The 26th edition of VIFF’s Film & TV Forum runs from Sept. 27 – 30 plus New Filmmakers’ Day, Oct. 1. The 2011 Forum is proud to stimulate the development, co-financing and co-production of the creative documentary by creating Storyville Vancouver, an opportunity for filmmakers based in BC and the Pacific Northwest to pitch their projects to an international forum of commissioning editors.
Storyville Vancouver, in partnership with BC public broadcaster Knowledge Network Corporation is scheduled for presentation during The Forum. The Forum and Knowledge Network is delighted to have attracted some of the world’s leading broadcasters to Vancouver to help our filmmakers develop long-term strategic relationships and enhance project development. This initiative is inspired in part by the Amsterdam Forum organized by IDFA and with a nod to Nick Fraser’s BBC strand.
Pre-selected creative, feature length (minimum TV hour) documentary projects, at various levels of development, from BC and the Pacific Northwest will be publicly pitched to international commissioning editors with accredited Forum observers in attendance (please see our description below for the type of projects we’re looking for). To date, the following key commissioning editors have been confirmed: Nick Fraser (BBC), Mette Hoffman Meyer (DRTV), Axel Arno (SVT Documentaries), Olaf Grunert (ARTE TV), Tom Koch (PBS), John Lindsay (KCTS9) and Murray Battle (Knowledge Network). Please visit www.viff.org/forum for updates on additional commissioning editors over the coming weeks.
Our definition of the creative documentary
The creative documentary is the crown jewel of the non-fiction world – passionate, cutting edge, filmmaker-driven, in-depth, up close and personal…These are projects that take the writer’s/director’s point of view on a real-life subject in a ‘creative’ manner and require significant writing and research before filming begins. The format for a creative documentary is therefore relatively free form and open to the creative team’s interpretation of the subject at hand. The style and approach used in the cinematography, editing and final composition of the film makes a statement in and of itself and reflects the filmmakers underlying POV on the topic or person being considered. The film should be complete and contained and thoroughly explore a tangible subject or person. A creative documentary is not: open ended, investigative, educational, “DIY” in style nor like a news report, a docusoap or a reality show. A creative documentary can examine a historical event or person but, once again, it must be done in a unique and creative fashion and not simply recount the past.