ITVS Alumni Score a Win at SFIAAFF

By Michael Kinomoto

Four filmmakers previously funded by ITVS received a $5,000 award at this year’s San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) for a work-in-progress about international LGBT politicians.

From L to R: Johnny Symons, Brittney Shepherd, Eva Moss, and S. Leo Chiang

Filmmakers S. Leo Chiang (A Village Called Versailles) and Johnny Symons (Daddy & Papa, Ask Not), along with co-producers Eva Moss and Brittney Shepherd, were awarded a $5,000 research and development award at the Ready, Set, Pitch! panel held on Sunday, March 11 at the 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for their project Out Run (working title) – a feature length documentary project that follows openly-LGBT political candidates in parts of the world that are most hostile to their cause.
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Tags: funding, Independents, itvs filmmakers, san francisco international asian american film festival, sfiaff

A Determined Filmmaker Returns to Open Call

Filmmaker Judith Helfand’s latest documentary Cooked was one of a dozen projects accepted into ITVS’s latest round of Open Call funding. She offered BTB this roundup of the producer’s orientation, held last week in San Francisco.

I started writing this amidst the din of the one week orientation for filmmakers funded through ITVS’ most recent Open Call. I’m finishing it from the relative “quiet” of my Upper West Side apartment, save for the garbage trucks way below on 84^th - otherwise known as Edgar Allan Poe Street, the two-year-old running on the bare wood floor above me in 11B, and the hammering from somewhere in my pre- WW1 building.

The “din”: the walla walla of 20 independent producers, each in a different state of disbelief, gratitude, relief, giddy nervousness, tenacious “I can handle anything that comes my way” and “thank you but don’t touch my digital rights”.  It has since turned into a low comforting roar/buzz/oral memory playing in the background as I write up these reflections.
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Tags: chicken and egg, cooked, funding, ITVS, judith hefand, Open Call, PBS

Live Chat on ITVS’s International Call

ITVS International Call 2012′s deadline is Friday, December 9, 2011. On Monday, December 5 at 6AM PT — core members of our ITVS International team will answer your questions about the call in a live chat on BTB. The discussion is open to ask any question — no topic is too big or too small — regarding International Call, ITVS, what we’re looking for, the process, the contract, etc. Log on to BTB at 6AM PT (find out what time that is for you).

Tags: documentary, film funding, funding, ITVS International Call, live chat

Live Chat on DDF Funding

This year’s deadline for the Diversity Development Fund (DDF) falls on November 11. On Tuesday, November 1 at 1PM PT / 4PM ET, ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad will be taking questions from interested applicants in a live chat on BTB.

The DDF provides up to $15,000 in research and development funding to independent producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Projects should speak to the ITVS mission to serve underserved audiences with programs that take creative risks, explore complex issues, inspire dialogue and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public television.
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Tags: diversity, documentaries, documentary, film, film schools, filmmakers, financing, funding, independent, producers

New AIR Initiative Seeks Innovative Media Makers

Localore — a new initiative from The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) — is recruiting innovative producers to lead public stations in ways beyond broadcast.

Calling all independent media makers (yes, we’re talking to you filmmakers!). Do you want to explore new ways of telling your story? Do you have an idea that takes advantage of both traditional and digital media? Then take a look at Localore, a new initiative from our friends at The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), that’s designed to fuel public media’s capacity for innovative storytelling and journalism.

Through Localore, AIR will recruit talented radio, TV, film, and online producers to lead 10 public station-based projects, blending approaches to broadcast and digital platforms. This means mixing traditional media with mobile applications, online video, digital games, data visualization and maps — anything that will help to bring stories to the public in new ways beyond broadcast.

Interested producers are invited to submit proposals until November 10th at Localore.net.A second round of vetting in December will call on producers, matched with incubator stations, to submit final proposals.

Watch the station runway video (above) to see which public stations are interested in partnering with Independents. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get your innovative project considered for this game-changing initiative.

Tags: call for submissions, documentary, film, filmmakers, funding, media makers, producers, Production

Newly Contracted: ITVS Announces Funding for Every Day is a Holiday

Filmmaker Theresa Loong’s documentary focuses on the secret diary of her father — a war veteran and P.O.W. — and his long, complicated path to U.S. citizenship.

Growing up, filmmaker Theresa Loong knew that her father, Paul Loong, was older than most of her friends’ parents. Father and daughter are almost 50 years apart in age.  Throughout her youth and young adulthood, Theresa recalls a cheerful father who loved to laugh and play pranks on his kids. But underneath all that laughter, he would show occasional flashes of anger and sadness.

One day, young Theresa asked him innocently about a curious scar on his back. “Everyone has secrets,” he would say.
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Tags: every day is a holiday, funding, ITVS, P.O.W., theresa loong

ITVS Announces Funding for Eight International Productions through The Global Perspectives Project

ITVS has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call. The next International Call Deadline is December 9, 2011.

ITVS announced that it has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call as part of the Global Perspective Project. This year’s selections provide extraordinary access and insight into the daily lives and struggles of people who live in Uruguay, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Myanmar, and India.

The productions were selected through a competitive application process, which resulted in 476 submissions from 118 countries representing 72 languages.

All eight documentary projects are slated for eventual broadcast, including primetime slots on the Emmy® Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, P.O.V., and the international series, Global Voices.

Check out the complete list of funded projects after the jump >>
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Tags: documentary, filmmakers, financing, funding, international, PBS, producers, public media, public television

Deadline for ITVS International Call on Dec. 9, 2011

ITVS International Call promotes the exchange of compelling documentary films between the United States and other nations, going beyond stereotypes and headline news.

ITVS International enables independent producers from outside the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through International Call, global storytellers introduce U.S. audiences to their world, their neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.

International Call provides production and/or post-production funds for single non-fiction television documentaries that bring international perspectives, ideas, stories and people to a U.S. audience. This initiative is for non-U.S. producers and filmmakers who live outside the U.S.

Please note: ITVS International Call 2012 will be an all digital submissions process.

For more information about guidelines, eligibility and how to submit, please visit www.itvs.org/funding/international

Tags: deadline, documentary, filmmakers, financing, funding, international, non-fiction, post production, producers, Production, public television

Looking In: An Update from ITVS Production

Managing Director of Production Richard O’Connell, provides the first in a series of updates on some of the latest initiatives for independents at ITVS.

Welcome to the first in a series of updates on the production side of the public media world at large — in particular at ITVS, where our production team is working with filmmakers on more than 150 programs scheduled for public television. Topics will range from technology advances to marketing strategies and trends, and to ITVS policies.
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Tags: funding, ITVS, Open Call, orientation, Production

What Does Public Media’s Future Look Like?

Co-managing Director of Public Media Company (PMC) Ken Ikeda talks about the “race to reengage future audiences,” and its effect on public media.

As part of BTB’s ongoing mission to curate news and opinions on public media, we have called upon key players to share their take on the evolving environment. Over the next several weeks, BTB will be rolling out their thoughts and ideas, adding to the conversation on public media’s role now and in the years to come.
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Tags: funding, independent producers, ken ikeda, new media, PBS, public media, public media company, public television