DOCNZ E-Newsletter

#29 - Nov 2009

Kia Ora! Preparation for DOCNZ 2010 events are in full gear. With well over 500 submissions received for the next year’s festival, the programme promises to be exciting and contemporary. DOCNZ Wellington dates and venue partners are confirmed. DOCNZ Summit is now open for registrations with an early bird discount and a gift for the first five to sign up. We are also now inviting applications for the new initiative, DOCNZ Lab. The 2010 competition for the creation of the DOCNZ 2010 TV Commercial has also been announced. The Trust welcomes the funding changes from the NZ Film Commission, which are paving way to support documentary development and production. These changes signal a new dawn for local documentary filmmakers. Here is the latest from the DOCNZ hub.

The DOCNZ Team

In this issue

DOCNZ Festival – Wellington confirmed
A New Dawn for Documentary Filmmakers
DOCNZ Summit – Registration is open – Win a Double Pass to the German Film Festival
DOCNZ Lab – Borderless Media - A 360 Degree Experience
DOCNZ Pitching Forum – Submission deadline is 4th Dec 2009
DOCNZ 2010 – TVC Competition
Industry News
Other Calls for Submissions

1. DOCNZ Festival – Wellington confirmed

The 5th edition of DOCNZ Festival will run at the Capital city from 13-28 Mar 2010. We welcome our new venue partners in Wellington, Angelika at Reading Cinemas (Courtenay Place) with additional special screenings/events at Wellington City Gallery and the NZ Film Archive. The programme in Wellington will be identical to the one in Auckland and includes NZ and international competition sections, Best of Fest, World Cinema, Heroes & Icons, Culture Vulture and spotlights to be announced in the next newsletter.

We are especially excited about our partnership with Reading Cinemas and aim to make it the home for documentaries in Wellington. Angelika is Reading’s new cinema experience for lovers of fine film. There are 3 excellent documentaries showing at Reading Cinemas at the moment. Check out Food Inc., Tyson, and Michael Jackson’s This Is It!

2. A New Dawn for Documentary Filmmakers

The Documentary NZ Trust acknowledges the huge leap of faith by the New Zealand Film Commission in its new documentary development funding support.

By supporting documentary films, the NZ Film Commission recognizes the potential of documentary as a viable cinematic expression. It allows New Zealand to come to the international co-production table as an equity partner and will encourage our pool of talented New Zealand filmmakers to compete internationally.
Read the full media release

More details on the new policy in the Industry News section can be found below.

3. DOCNZ Summit – Registration is open – Win a Double Pass to the German Film Festival

The 4th DOCNZ Summit will be held in Auckland, 1-3 Mar 2010. The Summit will include master-classes, seminars, panel discussion, a Pitching Forum and networking opportunities.

Registration is now open with options for 1-day and 3-day passes and discounted fees for Guild members and students.

Registration to DOCNZ Summit includes:

Summit Pass based on registration option
Morning and afternoon tea for each day of the Summit
Summit Programme and Welcome Bag
Entry to all DOCNZ social functions during the Summit
2 complimentary tickets to DOCNZ Festival 2010 (conditions apply)
A single ticket to DOCNZ Awards Night (3 Mar 2010)
3 months subscription to Screen Hub

An Early Bird registration fee is available for 3-day passes up to 31 Dec 2009. The first 5 registrations will receive a Double Pass to the upcoming German Film Festival courtesy of the Goethe-Institut New Zealand.

DOCNZ Summit Registration

4. DOCNZ Lab – Borderless Media - A 360 Degree Experience

DOCNZ is pleased to launch its latest initiative, DOCNZ Lab, to future proof our industry and successfully meet its challenges with new technology and by providing the opportunities of cross-platform content creation and delivery to audiences.

Applications are now open to DOCNZ Lab 2010. Up to 12 teams will be selected to attend the two-day Lab (27 & 28 February 2010). Wendy Levy of The Producer’s Institute (USA, www.bavc.org), will facilitate the Lab which will also feature local and international mentors from diverse areas like story-telling, gaming, motion graphics and animation, social networking, virtual worlds, producing, 3G and mobile technology and film/TV making. Together, they will introduce, discuss and work with the selected teams to develop their projects to include all the diverse cross-platforms.
DOCNZ Lab information and application form

5. DOCNZ Pitching Forum – Submission deadline is 4th Dec 2009

‘Untouchable Girls – The Topp Twins’, ‘Brother No 1’, ‘Relocating Mountains’ and ‘Lost in Wonderland’ are a few documentaries pitched successfully at DOCNZ Pitching Forums.

Is your film next? DOCNZ Pitching Forum is an excellent opportunity to seek funding for your next documentary film from local and international commissioners/funders.

The full details are on the website and the deadline for submission is 4pm on Friday, 4 Dec 2009.

6. DOCNZ 2010 – TVC Competition

The Documentary NZ Trust is conducting a competition for the creation of an original TVC for DOCNZ 2010.

The commercial will be used on free air and pay TV television as well as on the internet and 3G in New Zealand/Australia. It will screen at promotional events, and prior to the festival before each film. The TVC will also be featured on other cross-promotional activities.

The deadline for submissions is 4pm, Friday, 18th Dec 2009.
DOCNZ TVC Competition brief and application form

7. Industry News

The NZ Film Commission gives thumb-up to documentaries

The NZ Film Commission (NZFC) announced that Development funding will now also be available for Documentary Feature Films. Filmmakers may apply for up to $5,000 per application (up to a maximum amount of $15,000) to cover development costs such as research, travel, treatment and script development, and attendance at documentary finance markets that will significantly enhance the financing and packaging of the project.

Producer’s Market Assistance will also automatically be available to documentary feature films that are selected to pitch at either the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) or HotDocs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

There are now specific criteria regarding production finance for feature documentaries. Projects may apply for up to $1 million per film provided they are truly cinematic in scope, have a director with a track record of high quality documentary production, have an NZ theatrical distribution letter of offer and a formal sales agent attachment. Full criteria for eligible projects can be found in the updated Feature Film Production Financing Guidelines available on the NZFC’s website.

The First German Film Festival in NZ

Be part of history and don’t miss the first ever German Film Festival, Novemberkinder (November Children), in NZ. The festival highlights the changes of 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and brings a few thrilling documentaries on themes such as: the underground fashion scene in East Berlin, HipHop in the GDR, the role of women in East Germany, and the exciting question where the tons of concrete of the wall finally ended.

The festival includes a total of 20 films among them 5 documentaries:

After the Fall (Nach dem Fall), 1999
Comrade Couture (Ein Traum in Erdbeerfolie), 2008
Here We Come, 2006
After Winter Comes Sprin (Winter Adé), 1988
The Children of Golzow, 4 parts, 2005-08

Wellington: 4-11 Nov, Auckland: 11-18 Nov, Christchurch: 18-22 Nov, Dunedin: 25-29 Nov
German Film Festival

SPADA ‘Get Ahead’ Conference

The Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand (SPADA) Get Ahead conference will be held in Wellington on the 12 & 13 Nov 2009.

Now in its 17th year, the SPADA Conference is New Zealand's premiere industry event for the domestic screen production industry.

The Conference includes plenary sessions, workshops, master classes and roundtable sessions, which cover aspects of producing, creating, distribution, financing and managing screen content.
SPADA Conference

Reel Brazil Film Festival

Brazil is the latest country to announce its own film festival in New Zealand. The 4-day festival will be held 26-29 November at Te Papa, Wellington. It will show classics from the Brazilian cinema as well as recent productions and an animation programme from the new wave of films being produced in Brazil.

Documentary fans can check out PIRINOP, MY FIRST CONTACT (2007). Resettled in Upper Xingu, the Ikpeng people find themselves dreaming of a return to their ancestral lands as they remember the arrival of the iron bird over their village. For once in a very rare while contact is viewed from the Aboriginal standpoint.
Director Mari Correa will attend the screening and is keen on meeting New Zealand filmmakers that have worked with indigenous issues. If you would like to connect with Mari Correa, please email info@reelbrazil.co.nz and they will arrange a meeting.
Reel Brazil

Red Bull Reel Life 2009 – calls NZ filmmakers into action

Red Bull NZ is open for submissions to Red Bull Reel Life 2009 – “All Day, All Night” an innovative short film competition that challenges aspiring directors to produce a short film no longer than 10 minutes based on the creative brief “All Day, All Night”.

All films submitted are uploaded to the Red Bull Reel Life website for a week of free access viewing. Every time a film is viewed, a vote is recorded with the Top 10 People’s Choice winners receiving a year supply of Red Bull and a personal fridge to cool it down.

The overall winner chosen by a panel of industry judges will receive a $10,000 grant towards their film career.

The submission deadline is Friday, 13 November 2009. All the rules, regulations and entry details can be found at www.redbullreellife.co.nz.

DOC2DOC Meetings in Auckland and Wellington

DOC2DOC Auckland meeting will be held on Wednesday, 18 Nov 2009 at 7.30pm at Galatos, 17 Galatos St. Annie Goldson will be the chair for the evening and anyone interested is welcome to attend. Koha at door.

DOC2DOC Wellington meeting will be held on Monday 23 Nov 2009 at 7.30pm at The Lodge, Southern Cross, 39 Abel Smith St. The evening will be chair by Anna Cottrell. Koha at door.
Doc2Doc

ITVS International Call 2010

The next submission deadline is 5 February 2010. Even if you’ve previously applied for funding, you are welcome to apply again with the same project or an entirely new one.

Check out the 2010 International Call Q&A Forum at to post questions and/or comments about submitting a project.
ITVS International Call 2010 application and submission guidelines

Congratulations

DOCNZ’s Dan Shanan won a Readers Competition to attend a Small Business Development Conference in Sydney (8-11 Nov 2009). The award also included a profile for the Trust on nzherald.co.nz/small-business, Telecom business hub and Made from New Zealand websites as well as a Blackberry Bold mobile connected to Telecom’s XT Network. The Trust has a new mobile number: +64 2 777 DOCNZ. This is an exciting opportunity for DOCNZ. We wish Dan and Alex a great trip to Sydney!

8. Other calls for submissions

Cinéma du Réel Paris, France, 18–28 Mar 2010. Deadline: 15 Nov 2009
True/False Film Festival Columbia, United States, 25–28 Feb 2010. Deadline: 16 Nov 2009
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Durham, United States, 8-11 Apr 2010. Late Deadline: 30 Nov 2009
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Thessaloniki, Greece 12–21 Mar 2010. Deadline: 30 Nov 2009
SXSW Austin, United States, 12–20 Mar 2010 Deadline: 3 Dec 2009 and Last Minute Deadline: 11 Dec 2009
It's All True: International Documentary Film Festival Sao Paulo, Brazil, 8-18 Apr 2010 Deadline: 4 Dec 2009
Tribeca Film Festival New York, United States, 21 Apr-2 May 2010. Deadline: 14 Dec 2009. Late Deadline Feature-length Work-In-Progress – 11 Jan 2010 (arrive by).
DOXA: Documentary Film + Video Festival Vancouver, Canada, 7-16 May 2010. Deadline: 18 Dec 2009