Camden International Film Festival 2015
September 17 – 20th Camden and Rockport, Maine
Leaders in the documentary film industry convene for a series of screenings, master classes, panels, workshops, pitch sessions and the Sustainable Maine Engagement Summit
The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has unveiled the lineup for its seventh Points North Documentary Forum. The three-day conference program runs concurrently with the festival from September 17 – 20, 2015 at the historic Camden Opera House in Camden, Maine, and Rockport Opera House in Rockport, Maine. This year’s program will feature four master classes focused on directing, editing, producing and interactive media, panel discussions, case studies, networking events and the sixth annual Points North Pitch, which is now part of the year-long Points North Fellowship for filmmakers with feature documentaries in development. The lineup marks the continued growth of CIFF’s Points North program as a launching pad for the next generation of documentary artists, as well as a unique space for the international documentary community to reflect on the craft, business and future of nonfiction storytelling.
Six projects have been selected to participate in the 2015 Points North Fellowship and Points North Pitch. These filmmaking teams will travel to Camden for a day of pitch training and industry mentorship at the Maine Media Workshops with Sundance Institute’s Kristin Feeley and producer Andrea Meditch. On September 19, the filmmakers will take the stage at the Camden Opera House and pitch their documentary works-in-progress before a live audience and receive critical feedback from a panel that includes representatives from HBO, CNN Films, TIME Inc., Vimeo, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund, and Impact Partners, among others. One project will receive the Points North Pitch Award and Modulus Finishing Fund, which includes a $10,000 in-kind post-production package from Boston-based Modulus Studios and three consultations with the Tribeca Film Institute.
Filmmakers, students and other Points North attendees will have numerous opportunities to connect with industry delegates throughout the festival weekend, both formally during master classes, panels, and one-on-one meetings, and informally during CIFF parties and receptions. For filmmakers interested in strengthening their storytelling craft, Points North will feature three additional master classes with Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney, producer Andrea Meditch, and veteran editor David Teague.
Since 2011, the Points North Documentary Forum has been highlighting how nonfiction storytelling is evolving in response to digital media technologies and platforms. This year, the Forum will include two
sessions in its Storyforms strand – a performance of the collaborative, multimedia documentary LIVING
LOS SURES, and an interactive documentary master class led by Alexandre Brachet, a digital storytelling pioneer and founder of the Paris-based agency Upian. Points North will close with “The New News,” a program of short films produced or commissioned by news organizations, followed by a panel discussion with editors and filmmakers focused on the convergence of documentary and journalism on digital platforms and the changing nature of audience engagement with the news.
“We’re honored and excited to have the opportunity to continue to develop a platform for filmmakers to
introduce their projects to some of the most influential decision-makers in the documentary industry,” says Ben Fowlie, Founder and Executive Director of the Camden International Film Festival. “It’s a privilege to bring together such a diverse, talented and inspiring group of participants in Camden for this year’s Forum,” says Points North Director Sean Flynn. “Whether you’re developing a feature, producing a short film for the web, exploring interactive media, using media as a tool for social
change, or interested in the craft of documentary storytelling – there’s something here for everyone.”
Founded in 2005 and recognized as one of the top documentary film festivals in the world, the Camden
International Film Festival (CIFF) brings the finest non-fiction cinema to the rugged coast of Maine,
showcasing over eighty documentary feature and short films from around the globe each fall. Additional
year-round programming includes the CIFF Selects screening series and the Engagement Summit, a unique program that connects Maine-based nonprofit leaders with documentary films and filmmakers to develop community-based social action campaigns designed to engage communities.
The Points North Documentary Forum provides emerging documentarians with opportunities for professional development and creative inspiration. and an opportunity to discover new voices in documentary media who are pushing the boundaries of the form and re-imagining the role of nonfiction storytelling in society. Programs include the year-round Points North Fellowship, master classes, workshops and international short form pitch opportunities such as The New York Times’ Op Docs Pitch (2013) and, most recently, the AJ+ Pitch (2014). Past industry participants in the Forum include HBO, A&E, BBC, Participant Media, Al Jazeera America, Discovery, PBS, Ford Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute, Vimeo and Kickstarter.
The 2015 Camden International Film Festival and Points North Documentary Forum will take place September 17 – 20 in Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine. The Camden International Film Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CNN Films and Vimeo.
Passes to the 2015 CIFF and Points North are now available for purchase at www.camdenfilmfest.org
Access to the full conference program is open to all CIFF passholders. Passes are now on sale on the
Camden International Film Festival website.
For more information, please visit: http://camdenfilmfest.org/pointsnorth.
