September 26, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.

Italy Picks Berlin Fest Winner ‘Fire at Sea’ as Its Oscar Contender
Italy has selected Gianfranco Rosi’s refugee-crisis-themed documentary, “Fire at Sea,” as its candidate for the foreign-language Oscar. The timely picture is set on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which thousands of mostly African refugees have been risking their lives to reach. The film won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear earlier this year.
Read more | Variety

Inside Laura Poitras’ Plan to Shake Up Documentary Storytelling
The “Citizenfour” director and her Field of Vision co-founders are making an aggressive push to reach more audiences with original nonfiction stories.
Read more | IndieWire

My First Film Shoot: A Lesson in Documentary Filmmaking and Flexibility
If you need any motivation to begin production on your first-ever documentary, here’s a tip: tell thousands of people you’re making a documentary.
Read more | Filmmaker Magazine »

Episodic Series Bring an Innovative Spirit to IFP Film Week
Filmmakers, industry and IFP staff have a slightly easier week ahead with last week’s IFP Film Week now wrapped up. The bulk of the week was centered around meetings between filmmakers and industry, with IFP playing matchmaker. As Deputy Director of IFP Amy Dotson said, “It’s a first date.”
Read more | Filmmaker Magazine »

Oscars: How TV and Streaming Emmy Contenders Are Changing the Documentary Race
As the worlds of film and television collide, so do their respective awards givers—nowhere more prominently than in the realm of documentaries.
Read more | IndieWire »

Upcoming Festivals and Deadlines
This Week

  • Getting Real ’16 Sept 27-29
  • 54th New York Film Festival Sept 30-Oct 16
  • Deadline: 2017 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship Sept 30
  • Deadline: San Francisco Virtual Reality International Film Festival and Expo

Next Week

  • Double Exposure: Investigative Film Festival Oct 6-8
  • Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Oct 7-16

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POV Staff
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues.