The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) announces their partnership with AJ+, the new digital platform from Al Jazeera Media Network that commissions original, innovative and engaging short documentaries from journalists and filmmakers around the world. AJ+ in association with the Camden International Film Festival will select five independent filmmakers who will be given the chance to pitch their short documentary concepts and works-in-progress to a panel of filmmakers and industry leaders at this year’s CIFF. Based on the pitch, AJ+ will commission up to five projects at up to $10,000 per project. Submissions for this opportunity are now open through August 25, 2014 at midnight PST.
All selected filmmakers will be provided with an All Access pass to CIFF (September 25-28, 2014) and a stipend to support both travel and accommodations during the festival. This opportunity is for stories driven by strong characters, compelling voices, and unique insights into events and issues that may be local but resonate with our connected and globally-minded audience. Pieces must be current, but not necessarily driven by current affairs.
In the channel’s first-ever live pitch session, they are calling for original short film ideas and projects that look to the future. Apocalyptic images have haunted our timelines all summer. Now they are asking filmmakers for short documentary films that engage with one of the following questions:
- What are the emergent cultural, political or technological trends that are shaping our lives in surprising ways?
- How are individuals or communities responding to crises that threaten their future in unexpected ways?
- What does ‘sustainability’ look like?
Pitches will be accepted from filmmakers of all nationalities. They may be drawn from feature-length documentary projects, although concepts that work as a standalone short film are preferred. Films that have already been completed or released online are not eligible for the pitch.
Following the success of last year’s The New York Times Op Docs live pitch at CIFF, the first of its kind in North America, the festival continues to cultivate new opportunities for documentary filmmakers in both feature and short content through their Points North Documentary Forum, which runs concurrently to the festival and recently expanded with their own Points North Fellowship, whose 2014 fellows will be announced September 2.
The fee for submission is $25 and the deadline is August 25, 2014 at 12 midnight PST.
http://camdenfilmfest.org/pointsnorth
For more information about Al Jazeera’s AJ+, please visit:
