May 11, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
8 Must-See Documentaries That Haven’t Been Finished Yet From the Hot Docs Pitch Forum
This year’s winner of the Best Canadian pitch of the Hot Docs Forum, one of the world’s largest and most important conferences for pitching in-the-works documentary projects, went to Showgirls of Pakistan, a compelling story of female dancers in Punjab’s smut theatres. The annual Toronto forum also played home to 19 other documentaries looking for a home.
Read more | IndieWire »
Lineup of Powerful Films Set for Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns June 10-19 in NYC with 18 topical and provocative feature films and three special interactive programs that grapple with the challenges of defending human rights around the world today. Now in its 27th edition, the festival is co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center. Most screenings will be followed by in-depth Q&A discussions with filmmakers and Human Rights Watch experts. It opens with POV’s Hooligan Sparrow, and close with spotlighted Sonita. POV’s Almost Sunrise is also included in the lineup.
Read more | Film Society of Lincoln Center »
Behind AJ+’s Facebook Juggernaut
At the AJ+ headquarters in San Francisco, senior producer Geoffrey Dietrich received a story idea from his Asia editor that he never imagined would become a viral video hit. Not exactly the food videos or political gaffes that usually drive traffic, the pitch was about an elementary school in Japan where the kids clean their own classroom. The 1-minute video clip was shared by over 600,000 people on Facebook and became the digital media company’s most popular story in its then-1-year existence. Here is the story behind this viral video.
Read more | MediaShift »
One month in: Four things The New York Times has learned using Facebook Live
The New York Times is one of the several publishers going all-in on Facebook Live, the social network’s format that lets people and publishers transmit live videos to their followers. To spearhead the new initiative, The New York Times named Louise Story to lead a new team of six full time staffers focused on developing videos for Facebook Live, producing 90 of them within the past month. And Here’s what she learned one month in.
Read more | Digiday »
2016 Online Journalism Awards Entries Now Open
Online News Association is now accepting entries for the 2016 Online Journalism Awards, the only industry-wide honor for excellence in digital journalism. Submission for 2016 OJAs entries is now open and will close on June 3, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. ET. This year’s awards more specifically reflect the shift to producing work for distinct digital platforms and emerging media, as well as increased efforts to include the audience throughout the reporting and storytelling process.
Read more and apply here | ONA »
Upcoming festivals and deadlines
This Week
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 5/1-6/8
Jewish American Heritage Month 5/1-5/31
DOK.fest-International Documentary Film Festival Munich 5/5-5/15
Taiwan International Documentary Festival 5/6-5/15
TRT Documentary Awards 5/7-5/10
Input 2016 5/8-5/12
Festival de Cannes 5/11-5/22
The Return: A Social Cinema Screening at Civic Hall 5/11
Platforms as Publishers: Where Are We Now? Daily News Innovation Lab 5/11
Deadline: IFP Film Week 5/12
Next Week
Deadline: Miller/Packan Documentary Film Fund Grant 5/15
Deadline: Miller/Packan Documentary Film Fund Grant applications 5/15
Deadline: United Nations Association Film Festival Submission 5/16
Peabody Awards Presentation 5/16
ITP, NYU Spring Show 2016 5/17-5/18
POV presents at PBS Annual Meeting 5/18
Google IO 5/19
Pervert Park opens in IFP Screen Forward 5/20
Seattle International Film Festival 5/19-6/12
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