Leaders in the documentary film industry converge for a series of panels, workshops,
public pitch sessions and 2nd Aging in Maine Engagement Summit
Camden, Maine - The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has unveiled the lineup for its Points North Documentary Forum. Now in its sixth year, the Forum has quickly become the largest gathering in New England of filmmakers, key decision makers and thought leaders in the documentary field. The three-day conference program runs concurrently with the festival from September 26 – 28, 2014 at the historic Camden Opera House in Camden, Maine, and Rockport Opera House in Rockport, Maine. This year’s program will feature a wide range of panel discussions, workshops, case studies, networking events and two public pitch sessions. Points North is dedicated to providing independent documentary filmmakers with unique opportunities for both professional development and creative inspiration, helping build a vibrant regional filmmaking community while sustaining a conversation about new directions in nonfiction storytelling.
This year CIFF introduced the Points North Fellowship, which enhances and expands upon the well-established Points North Pitch. Six selected filmmaking teams will travel to Camden for a day of pitch training and industry mentorship at the Maine Media Workshops. On September 27, the filmmakers will take the stage at the Camden Opera House and pitch their documentary works-in-progress and receive critical feedback from a panel of leading funders, commissioning editors and producers before a live audience.
The event, which will be free and open to the public, is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to secure vital support for their projects and audience members to see how documentaries are developed in their early stages. This year’s panel will include representatives from POV, ITVS, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Ford Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, The Fledgling Fund and Al Jazeera America, among others.
One project will receive the Points North Pitch Award and Modulus Finishing Fund, which comes with a $1000 cash prize from Documentary Educational Resources, a $10,000 post-production package from Boston-based Modulus Studios, a $3000 tuition scholarship to Maine Media Workshops and three consultations with the Tribeca Film Institute. A full list of selected projects and filmmakers is included below. Last year’s winner, THE SENSITIVES, went on to receive the TFI Documentary Fund and the 2012 winner, IN COUNTRY, is returning to screen at the festival.
A new addition to the 2014 Forum program will be the AJ+ Pitch, in which five filmmakers will pitch their ideas for documentary shorts on stage at the Rockport Opera House. At least one (but possibly all five) will leave CIFF with an AJ+ commission worth up to $10,000.
“We're honored and excited to have the opportunity to continue to develop a platform for filmmakers to introduce their projects to some of the most influential decision-makers in the documentary industry," says Ben Fowlie, Founder and Executive Director of the Camden International Film Festival.
Filmmakers, students and other Points North attendees will have numerous opportunities to connect with industry delegates throughout the festival weekend, both formally during panels, workshops and one-on-one sessions, and informally during CIFF parties and receptions. In addition to the Points North Fellows, CIFF will host nearly forty emerging and established filmmakers with projects in development, through partnerships with the UnionDocs Collaborative Fellows, the Bay Area Video Coalition’s MediaMaker Fellows and the LEF Foundation’s Moving Image Fund.
Since 2011, the Points North Documentary Forum has been highlighting experiments in documentary
