.net.

LECTURE: NOTES ON PITCHING TRAILERS
6 March | 5.30 – 7 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Mikael Opstrup and Iikka Vehkalahti share their personal views and experience with various aspects of pitching trailers. How to choose the right approach and present the essence of the film, your ability as a filmmaker and to involve the audience/ decision makers emotionally?

LECTURE: MY INSIGHT INTO DOCUMENTARY CO-PRODUCTIONS
7 March | 10 – 11.30 am | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Producer Helle Faber (Made In Copenhagen, Denmark) will offer an insight into the current documentary co-production landscape. Through the examples from her projects and career, she will reflect on various challenges and pitfalls of creative co-producing across Europe.

MASTERCLASS: LEONARD RETEL HELMRICH – CAMERA MOVEMENTS AS A MAIN NARRATIVE
7 March | 6 – 9 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Acclaimed Dutch-Indonesian filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich will introduce his directorial approach and remarkably intimate visual style that he calls Single Shot Cinema. Illustrated by various clips from his multi-awarded films, this talk will shed a light on his unique way of portraying the microcosmos, poetry and complexity of the characters and stories he has been following.

LECTURE: FILM OPENING - HOW TO TICKLE THE SELECTION COMMITTEE'S ATTENTION
8 March | 10 – 11.30 am | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Lecture by renowned Italian film critic, writer and General Delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week, Giona A. Nazzaro, will reflect on the importance of the eloquent and well-thought-out opening in documentary film. What makes the festival curators and selectors wanting to stay with your film longer than the first 5-10 minutes?

LECTURE: DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCING OF TRANSMEDIA PROJECTS
8 March |  12.30 – 1.30 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Arnau Gifreu Castells, professor at ERAM (University of Girona) and research affiliate at the Open Documentary Lab (MIT), will introduce the strategy, platforms and financing plans applied to 3 transmedia non-fiction projects: Cyborg Project (2015), Bugarach. How to Survive the Apocalypse (2017) and The Negotiators (ongoing).

LECTURE: USER-CENTRED DESIGN METHODOLOGIES IN STORYTELLING
8 March |  2.30 – 3.30 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
For creators coming from linear storytelling (film, journalism, documentary etc.) the main challenge when working on an interactive narrative, is to decide on a platform and an interactive architecture. Sandra Gaudenzi, University of Westminster and Digital Cultures Research Centre (UWE, UK) unveils her findings and suggests a few tricks to best design our interactive stories.

LECTURE: INTERACTING WITH SPACE: LOCATION-BASED DOCUMENTARY
8 March | 4 – 5.30 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Location has been used as an organizational strategy for information at least since the ancient Greeks with their memory palaces. What does our latest generation of location-aware technologies, in particular augmented reality, bring to this tradition, and how might we think about its implications for documentary practice? By William Uricchio, Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, Principle Investigator of the MIT Open Documentary Lab.

LECTURE: STORIES TOLD DIGITALLY
9 March | 10 – 11 am | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Bruno Choiniére, head of the creative web department at Akufen  will explain the work-flow, design process, obstacles and mistakes which were solved creatively  within his  most recent and notable creations including the Dada Data (Arte, SRG, SSR) interactive documentary and The Wanted 18 (ONF, Arte) interactive graphic novel.

MASTERCLASS: JOE BINI - PERSONAL REMARKS ON DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING THROUGH THE EYES OF AN EDITOR
9 March | 11.30 am – 1 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Veteran documentary and fiction editor Joe Bini, will highlight the crucial role of editing in documentaries and the primacy of using image and metaphor over words. Drawing on his professional experience and cooperation with directors like Werner Herzog, Nick Broomfield, Andrea Arnold and others, he will focus on the key moments and decisions that make the story coherent while allowing the film to function as an art form able to speak for itself.

CZECH DOCS… COMING SOON
9 March | 2 – 3.15 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Five upcoming Czech documentary features will be presented by producer-director teams to representatives of prestigious international film festivals and sales agents.

PANEL: HOW TO ENTER THE AUSTRIAN MARKET?
9 March | 4 – 5 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Visitors will learn about the possibility how to co-produce with Austrian independent produces, funds and broadcasters, and how to get into the Austrian cinemas and what are the news in the field  of digital distribution. It will go through successful case-studies  but also the mistakes. Presented by: Peter Jaeger, Jaeger Creative, Florian Brüning Mischief Films, Wolfgang Widerhofer Geyerhalter Film, Ed Moschitz ORF.

LECTURE: LATEST TRENDS IN 360° VIDEO AND VIRTUAL REALITY
9 March | 5.30 – 6.30 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
A talk by Adam Široký and Jindřich Trapl from XLAB, that will explain both historical and recent evolution of VR and take you through the process of creating a 360 content - from pressing the record button on a camera - through processing and editing - to presentation. It will show you current hardware and software options and demonstrate the whole workflow on the 360 °cameras and VR headsets.

KINEDOK SCREENING, Q&A WITH DIRECTOR + DRINK 
9 March | 9 – 12 pm | DUP36, Charvátova 39| 10, Praha 1
Moonwalk with Grandpa (David Alræk, Norway, 2016, 46’)
David’s grandfather Kåre has always been a fearless adventurer, an inventor, a collector of memories and also David’s childhood hero. When Kåre is diagnosed with dementia, David fears the memories of their life together will be lost. But Grandpa Kåre is not ready to seal his fate, and inspires David to keep on looking for new adventures and memories to keep. A warm and humorous film, a playful reflection on how new memories emerge as others disappear, shot over a period of 9 years.

LECTURE: HOW TO RELEASE A HARD-HITTING FEATURE DOC - FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES
10 March | 10 – 11.15 am | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
New and emerging directors who want to make a feature doc face three obstacles – they have no track record in this area, releasing a film costs money and documentaries are a minority interest. The aim of this lecture is to help you find ways round these obstacles.  How you should think about distribution from the beginning, how you should build alliances to achieve your aims and how you can reach your audiences. There will be some home truths, good advice and examples how others have made it work. By Christopher Hird, a leading figure in UK independent documentary making.

LECTURE: HOW TO CO-PRODUCE INTERACTIVE WITH USA AND AUSTRALIA
10 March | 11.45 am – 12.45 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
John MacFarlane, a film, interactive and television producer at POV Digital will introduce partnership with the New York Times, which produced bold new interactive video content about race and ethnicity. He will also uncover the Australian interactive and cross­platform documentary land, including his project The Block: Stories From A Meeting Place, which won a Walkley, Australia's top journalism award, the SXSW Interactive winner Goa Hippy Tribe, and numerous others.

DOC TANK: PUBLIC PRESENTATION
10 March | 2 – 3.45 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
Come and see the best from Doc Tank. Five upcoming transmedia projects will be presented by producer-director teams to the public and small board of decision makers.

PANEL: SUPPORTING WOMEN FILMMAKERS
10 March | 4.30 – 6 pm | Cervantes Institute, Cinema Hall
This panel will focus on opportunities and support for women filmmakers, plus provide an overview of the status of women in the international film landscape, including recommendations for the future (presented by The European Women’s Audiovisual network). Visitors will learn practical information and advice regarding support and opportunities for women filmmakers presented by panelists: Mridu Chandra, Tribeca Film Institute, Judith Helfand, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Leena Pasanen DOK Leipzig, Ulla Simonen, MADE and Alexia Muiños, European Women's Audiovisual Network.

EAST EUROPEAN FORUM – PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
11 March | 9.30 am – 1.30 pm | Komedie Theatre
20 feature-length documentaries in development and production from Central and Eastern Europe are pitched to international industry professionals and potential funders.