Doc Memo | April 29, 2016. POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
Why Snapchat is the New Frontier of Independent Filmmaking
Snapchat is becoming a medium deserving of more experimentation for filmmakers of all levels of experience, and the inaugural Tribeca Snapchat Stories competition was only the beginning. While Snapchat is a fun photo-sharing platform for some, a growing population of filmmakers and artists are taking the social media app to the new frontier of indie moviemaking and distribution. There is also a large emphasis on the pre-production and planning process and all Snapchat movies must be shot exclusively in chronological order because you can’t go back in and make edits to the visuals or audio.
Read more | IndieWire »
The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates: Capturing the Kennedys
Filmmaker, curator and host Thom Powers goes back in time to look at the foursome he calls the “Beatles of documentary,” and how they altered documentary as we know it today. The team of four, known as Drew Associates, would produce twenty films from 1960 to 1964, but the development of the American documentary is clearly evident in the four films featuring John F. Kennedy: Primary, Adventures on the New Frontier, Crisis, and Faces of November. With the 2016 presidential election race picking up pace, take some time to admire the work of filmmakers who got unprecedented access to the Oval Office.
Read more | Criterion »
The Guardian’s first VR project makes viewers experience the horrors of solitary confinement
You can now bring the Tribeca Storyscapes installation, 6×9 to your mobile phone. The The Guardian released its first virtual reality project, 6×9, which tells the story of the psychological damage extreme isolation can cause. You can access the project trailer and description here, and view the film both on your phone or on a VR Gear.
Read more | Nieman Lab »
The NYT is sending out a second round of Google Cardboards
If you missed the last round of Google Cardboards last year, you’re in luck! The New York Times is sending out 300,000 Cardboard sets to its most loyal online-only users on May 19. The date also aligns with the release of a new NYT VR app: Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart, a computer-generated visualization of the dwarf planet based on data from the New Horizons spacecraft.
Read more | The Verge »
‘The Look of Silence’, ‘The Saint of Dry Creek’ Win 2016 Cine Golden Eagle Awards
POV filmmakers were well represented at the 59th Cine Golden Eagle Awards, which announced the winners and finalists earlier this week. The Look Of Silence won under the Curent Affairs or Investigations category in the Nonfiction Feature Content, and the Storycorps short, The Saint of Dry Creek won for Animated Content. The Look of Silence is part of POV’s upcoming 29th season and you can watch The Saint of Dry Creek here , now streaming on POV.
Read more | Cine »
Upcoming festivals and deadlines
This Week
- Documentamadrid 4/27-5/8
- Hot Docs Festival 4/28-5/8
Next Week
- DOK.fest-International Documentary Film Festival Munich 5/5-5/15
- Taiwan International Documentary Festival 5/6-5/15
- Deadline: International Film Festival Amsterdam 5/1
- Deadline: ITVS Digital Open Call 5/2
- Deadline: National Science Foundation: Antarctic Artists and Writers Program Proposal 5/1
- Rolling: ITVS LINCS Fund 5/1
- Rolling: Center for Independent Documentary Collaboration Application 5/1
- Rolling: Ford Foundation Grants 5/1
- Rolling: ITVS Commissioned Funding 5/1
- Rolling: Jerome: NYC Film and Video Grant Program 5/1
- Rolling: The Bertha BRITDOC Documentary Journalism Fund 5/1
- Rolling: The Humane Society’s Ace Documentary Film Grant 5/1
- Rolling: The Scottish Documentary Institute Consultancies 5/1
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