This year DOX BOX launched a workshop for Arab filmmakers called "Writing the Documentary," an intense three-day curriculum that included developing narrative story structure, writing a treatment and learning to pitch a film project to commissioning editors, producers and distributors. Six filmmakers with developing projects participated (with a couple of others auditing the workshop). Seasoned Danish film consultant, Tue Steen Müller, and the chairman of the board of the European Documentary Network (EDN), Mikeal Opstrup, led the attending artists through an intensive stretch of creative brainstorming to prepare them to be able to write and pitch their projects proficiently, confidently, professionally. And they had to do it all in English, a second, third or even fourth language for most of them.
The overriding goal was to structure the projects for the utmost appeal to an international audience, so the artists had to stretch themselves beyond their comfort level in many ways, even those who had attended film school and/or had worked professionally in the region as directors, editors or shooters. To develop a language of verbal visualization for a documentary project is quite challenging, and from the consultancies I had with the filmmakers, most are on their way to getting that hard work done. At the end of the workshop, all the projects were gathered in a dossier that can travel to international markets and funders. I will be sharing some of these at my next stop--see below.
The majority of these projects are personal in nature, the filmmaker the central character expressing a first-person, often quite intimate, narrative. This, of course, makes things infinitely trickier since the "film as therapy" or "film as personal discovery" is quite dangerous creative territory to traverse; a project can quickly devolve into something that is unappealing or irrelevant to a general audience and makes some commissioning editors shut down automatically when they hear the words, "This is a personal journey about my . . . " Those personal films that do transcend do so for a variety of reasons, mostly due to cinematic proficiency and/or use of cinematic language in innovative and original ways; they are also rigorous in their narrative structure. This approach is the polar opposite of stumbling upon a story, picking up a camera and shooting, without any forethought to story structure until one enters the editing phase where a lot of nonfiction pieces find their "true north." There are always surprises along the way in any creative endeavor, of course, even in shooting a fiction project with a highly-realized script.
On the part of these filmmakers, there was also the expectation (quite unusual for American nonfiction filmmakers who don't expect this at all) of having funding in place before production begins, the notion of using personal funding for a project quite a startling concept for most, even for those that have never helmed a project before. Sourcing funding and financing for independent projects is a very tricky proposition these days no matter where you reside. Production status in the region is already antithetical to making creative nonfiction. (When I use this term, I need to make clear that I am not talking about the "television documentary," even though most funding still comes from broadcast commissioning editors in the European market.) Exploring the international co-production market is something that most American filmmakers don't even bother with, so in essence, by being schooled by mentors like Müller and Opstrup, who are deeply ensconced in this world, these regional filmmakers already have a huge advantage. Festival directors Orwa Nyrabia and Diana El-Jeiroudi are also amazing resources since their company, Proaction Film, is the first and only independent documentary film production company in Syria.
However, as we know, a lot of nonfiction projects have an urgency and timeliness that precludes any kind of waiting to lock in funding, and there was an urgency of this nature in a couple of instances, i.e., loss of a subject due to old age, or loss of access or a certain point in time in someone's life that is seminal to the message of the film, as was the case in another. Sometimes, you just have to leap and begin without looking back, knowing that creating a strong trailer or teaser for your project, at the very least, will make it infinitely easier to raise funding. No matter how proficient and eloquent your written treatment, there's nothing like being able to show your filmmaking and storytelling chops visually, for after all we are working in a visual medium.
Needless to say, I also learned a lot and am constantly inspired by artists forging ahead, knowing that some are prepared for the long haul and some, distinctly, are not, this due to a variety of reasons. Let's just say I've met a few people who have great ideas but just can't get out of their own way to execute them.
But I cheerlead anyway, knowing that there will be plenty of quashing of the creative spirit along the way from various quarters--I don't need to add to that pile. As a creative producer, I consider myself an artist, as well, (sorry if that sounds pretentious, but that's the way I feel) and, I too, constantly face the delicacy of my own viable career in this market where people want my talent and time for free without giving much in return. I am still figuring out what I need "to prove," but I just hunker down and work my ass off and carry on despite the dire landscape.
I will say that there were a couple of projects I strongly believe will go the distance and this is due to a combination of the artist him- or herself, the story, and the clarity of the filmmaker's vision. With the right partners and the right opportunities, they are highly viable for an international audience. I won't say more than that now because they are at such a delicate stage, but it's exciting when something comes across your radar like that. Whether I am, ultimately, personally involved or not, I will track and watch some of these talented people with interest and offer any support I can along the way.
And so now off I go to yet another fest--this one much more substantial, bigger, faster, stronger, etc. A different kind of world where I am still finding my footing and learning at the knee of long-time professionals and mentors. Look for my festival coverage of the 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival: Images of the 21st Century (which opened last Friday and goes through next Sunday) for the IDA's online e-zine, and other film reviews and encounters from Greece, here on SIM and on Hammer to Nail. If you're going to be in Thes at the festival, come by for the panel on "The Social Role That Documentary Festivals Play" where we'll be discussing ways for nonfiction filmmakers to make the most out of a festival experience. We're at the John Cassavetes theater on Tuesday the 17th at 11:00 a.m.
Αντίο για τώρα. :)
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