Al Jazeera calls for Documentary pitches

Encounters, in partnership with Al Jazeera is calling African filmmakers to submit proposals for the Al Jazeera Pitching Forum taking place at The 16th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival.

Encounters is pleased to announce that it will host the 3rd Al Jazeera Pitching Session at Encounters in Cape Town during the Encounters Documentary Festival (5-15 June). A maximum of 15 African filmmakers will be selected to pitch to Al Jazeera commissioning editors and an audience in Cape Town.

5-15 June 2014

The Call is open to projects at any stage of development or production.

This year, Encounters is offering a limited number of travel grants to selected African filmmakers from outside Cape Town and South Africa.

Each filmmaker selected to pitch will have a maximum of seven minutes to pitch their film, with an additional 8 minutes allocated for feedback and questions from the commissioning editor panel. Visual aids will be provided for those that have DVDs or presentations during the pitch.

Pitching Workshop

All participants who have been selected to pitch must be available for a one-day pitching workshop that will take place the day before the Pitching Forum.

Selected projects will have an opportunity to discuss their pitch with an experienced filmmaker who will serve as a Tutor.

The Tutor will assist filmmakers with the further development of their ideas, structure and stories; in order for them to present a well-constructed pitch to the panel. During the workshop, the tutor will provide inside knowledge on working with Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera Networking Session

Encounters will also host an Al Jazeera information and networking session during the Festival where there will be an opportunity to interact with Al Jazeera representatives.

The Al Jazeera representatives will convey the Broadcasters' vision for programming quality African content, commissioning guidelines and engage with the documentary community in a Q and A session. The presentation will be followed by a cocktail event and networking.

Submission Details:

Interested parties should send not more than:

A one-page synopsis of their film

A one-page biography of the filmmaker, including complete contact details (telephone no, city of residence, home and work address)

One page of further background information and/or visual treatment of the subject.

Indicate whether you are applying for a travel grant to attend the Pitching Forum.

Links to previous works and promo of proposal, if available.

To:

Nerissa Solomon (nerissa@encounters.co.za) on or before 4pm (South African time), Friday 9th May 2014.

DVDs and other materials can be delivered or posted to Encounters, 1s Floor, 27 Caledon Street, Cape Town 8001.

Selections will be confirmed by Tuesday, 13 May 2014.

The Al Jazeera Pitching Forum takes place during the Festival between 5-15 June 2014 at a venue to be confirmed in Cape Town.

ABOUT AL JAZEERA

Al Jazeera English is an international news channel, holding over sixty bureaus which span six different continents. Since being established in 2006, it has continued to grow in reach and popularity due to its global coverage, especially from under-reported regions. The channel currently broadcasts to over 250m households across 130 countries. Its in-depth approach to journalism has won it numerous awards and plaudits over the years, including RTS News Channel of the Year 2012, Freesat Best News Channel, the Columbia Journalism Award, a DuPont award, and a George Polk award.

Al Jazeera is one of the world's leading media corporations, encompassing news, documentary and sport channels. It was the first independent news channel in the Arab world dedicated to covering and uncovering stories in the region. It is now a media network consisting of over 20 channels - Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Balkans, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Al Jazeera Documentary, the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, and the Al Jazeera Center for Studies.

The 16th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival takes place from 5 -15 June 2014 in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The Festival is supported by the NLTDF, National Film and Video Foundation-South Africa, Bertha Foundation, Al Jazeera, Wesgro, City of Cape Town, The Times and HCI Foundation.

LINK:	http://www.filmcontact.com/africa/south-africa/al-jazeera-calls-docume...
	See more stories from filmcontact

Most recent headlines