The seventh annual “Points North Documentary Forum”, a unique feature of the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) delivered high quality master classes, workshops and panel presentations for filmmakers and film enthusiasts from across New England and the U.S.
The three day forum took place from September 17th to 20th in the scenic midcoast Maine towns of Camden, Rockport and Rockland. The forum featured masterclasses with noted documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney,whose intriguing documentary about Scientology “Going Clear” screened at the CIFF and David Teague, editor of “Cutie and the Boxer,” a documentary about two long married Japanese artists and their personal and artistic dilemmas.
One of the highlights of the forum was the sixth annual “Documentary Pitch” session featuring the work of six documentary teams from across the U.S., presented to a panel of 12 documentary experts. “Greywater”
a documentary about the challenges facing a middle aged mixed martial arts fighter, now in production and directed and produced by Jeff Unay, took top honors
Seminars and workshops also included crowdfunding expert and CEO of the crowdfunding and distribution platform “Seed and Spark, Emily Best; Vimeo Audience Development Expert Sam Morill and Christopher Allen of Union Docs, who discussed “Living Los Sures,” a multimedia project produced by 72 artists over the course of five years.
New this year was a special presentation of journalistic style documentary shorts from across the globe, “The New News: Documentary Journalism Showcase.” The screenings were followed by a panel discussion about the role of documentaries in news organizations with representatives of The New York Times Op Ed Docs; The Guardian and Frontline, moderated by Lauren Pabst of the Mac Arthur Foundation.
– Marilyn Pennell
