international
On the Scene at a War Criminal’s Conviction
Filmmaker Adrian Maben
The ITVS-funded film-in-progress Comrade Duch tells the story of the gifted Cambodian mathematician turned mass killer Kaing Guek Eav and the trial to bring him to justice. Filmmaker Adrian Maben was outside the courtroom last month when Duch was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
When I started to work on Comrade Duch, it was clear in my mind that this film should not be a courtroom film with heaps of legal wrangling and judicial squabbles. The central idea was to find an answer to the question of how one man could possibly inflict so much pain on his fellow citizens and justify his acts.
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On the Road: ITVS Represented at DocMontevideo
ITVS' Claire Aguilar, with, Luis González Zaffaroni and Patricia Boero
Last month, ITVS’s Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar attended DocMontevideo in Montevideo, Uruguay and filed this report.
Montevideo, Uruguay, — a European-style city between Argentina and Brazil — is a unique and surprising place for a television documentary conference. Since Uruguay has been in the news recently — they took a triumphant fourth place at this year’s World Cup and elected a new president in the spring, the former leftist-guerilla Jose Mujica — I was delighted to get a chance to come to a documentary event and also discover this fascinating and beautiful country.
In just its second year, DocMontevideo has established itself as a meeting ground for documentary filmmakers and broadcasters on the South American continent. It comprises a series of workshops, informational seminars, broadcaster meetings, and a pitching forum for 15 projects in development and production. This year, the meeting convened 300 television producers and documentary filmmakers and 30 broadcasters from South and North America.
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Live Webcast: Media As Global Diplomat
It’s here! Welcome to the live stream of Seizing the Moment: Media and Peacebuilding, a summit we’re hosting at the Newseum in cooperation with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Sesame Workshop. (For more about this event, check out our previous post)
Please join in via chat or by using the Twitter hashtag #magd. How do you think the media is doing in helping divergent cultures understand and empathize with one another? Is technology delivering on its promise to democratize media in a true sense? What could we be doing better?
Dive in and be heard:
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Building Peace through Media – Join Us Tomorrow, May 12th!
We’re thrilled to once again be partnering with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to host the third in a series of media and leadership summits, tomorrow May 12th at the Newseum in Washington D.C. So you’re not in D.C.? No worries – we’ll have a live webcast and discussion here on the blog beginning at 9:00 AM EST.
You’ll able to engage panelists through a live chat and Twitter (#magd). We encourage you to take part! Sign up and find full details of the event at www.usip.org.
The summit, Seizing the Moment: Media and Peacebuilding, will be moderated by NPR’s Michel Martin, host of the acclaimed program Tell Me More, and will bring together more than 20 thought leaders, CEOs, media makers, and policy gurus to tackle the tough questions around leveraging today’s global media to facilitate conflict resolution and contribute to the expansion of peace.
The summit will present a series of three discussions (The New News: Media at the Crossroads, Storytelling 2.0: Keeping it Real,Opening Minds, and Changing Hearts, and Next Generation Peacebuilders) alongside select content from new documentaries coming to PBS and other outlets, including the Academy® Award-nominated The Most Dangerous Man in America and Project Kashmir airing on Independent Lens on May 18th.
The day’s panelists include:
- Jared Cohen—Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, U.S. Department of State
- Patricia Harrison—President and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Marvin Kalb—Veteran Broadcaster and Visiting Expert, USIP
- Riz Khan—Senior News Anchor, Al Jazeera English
- Gary Knell—President and CEO, Sesame Workshop
- Mir Ibrahim Rahman—CEO, Geo TV Pakistan
Please tune in and add your voice to this important conversation.
A Filmmaker Transformed by Her Subject
"Teacher" premieres Sunday, May 9 on Global Voices
Filmmaker Leslie Wiener-Legrand (Teacher, premiering May 9 on Global Voices on PBS WORLD, check local listings) went to Ho Chi Minh City fully intending to make a travel documentary about Vietnam for the Lonely Planet franchise. But as she spent time in the city scouting out locales to highlight for prospective tourists, she found it ever more difficult to ignore the poverty all around her — particularly the plight of the city’s thousands of street children, many of whom have AIDS.
As she found her lens drawn more and more to them and their stories, she met their guardian angel, Nguyen Van Hung, a former drug addict who came of age just as Saigon fell and who spent decades as an aimless street thug and heroin addict.
How did such an unlikely character end up dedicating his life to the stricken children of Vietnam’s capital? wondered Wiener-Legrand. She was captivated, and shifted her focus — literally — from travel guide to social documentary. But it wasn’t just her work that was transformed: it was herself, as well.
Watch this behind-the-scenes footage from the filmmaker as she explains how Nguyen taught her profound lessons in life, courage, death, generosity, and love as she made her film about him, Teacher.
(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?
It’s that time again, indie film people. We’ve got a slate of international documentaries for the new season of Global Voices just itching to get all over your eyeballs. Global Voices was the first original series to launch on PBS WORLD three years ago, and we think it’s really hitting its stride.
The season debuts on Sunday, May 9 (Happy Mother’s Day!) on PBS WORLD (check local listings) with Teacher, a lyrical new documentary by Leslie Wiener-Legrand and Nick Hector about a former drug addict in Ho Chi Minh City who is now dedicated to helping the homeless street children of that city battle HIV and AIDS.
"Teacher" premiering Sunday, May 9 on PBS WORLD
We’re not going to lie, the lineup this season is pretty impressive. The films cover the globe from Serbia, Jordan, Romania, Armenia, Qatar, and beyond, offering viewers in the U.S. a chance to look inside the lives and hear the perspectives of people whose experiences are utterly different from their own. In a time of myriad global challenges, it can be helpful to get to know our global neighbors and rediscover our common humanity. And while there are plenty of serious sociopolitical topics covered in these films, there is also a healthy dose of humor, too. (Keep up with the series on our Global Voices Facebook page.)
Watch a preview of Teacher airing this Sunday, May 9th on PBS WORLD >>
ITVS International: Application for Film Funding; Deadline February 5
ITVS International Call enables independent producers from outside of the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through the International Call, storytellers from other countries introduce U.S. audiences to their global neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.
The deadline for ITVS International Call is Friday, February 5, 2010. Due dates are not postmark deadlines and all materials must arrive at ITVS by 5:00 PM.
Have additional questions about the International Media Development Fund? Email Cynthia_Kane@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x445.
Find more information about guidelines and how to apply >>
The application is now available on the ITVS website. Download now >>
Have additional questions about the International Media Development Fund? Email Cynthia_Kane@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x445.
Ask Programming: International Call Questions
With the ITVS International Call deadline quickly approaching on February 5, 2010, the ITVS programming staff takes some time out to answer a few of your frequently asked questions:
Q. How does the International Call work?
A. Through the International Call funding initiative, ITVS works to:
1. Seek out international projects. We work closely with international media markets, film festivals and producer organizations to find and attract the most compelling television project proposals from around the world.
2. Select the best projects created by international independent producers. The International Call incorporates a peer-review process involving distinguished industry professionals (filmmakers, commissioning editors, broadcasters, etc.) from around the world.
Cynthia Kane, ITVS International Program Manager, posing in front of the International Call submissions library.
3. Fund and manage projects to completion. Through the International Call, we provide production funds in exchange for a license for domestic broadcast; strategic commissioning commitments vary. ITVS works with producers to ensure that all programs meet broadcast and editorial standards.
4. Find U.S. television distribution outlets. Working with the producer, public television and other outlets, we negotiate U.S. distribution through public or cable television.
5. Maximize impact. Through publicity and community outreach campaigns, we help programs find and impact audiences.
ITVS International Call: Deadline February 5
ITVS International Call enables independent producers from outside of the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through the International Call, storytellers from other countries introduce U.S. audiences to their global neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.
The deadline for ITVS International Call is Friday, February 5, 2010. Due dates are not postmark deadlines and all materials must arrive at ITVS by 5:00 PM.
Find more information about guidelines and how to apply >>
Have additional questions about International Call? Email Joy_Scott@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x232.
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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