international
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.
ITVS Joins Filmmakers and Partners at the Geneva Forum on Social Change
ITVS and the University of Geneva’s International Organizations MBA Program, in collaboration with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Mission to Geneva, recently presented the Geneva Forum on Social Change at the Geneva International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. More than 1,000 people attended to discuss key issues facing communities around the globe, with a focus on the uses of documentary film as a tool for education and policy making in international public affairs. ITVS Director of Communications Dennis Palmieri attended the event and shares some of the highlights and reflects on its impact.
Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu giving the keynote address. Photo credit: Violaine Beix
More than 1,000 people attended the Geneva Forum on Social Change, co-presented by ITVS.
The Geneva Forum on Social Change was a whirlwind two-day international event that paired 10 ITVS International documentary and social issue films with six panel discussions, three keynote speakers—including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and two workshops on the strategic use of film in public affairs and education…and if that sounds like an action-packed couple of days, well you don’t know the half of it!
The event attracted more than 1,000 people––principally from Geneva’s corps of international NGOs and IOs—including United Nation agencies like the World Food Program, IAEA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNESCO and others. Students from Geneva University also came out in strong numbers, notably for the films, and even more notably for the Golden Globe winner WALTZ WITH BASHIR. The event drew from beyond Geneva’s close circle to include documentary filmmakers and broadcasters from around Europe and America, and a number of special guests who really made for an amazing two days of engagement, international exchange and excellent movie watching.
Stealing the show was the hour long and clearly extemporaneous keynote address by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose message focused on the need for people to be engaged in projects like this one. “You are all wonderful human beings who bring God’s gifts to the world,” he told the audience.
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):
Ask Programming: Recent Questions from Filmmakers
ITVS programming staff answer questions from filmmakers about the funding process:
Q: I’m a filmmaker from Argentina with an urgent documentary in development, and I need seed money. Do you offer any funding for research and development?
A: ITVS’s capacity to fund projects outside of its standing initiatives is extremely limited and highly competitive. Currently, ITVS funding for research and development is reserved for U.S. filmmakers.
Q: How often does International Call occur? When is the next deadline?
A: International Call occurs once a year; the deadline is traditionally the first Friday in February. Our next deadline is Friday, February 5, 2010. An online application is posted in mid-September.
Looking to fund your film? Learn more at ITVS funding opportunities >>
Watch THE DICTATOR HUNTER on Global Voices on PBS WORLD
Are you a world traveler? Want to learn more about stories that affect our global community? Beginning on Sunday, April 26 at 10:00 PM (check local listings), tune in and watch the second season of Global Voices, the international documentary series produced by ITVS International for the PBS WORLD digital channel.
Kicking off this season is Dutch filmmaker Klaartje Quirijn’s THE DICTATOR HUNTER, which looks at Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody who pursues former dictators worldwide in order to bring them to justice including Hissène Habré, one of the most brutal dictators of the 20th century. Brody and former political prisoner Souleymane Guangueng work the system of international diplomacy like a chess game to bring Habré to trial for authorizing the torture and murder of thousands.
Watch a preview below:
Second Season of Global Voices Launches on PBS WORLD on April 26
Former president Hissène Habré at the courthouse in Dakar who is pursued in THE DICTATOR HUNTER.
Are you a world traveler? Want to learn more about stories that affect our global community? Beginning April 26 at 10:00 PM (check local listings), tune in and watch the second season of Global Voices, the international documentary series produced by ITVS International for the PBS WORLD digital channel.
Kicking off this season is Dutch filmmaker Klaartje Quirijn’s THE DICTATOR HUNTER, which looks at Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody who pursues former dictators worldwide in order to bring them to justice including Hissène Habré, one of the most brutal dictators of the 20th century. Brody and former political prisoner Souleymane Guangueng work the system of international diplomacy like a chess game to bring Habré to trial for authorizing the torture and murder of thousands.
Other films making their U.S. debut include WITNESSES TO A SECRET WAR, which tells the stories of three generations of Hmong refugees as they struggle with their personal and political legacies; RULES OF THE GAME, which follows the course of the 2007 elections in eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea from the perspective of three candidates; ESTILO HIP HOP, which chronicles the emergence of hip hop music in Latin America, its impact on youth culture and the regional politics that underscore its existence; END OF THE RAINBOW, a film that explores the human dimensions of industrial gold-mining in the remote locations of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo and Guinea, West Africa; THE END OF THE WAITING TIME, which evokes the past and its effect on the present by looking at the long dictatorship of Spanish General Francisco Franco and the hundreds of people who were arrested, executed or disappeared. Today, the families of those who vanished have begun to search for answers about their relatives. The season draws to a close with ARCHEOLOGY OF MEMORY, a powerful, intense and imaginative musical journey that follows exiled Chilean musician, Quique Cruz, from the Bay Area to Chile and back as he creates his masterwork.
Encore presentations include the highly acclaimed mini-series THE NEW AMERICANS, the Emmy® Award–nominated AFGHANISTAN UNVEILED, DuPont Award winner SEOUL TRAIN, Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award winner SEÑORITA EXTRAVIADA and the acclaimed THE DEVIL’S MINER.
In addition to the PBS WORLD broadcast, select programs from last season and the current season of Global Voices will become available via such online distribution platforms as SnagFilms, Hulu, YouTube, Xbox and Zune.
Visit the Global Voices Web site and learn more >>
Check out the trailer below from the upcoming season of Global Voices:
Flickr Group: Ethnic Weddings
We are currently seeking photos of ethnic weddings to be part of a photo slide show in support of our upcoming broadcast of ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING, premiering Tuesday, March 17 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Set against the turbulent relationship between the United States and Iran, Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani captures the struggle and excitement of her brother Alex and his bride Heather as they plan a Persian Islamic wedding in Iran. But when Alex’s Iranian-born parents and Heather’s conservative American father meet for the first time, cultures clash and test the couple to their limits.
From Morocco’s noisy precessions to Bali’s timeless beauty, view colorful images of ethnic weddings, inspired by ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING, in this month’s Your Lens Flickr Group.
Upcoming Screenings
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Community Cinema selections are screened in over 50 locations throughout the United States. In March, Community Cinema presents Dirt! The Movie, directed by Bill Benenson and Eugene Rosow.
It’s under our feet and under our fingernails, but what is it? And how did it get there? Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, find out how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink, and breathe. Which is why we should stop treating it like, well … dirt.
Check out the schedule and find Community Cinema in your neighborhood >>Recent Posts
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