Always Look on the Sunnyside of the Doc

Last month, the Sunnyside of the Doc International Documentary Market took place in La Rochelle, France. Cynthia Kane, ITVS International programming manager, was on hand to hear from producers and filmmakers from around the world about their latest projects. She reports back on the intimate climate of the event:

I honestly thought this might be a “light” year at Sunnyside given the economic crisis, the fact that Silverdocs was happening simultaneously in Silver Springs, and the EBU Pitching was taking place at France Télévisions in Paris instead of La Rochelle.

Morning meetings on the terrace at Sunnyside of the Doc

Yet, while U.S. participation was somewhat down, Sunnyside was alive and well — thriving in fact with almost 1,800 people in attendance from 48 countries.  And, as manager of ITVS’s International Initiative, it was the right place for me to be.

What I have always loved about Sunnyside is the opportunity it provides me to sit down with filmmakers and producers for relaxed one-on-one meetings and in depth talks about their projects.  This year was no different; I arrived on “the Terrace”every morning by 8:30 AM — coming in the back way, as the Espace Encan was not officially open till 9 AM (important to find a good table and get an early start).
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Tags: documentary, film festival, France, Producer, sunnyside of the doc

International Report From the Field with Cynthia Kane

The Palais de Festival in Cannes, South France, where MIPTV is held.

Marie-Claude manages the booth at this year's MIPTV.

It’s Cynthia Kane once again reporting in from Cannes in the South of France. No, not from the renowned film festival, but from one of the two huge television markets held twice a year in the springtime––MIPDOC and MIPTV.

MIPDOC takes place on the weekend; however, this year I did not attend since Kathryn Washington, ITVS programming manager, and I were in New York for the Native American Film Festival and Filmmaker Summit (see my post from earlier this week). Thus, I arrived Sunday night in the pouring rain. No sunny South of France for this trip!

The Palais de Festival, where MIPTV is held, was far less full this year. Our booth, which we normally share with WNET-Thirteen (PBS in New York City) and WLIW (PBS in Long Island, New York) was a bit quieter. Our colleagues from WNET decided not to attend and there were other open spaces normally filled with booths and activity. Yet, many of us agreed, it gave us more time for thorough meetings, instead of the usual frenetic rush of this market and a lot of business was accomplished.

I thought it might be slow for me, but my schedule was jam-packed. It’s a time of catching up, scouting, even meeting some of the producers and filmmakers that submitted to International Call. I was able to discuss the projects and give feedback, which Joy-Marie Scott, ITVS International Programming Coordinator, and I usually do via phone appointment or Skype. It’s a rare luxury to do the feedback face-to-face and I certainly took full advantage of it while here.

Both Philippa Kowarsky of Cinephil-Israel and Leila Monks of TVF-UK had fantastic birthday dinners during the week. I missed both! The former due to the late arrival of my flight, the latter due to sheer exhaustion of the busy week. The business day, you see, doesn’t stop until you’ve had a meal and some fantastic French wine and talked with your colleagues late into the night. Then it’s back to the hotel to grab some sleep before the next early meeting that morning!

All in all, this has been a great MIPTV, despite attendance down by 4,000 and the cold, rainy weather.

-Cynthia
ITVS International Programming Manager

Tags: France, MIPDOC, MIPTV