Reflections From the Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival, held annually in Park City, Utah, is one of the largest and most prominent festivals for independent filmmakers. This year, three ITVS films made their world premiere at the festival, which brings the total number of ITVS funded films that have screened at Sundance to 69 since we first attended in 1994. Lois Vossen, ITVS vice president and Independent Lens series producer, shares her reflections on this year’s festival, which wraps up this weekend.

Between screenings, Lois discovers Banksy art behind the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah.

Marquee at the Egyptian Theatre

Arriving in Park City, Utah at 8:00 AM on Friday morning, January 22, a couple of things were clear: it was doubtful that I would get caught up on sleep here. The list of documentaries I needed to screen in the next five and a half days was growing faster than the snowdrift that lay between me and our condo front door –– and this was going to be a snowy Sundance.

Three ITVS funded films were featured at 2010 Sundance: Last Train Home by Lixin Fan, The Oath by Laura Poitras, and My Perestroika by Robin Hessman. My colleagues Claire Aguilar and Cynthia Kane attended their screenings and I headed out to find new shows for Independent Lens acquisition consideration.

Seventeen films, countless shuttle rides, bad sandwiches on the run, and many snowstorms later, here’s what I remember now that I’m back in sunny San Francisco.

• Discovering Banksy street art on Main Street at 8:00 AM, Monday morning, en route to an early morning screening. I know there has to be more so I’m in hot pursuit…
• The Impact Partners party on Saturday night. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, is in the house. We end up talking about the now-canceled TV show Life, and the joys of working with Adam Arkin with whom she starred.
• Unique offerings at Sundance 2010: Utopia in Four Movements by Sam Green; Double Take by Johan Grimonprez; and Saint Louis Blues by Dyana Gaye, a 48-minute musical documentary from Senegal. Too long but totally unexpected.
• Finding out when the next special screening of Exit Through the Gift Shop will take place. Banksy pursuit continues…

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Tags: film festival, independent film, P.O.V., Sundance

At the Greenhouse Seminar in Izmir, Turkey with ITVS Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar

Greenhouse is a professional initiative devoted to the development of documentaries across the Mediterranean region. It seeks to build a multi-cultural dialogue, promoting the creation of professional and personal ties between filmmakers and the international market, while training the next generation of Mediterranean documentary filmmakers. Read about ITVS Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar’s experience at the Greenhouse seminar held in Izmir, Turkey .

I spent last weekend in Izmir, Turkey, where I had the pleasure of participating in a unique training program for documentary filmmakers, Greenhouse. Supported by the European Union, Greenhouse creates cultural exchange between countries in the Mediterranean region, including the Middle East.  Selecting more than a dozen filmmaker teams with their documentary projects, Greenhouse stages three seminars and training workshops over the course of the year. Emphasizing creative documentary with innovative cinematic approaches, Greenhouse gives filmmakers unique tutorial sessions with strong experts and mentors, and culminates in a pitching session with international commissioning editors from around the world. This last session was a showcase of these documentaries, and although they are still in development, we could see the potential of the great films that they would become.

Izmir is known historically as Smyrna, and although I didn’t know much about it before now except for its famed golden raisins, it is a large port city on the Aegean sea. Izmir was chosen as a location for its accessibility, since the filmmakers who participated in Greenhouse came from Turkey as well as Egypt, Palestine and Israel.

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Tags: film resources, Greenhouse, turkey

At AFI Digifest with Programming Manager Karim Ahmad

Matthew Meschery, director of Digital Initiatives, and Karim Ahmad, programming manager, present the new FUTURESTATES iPhone application.

Last week, on the heels of the announcement about FUTURESTATES, a new online fictional series by ITVS, I had the pleasure of previewing the series and one of its key distribution and promotional tools at this year’s AFI Digifest. This was part of AFI’s Digital Content Lab, an incubation program where content makers and technical innovators collaborate to create new media projects. For ITVS, it was our first-ever iPhone application.

This is the third year ITVS has collaborated, and this time, we really sought to break new ground. FUTURESTATES is about the future––each episode presents a different filmmaker’s vision of the not-too-distant future, allowing them to use speculative and science fiction to comment on current events. We were determined to match this content with technical innovation in our distribution approach. That’s how we got the idea of the FUTURESTATES iPhone application.

To go from the basic concept to the presentation of the prototype took us less than two months, due solely to the talent and resourcefulness of the team AFI put together for us. We worked with iPhone app developers Omnilogic Systems, based out of Saskatoon Saskatchewan (that’s right, Saskatoon) and new media guru Garnet Hertz. We started with the basics––full episodes from the series as well as behind the scenes photos and videos streaming to your iPhone––because after all, the future is content accessible anywhere on-demand.

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Tags: AFI, fiction, future, iPhone

Filmmaker Christen Marquez at the Pacific X-Change Conference

ITVS and Pacific Islanders In Communications recently hosted the Pacific X-change conference, an educational two-day workshop held in Waikiki, Hawaii. Find out what the experience was like for independent documentary filmmaker Christen Marquez who was one of 19 selected to attend.

Filmmaker Christen Marquez with her mother Elena Marquez, both subjects of the documentary work-in-progress HAKU INOA: To Weave a Name.

Richard Saiz gives out homework. Really, there was a take home assignment.

Filmmaker Sarah Del Seronde presents her project on a family in Tonga to the panel.

Every time I return to Hawai‘i, I am grateful to see my Mom, spend time with her, and learn from her. As a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) of mixed heritage currently living in California, I truly appreciate any opportunity to learn from all the people I meet here on the islands. This trip was exceptionally exciting because I was one of 19 fortunate documentary producers and directors selected to attend the Pacific X-change conference, which was a collaboration between ITVS and Pacific Islanders In Communications. Held in the Prince Kuhio hotel in Waikiki, the workshop consisted of two days of workshops and pitching sessions.

At the beginning of the conference ITVS Senior Programming Manager Richard Saiz revealed that he has read an astonishing 8,000 documentary proposals. Wow! I would probably have brain damage. Thankfully, instead of crippling himself, Richard has gained great insight into what goes into a successful treatment. Just one memorable tidbit he shared with us was his holy trinity of doc proposal writing. Which distilled to premise, theme and story. If you can make each of these elements truly compelling Richard swears that you will be successful.

Up next was lovely local girl Cheryl Hirasa, who also happens to be a production manager at ITVS. By coincidence, she was in Hawai‘i visiting family and actually gave up some of her vacation to attend the conference. She presented a workshop on producing for public television, which helped explain deliverables and public television distribution.

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Tags: film resources, filmmakers, Hawaii

At Documentary in Europe 2009 with ITVS’s Cynthia Kane

Documentary in Europe consists of film screenings, matchmaking meetings, seminars, master classes, producers’ meeting commissioning editors as well as a pitching workshops and sessions. Held annually in Bardonecchia, Italy, professionals from around the world gather to network with colleagues and discuss the latest documentary projects. International Programming Manager Cynthia Kane gives her take on this year’s event.

Situated in the Italian Alps about one hour North of Torino (aka Turin––think Fiat and the Shroud), Bardonecchia is a charming, albeit quiet, town in summer, making it a fantastic place to focus on documentary. In winter, I’m told that it’s a far different scene––packed with skiers, snowboarders and glamorous Italians. Most people know Bardonecchia as one to the sites of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.

Although the event doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday, many participants arrived early this week to attend the Pitching Forum. There were several successful pitches from the past––including two ITVS International docs: THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM & OTHER STORIES, produced by Martichka Bozhilova and directed by Andrey Paounov, and JOURNALS OF A WILY SCHOOL, produced by Debu Bhattacharyya and directed by Sudeshna Bose. In total there were 23 projects during the two days of the Pitching Forum. I also kept busy by attending a matchmaking/development session with 14 projects that were pitched and discussed at length. This session was the most interesting to me since I’ve never seen most of the projects, thus it had many good possibilities for International Call 2010.

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Tags: Europe, international

International Report From the Field with Cynthia Kane

Dragon forum pitch session.

The 49th Krakow Film Festival kicked off with Paul Mazursky’s Yippee: A Journey to Jewish Joy as its opening night film, which was followed almost immediately by the Polish premiere of UNMISTAKEN CHILD, an ITVS International co-production with filmmaker Nati Baratz who introduced the film to the jammed-packed theater with renowned Polish director Andrzej Wajda in attendance.

Now I must say I have admired Mazursky for a long time and even loved some of his films. This one was a lot of fun (and at times LOL-fun) watching Mazursky and gang travel to Uman in the Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah to celebrate joyously at the burial site of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the founder of Kabbalah. And might I add, slightly different in tone to UNMISTAKEN CHILD. By the end of the week, Nati was awarded the Best Documentary Feature Prize––the Golden Horn for “both an impressive, thorough and undoubtedly genuine and intimate” documentary about a Buddhist monk’s pursuit of the reincarnation of his beloved lama. A documentary “that transforms into a story about the mystery of human life, and a perfect combination of an attractive form and intimate portrait of a deeply believing monk and his relationship with the unmistaken little boy.”

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Tags: film festival, independent film, Krakow, Poland

Webcast Panel Discussion: Documentaries and Cultural Diplomacy

Despite the proliferation of global media sources, many viewers in the United States and abroad remain relatively isolated, relying on local outlets for local stories with local points-of-view. What strategies can or should the media use to bridge the international divide and to inspire education, trust and collaborative action?

On Friday, June 5, Beyond the Box Blog hosted a live streaming discussion about this issue from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, which was streamed simultaneously at the Geneva Forum on Social Change, a global event co-sponsored by ITVS with keynote speaker Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Moderator Sandy Tolan, journalism professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication, led a discussion about developing media strategies with Enrica Colusso, filmmaker of ABC COLOMBIA; Tamara Gould, vice president of distribution at Independent Television Service International; and Diana Diaz, commissioning editor and head of programming and content at the Radio Televisión Nacional de Colombia. This panel also explored the role of independent and public media in changing the way the world sees America and Americans see the world, and examined case studies of documentary exchanges that connect citizens with citizens through traditional broadcast, new media, outreach and co-production relationships.

Missed the live stream? Watch the full discussion below (TRT: 90 minutes):

Click To Play

Tags: education, international, USC

At the Israel Market for International Co-Productions with ITVS Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar

The 11th Israel Market for International Co-Productions recently concluded. Held in Tel Aviv, the event aims to foster dialogue between Israeli filmmakers and foreign counterparts, offer international audiences new and interesting insight, promote and nurture young talented Israeli Arab and Jewish filmmakers and raise funds for Israeli-foreign co-productions. Read about ITVS Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar’s experience at this year’s Co-Pro.

The 11th Israel Market for International Co-Productions.

I just participated in the 11th Israel Co-Production Forum in Tel Aviv. It was my fourth time at the Co-Pro and in Israel, and as always it was an inspiring and invigorating experience.

This was a special year for ITVS, where we were honored with a special tribute for films that we produced with Israeli producers as well as films presented by ITVS International through co-productions or acquisition. The tribute to ITVS opened with the film BE LIKE OTHERS, by Tanaz Eshaghian and Peter Wintonick, which explores transsexual counterculture in Iran. This unprecedented film explores the re-assignment of gender in a Muslim country, where sex-sex operations offer a cure for “diagnosed transsexuals.” In Israel, there obviously is interest in Iran on all levels, and this film offered insight into an intimate part of the culture. Nine other films were featured in the ITVS tribute including ON THE BORDERS OF DESPERATION, STORM OF EMOTIONS, YOUNG YAKUZA, PICKLES, INC. and UNMISTAKEN CHILD. These films will tour in cinematheques across Israel.

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Tags: Israel, Tel Aviv

At the Peabody Awards with Vice President and Indie Lens Series Producer Lois Vossen

Winners of the 2009 Peabody Awards.

Maria Finitzo and Justine Nagan, winners for MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH, with Lois Vossen (middle).

Albert Maysles, Peabody Award winner and acclaimed filmmaker, with Lois Vossen.

Yesterday, I attended the 2009 Peabody Awards ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. This year, PBS received six Peabody Awards and I’m proud to say that one-third of those went to Independent Lens.

Taking home awards were Maria Finitzo for MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH: Terra Incognita, which looks at Dr. Jack Kessler, a prominent neurologist, who shifts his diabetes research to stem cell research when his daughter is paralyzed from the waist down. The second Peabody was given to KING CORN, by Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, which follows two recent college graduates who embark on a mission to see where America’s food comes from––by growing it. In the rural town of Greene, Iowa, the two friends plant a single acre of the nation’s most powerful crop–corn–and then set out to track it from a seed to the dinner plate.

The ceremony was hosted by NBC’s Brian Wiliams. Anyone who has seen him as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart knows he has a good, contagious sense of humor. He was a very good MC for the Peabody ceremony––the perfect mix of sincere recognition for the remarkable work being honored and very funny humor to make the ceremony more entertaining and also sincere and effective. One of my favorite moments was Brian Williams persistent teasing of Wolf Blitzer and CNN.

Other highlights of the Peabody Awards included an honor to Saturday Night Live for their political parody coverage of the 2008 presidential election, Entourage and Breaking Bad.

After the ceremony, I spent time with Albert Maysles (who received a Peabody Award for The Gates) and the staff of The Onion online. I later joined the other winners for the champagne reception at The Paley Center. It was a big day for Independent Lens and the filmmakers!

Lois
- Vice President and Independent Lens Series Producer

Tags: Brian Williams, Peabody Awards

At PBS Showcase with Associate Director of Broadcast and Distribution Sreedevi Sripathy

PBS Showcase and General Managers’ Planning Meeting brings together inspirational speakers, valuable programming and promotion information and professional development opportunities on a wide range of subjects. Read about ITVS’s Associate Director of Broadcast and Distribution Sreedevi Sripathy’s experience at this year’s event where she discusses what’s ahead in public television and her unrelenting urge to sing the song “Good Morning Baltimore” from the musical Hairspray.

Sreedevi Sripathy with Zvi Shoubin, managing director of MPT networks (Maryland Public Television).

Lois Vossen, vice president and series producer, presents the upcoming season of Independent Lens.

PBS Showcase 2009 was held in the fabulous city of Baltimore––and this being my first visit to Baltimore and my first PBS Showcase, I had a great time and ate my fair share of crab cakes.

On the first day of Showcase, the Sesame Street Workshop hosted a breakfast to highlight the return of The Electric Company and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. We got a peek of some of the special guests in their upcoming season, including the First Lady Michelle Obama, along with an electrifying live performance from the cast of The Electric Company––those kids can sing!

Attendees then got a glimpse of the first set of programs coming down the pipeline from PBS. ITVS’s very own Independent Lens received one of the biggest laughs from the audience with our preview of a program that is sure to a be a pop out hit of the season (I’d tell you what it was…but we haven’t officially published our schedule so I’m going to keep you guessing!).

The day ended with a hosted reception by ITVS, P.O.V. and the National Minority Consortia celebrating independent films on public television. With the sunlight streaming into the foyer, it was a lovely evening filled with conversation and appreciation.

Day two began with a series of workshops, where attendees could participate in discussions on kids programming, online video or how public service media can be innovative and transformative. This last session was facilitated by the incoming Senior Vice President of Innovation and Diversity at the Corporation for Public Broadcast (CPB), Joaquin Alvarado, who will officially take his position in a month, but is already hard at work engaging public television stations and public media to think bigger about what we can do in a new media age.

The third day of showcase featured a great panel discussion facilitated by Orlando Bagwell of the Ford Foundation, with the executive directors of each of the National Minority Consortia. The topic of conversation was how diversity and innovation lead to the next generation.

After some great morning sessions, the day ended with the new COO of PBS, Michael Jones, leaving us with some profound words about the relationship PBS has with the American audience––TRUST––and the importance of keeping that at the forefront of all we do.

Woo! That was a great three days! Well, I will depart with my favorite story about one of my favorite people. I was speaking with Zvi Shoubin, the managing director of MPT networks (Maryland Public Television) about my desire to wake up my first day in Baltimore and sing “Good Morning Baltimore” from the top of my lungs. As I was telling him my intentions, he says, “Well you know, I created the dance show that is in Hairspray.” What? Tell me more!

Well, at the time, Zvi worked for the ABC affiliate in Baltimore, and his boss approached him with this idea for a show––apparently someone named Dick Clark was making a splash nationally with a new show called American Bandstand and they wanted to do something similar in Baltimore. While a bit skeptical, Zvi agreed and voila!––The Buddy Deane Show in Baltimore was born and became the backdrop for The Corny Collin’s Show in Hairspray.

And with that, I will sign off. Thanks again Baltimore and PBS Showcase––my only regret is that I didn’t get to stop and see Duff over at Ace of Cakes. Next time!

-Sreedevi
Associate Director of Broadcast and Distribution

Tags: PBS, PBS Showcase