10:00am – 12:00pm (16 Bay View)

Points North Campus Case Study: SEEKING MAVIS BEACON

Co-Presented by Kanopy 

The beauty of creative documentary lies in its ability to pave new roads, imagine new languages, and forge unique relationships between subject matter and form. A filmmaker’s voice sculpts an aesthetic that reflects their personal worldview, backgrounds and approach to cinema. However, this uncharted terrain can often feel intimidating to first-time filmmakers. Director Jazmin Jones, Producer Guetty Felin, and Producer Olivia McKayla Ross have ventured both near and far in SEEKING MAVIS BEACON, not only in their creative decisions but also in their production process. In collaboration with theatrical distributor NEON, they’ve found ways to think outside the box, making this singular film on their own terms, while blazing a new trail for cinematic nonfiction. There is much to learn from this rule-breaking dream team.

• Jazmin Jones (Seeking Mavis Beacon)
• Guetty Felin (Seeking Mavis Beacon)
• Olivia McKayla Ross (Seeking Mavis Beacon)
• Moderator: Dessane Lopez Cassell

10:30pm – 12:30pm (French Room – Camden Opera House)

Questions of Care: The Documentary Core App and the Art of Consent 

In partnership with DAWG, IDA and Sundance Institute

This two-part conversation will kick off with representatives from DAWG and IDA introducing the newly revised Non-Fiction Core Application, which includes, among other things, updated questions about care, consent and collaboration. After a preview of the changes that filmmakers can expect in upcoming grant and fellowship applications, they’ll host an open dialogue between industry professionals and filmmakers around questions of accountability, safety, positionality and the process of evaluation.

In part 2, we’ll jump out of the application and into the lived experiences of CIFF filmmakers who have navigated complex issues of consent, care, and accountability in their work. This is a unique opportunity to explore both the theory and practice of documentary filmmaking’s thorniest ethical questions and their impacts on funding and the creative process.

• Keisha Knight (International Documentary Association)
• Michael Premo (HOMEGROWN)
• Elisabeth Lo (MISTRESS DISPELLER)
• Adam Sekuler (Director, THE FLAMINGO)
• Mary Philips (Participant, THE FLAMINGO)
• Balint Revesz (KIX)
• Moderator Natalie Bullock Brown (Documentary Accountability Working Group)

1:30pm – 3:30pm (French Room – Camden Opera House)

Nonfiction in the Age of Generative AI

Co-Presented by Luminate 

In partnership with Archival Producers Alliance, WITNESS & MIT Co-Creation Studio

In this two-part conversation, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of generative AI and its impacts on the production and circulation of documentary film and other forms of nonfiction media. For much of its history, documentary film’s significance has rested on its allegiance to truth and the perceived integrity and authenticity of its recorded images and sounds. How does that relationship shift in a world of AI models that can create synthetic media and manipulate primary sources with increasing speed and sophistication? How can filmmakers and artists use these creative tools responsibly and transparently? What are the legal repercussions of using generative AI tools that are built from the creative output of millions of others? For journalists and activists, what does it mean to use the tools of nonfiction media to “bear witness” when trust in images as a factual record is called into question? And how might we tell stories about AI that shift narratives around emerging technology and help us better grapple with its impacts on society and democracy?

The session will open with the launch of the Archival Producers Alliance’s “Best Practices ForBest Practices For Use of Generative AI in Documentaries.”

The conversation will continue with Kat Cizek from MIT Co-Creation Studio and shirin anlen from WITNESS, who will explore ethics and standards, labor issues and creativity in the context of documentary and human rights.

• Rachel Antell (Archival Producer’s Alliance)
• Stephanie Jenkins (Archival Producer’s Alliance)
• Jennifer Petrucelli (Archival Producer’s Alliance)
• Kat Cizek (MIT Co-Creation Studio)
• shirin anlen (WITNESS)
• Moderator: Felipe Estefan (Luminate)

11:00am – 12:30pm (Tucker Room – Camden Opera House)

Cinematic Encounters with the (IM)material

From space exploration to rock formations, this panel reflects on the material and immaterial by drawing connections between kidney stones, volcanoes, energies, stars, and space conquests. The featured filmmakers employ innovative cinematic languages, deconstruct archives, and flirt with humor to engage with both Western and Indigenous knowledge systems as well as the entanglements of culture, ecology, and history. CIFF directors Lisa Jackson, Sofie Benoot, Andrés Jurado and María Rojas lead us on a journey across time and space to explore what it means to cinematically observe and encounter the world through colonial resonances, ancestral knowledge, and the relationship between land and body. 

• Sofie Benoot (APPLE CIDER VINEGAR)
• Andres Jurado & María Rojas (WELCOME INTERPLANETARY AND SIDEREAL SPACE CONQUERORS)
• María Rojas (WELCOME INTERPLANETARY AND SIDEREAL SPACE CONQUERORS)
• Lisa Jackson (WILFRED BUCK)
• Moderator: Mila Aung-Thwin

2:00pm – 3:30pm (Tucker Room – Camden Opera House)

Collaborative Filmmaking, Collective Action 

How are films made when creativity is a shared endeavor? How are decisions navigated, and control balanced among collaborators? This panel explores the potential of collective filmmaking models as they counter cinematic ableism and engage in politics with nuance, care, and humor. The creative possibilities and unique storytelling methods of this mode of production are brilliantly showcased by filmmakers: Benjamin Brown, Steven Eastwood & Sam Ahern, Felipe Morgado, and Michael Toledano.

• Benjamin Brown (THE STIMMING POOL)
• Steven Eastwood (THE STIMMING POOL)
• Sam Ahern (THE STIMMING POOL)
• Felipe Morgado (OASIS)
• Michael Toledano (YINTAH)
• Howilhkat Freda Huson (YINTAH)
• Moderator: Dawn Valadez

5:30pm – 8:30pm (French Room – Camden Opera House)

Shorts In-Session

Presented by American Documentary, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and UFO

Four filmmakers were selected for the new UFO, Chicken & Egg Pictures and American Documentary work-in-progress initiative, “Shorts In-Session,” which presents short documentaries in production and post-production to a panel of industry experts. The filmmakers presenting in this session are: Bree Nieves Robert, Elana Meyers, Katie Heiserman and Paloma Martinez.

3:00pm – 4:30pm (French Room – Camden Opera House)

Redefining Sports Storytelling

In today’s media landscape, ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 series remains a director-driven platform that prioritizes story over access, upholds strict ethical standards, and demonstrates a strong commitment to engaging diverse voices. As narratives at the intersection of culture, race, and sports shift, the methods of storytelling, production, and distribution have also been in constant flux. ESPN has showcased strategies that allow producers to maintain integrity and reach while delivering compelling content in this transformed sports storytelling landscape. This panel reflects on these successes through conversations with producers, focusing on case studies such as BLACK GIRLS PLAY by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson and the recent short MOTORCYCLE MARY by Haley Watson. They will also be joined by Charles Frank and Fritz Bitsoe the remarkable filmmakers of the CIFF short THROUGH THE STORM.

• Joe Brewster (BLACK GIRLS PLAY)
• Fritz Bitsoie (THROUGH THE STORM)
• Charles Frank (THROUGH THE STORM)
• Carolyn Hepburn (ESPN Films)
• Gentry Kirby (ESPN Films)
• Haley Watson (MOTORCYCLE MARY)

10:00am-1:00pm (Camden Opera House)

Points North Pitch

Presented by The deNovo Institute 

We are excited to present six teams of filmmakers selected for the Points North Fellowship, who will pitch their works-in-progress feature documentaries to a distinguished panel of funders, broadcasters, distributors, and producers in front of a live audience. The Points North Pitch is an invaluable chance to learn about the process of developing a documentary film and see first-hand how leading decision makers evaluate projects. Each pitch lasts exactly seven minutes, followed by 10-12 minutes of feedback. Whether you are a filmmaker, member of the industry, or a fan of nonfiction, come support these filmmakers and get a first look into their work. 

Panelists:

• Opal H. Bennett (POV)
• Megan Gelstein (Catapult Film Fund)
• Keisha Knight (IDA)
• Kelsey Koenig (Impact Partners)
• Becky Lichtenfeld (InMaat Foundation)
• Monika Navarro (Firelight Media)
• Elaisha Stokes (Chicken & Egg Pictures)
• Noland Walker (ITVS)
• Moderated by Elise McCave