English – Page 10 – Documentary Field Notes and Flashpoints

An Essential and Moving Film About Torture

Photo of Haj Ali, an Iraqi teacher. He was held captive at the Abu Ghraib prison. His left hand is permanently paralyzed due to badly undergone treatments.

My friend Patricio Henríquez, who settled in Canada after he fled Chile due to the coup d’état led by Pinochet, is one of the best documentary filmmakers in the country. His latest film is now out, entitled Under the Hood, a Voyage into the World of Torture (French title: Sous la Cagoule, un voyage au bout de la torture). The documentary was produced by Macumba International in co-production with the NFB. It premiered at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and is currently showing at the Ex-Centris. It’s a deeply moving film in terms of testimonies, and is highly accomplished on the aesthetic level as well. It brings up essential issues concerning the U.S. foreign policy agenda and the ‘war against terrorism.’ I attended the first screening at Ex-Centris, where Patricio was present and members of the audience were given the chance to say a few words. One of them was Adil Charkaoui, who is originally from Morocco and is presently under the cloud of a ‘security certificate.’ After having been in prison for a long time, he is not allowed to move around freely, and the reasons for these measures are confidential. During the discussion that proceeded the film, some people raised the question of Canada’s complicity in U.S. foreign policy and security tactics. I asked Patricio a few questions.

What was your thought process for the strategies of making this film? It’s not an easy subject matter!

Patricio Henríquez: For this type of film, since it deals with such a vast subject matter within time and History, the approach must bind together a whole array of elements: people, shooting locations, archival sources, information, etc. And even after performing a thorough research, one still doesn’t know everything there is to know when the time comes to start shooting, which limits the possibilities of defining a style. However, it had been clear to me from the beginning that the topic was to be addressed mainly through testimonies. We favoured the shots and the lighting setups that helped to emphasize the personality of the testifiers. We also decided to shoot the interviews with two cameras. One would be in constant movement, very close to the interviewees, thus exploring their corporal expressions to the maximum, while the second one would be set to take medium shots. Inevitably, many decisions regarding the style were taken during the montage, which had an effect on our predilection for orienting the graphical aspect toward the period prints as well as toward images that were mostly impressionistic and which were shot over the course of the montage.

Continue reading An Essential and Moving Film About Torture

CHANGE – Fliming ATSA’s 10th Anniversary

Annie Roy speaking at the opening of ATSA’s new store CHANGE

The other day, we went to shoot an important event involving ATSA (Action Terrosite Socialement Acceptable). To commemorate their 10 years of doing art interventions, they opened a new store, CHANGE. The name has a double meaning, referring to both the spare change they hope to make by selling some of the franchise products, spinoffs from their major art installations over the last ten years, an social change. We got the chance to catch Pierre Allard and Annie Roy in the middle of bustling last-minute preparations (our film isn’t called CREATIVE EMERGENCY for nothing!) and what’s more, we got to see them interact with the crowd attracted by the press conference and the launch activities. Now I’ll let my intern Jorge Bustos-Estefan say a few words to fill you in:

“When I first heard about ATSA, I was intrigued by the name (ATSA is the French acronym for Socially Acceptable Terrorist Action). Then, as I read on and learned that it is really an art-driven venture, things started to make a little more sense; yet, it wasn’t until I got the chance to attend one of their events and be exposed to their art firsthand that I really caught on to the drive behind ATSA. Being the artists/activists that they are, they seek to engage the community in a number of topics through their art and events; and their agendas change over time, based on the issues they deem need to be dealt with most urgently at a particular moment.

The opening of CHANGE (ATSA’s new store on Saint-Laurent, corner Marie-Anne) was part of their 10-year anniversary celebration. There, Annie Roy presented a new book titled ATSA, Quand l’art passe à l’action, in which a variety of writers and artists participated. She also explained that ATSA’s main motivation these days is to galvanize people to prevent Stephen Harper and the conservatives from winning the upcoming federal election. With this in mind, the book launch was followed by an outdoor gathering at the Park of Portugal across the street, where the artists’ latest interventions treated the politicians and all the political parties as the main subject (and object). These interventions, which were of the street-festival type (shooting galleries, a magician’s stand, a sandbox, etc.) invited the public to take part and make a statement with them. Both the store opening and the outdoor event were successful in attracting a lot of people and turned out magnificently. I am looking forward to their next event. In the meantime, you can come and visit the store in Montreal or go the CHANGE website here.”

The politicians and the political parties were the main subject at the outdoors event.

Video by Jorge Bustos-Estefan and Isabelle Kostecka [in French]

With the Raging Grannies at Bread and Puppets

Myself and Martin Duckworth filming the Grannies in Vermont.

I am still working on my film about the Raging Grannies, the movement of elderly women fighting for peace, social justice and the environment with satirical songs and the occasional guerrilla action. I have decided to edit some of the Grannies’ songs as music videos, and so I am gathering some special footage in addition to the usual documentary material. The idea is, in my mind, to obtain striking visuals and special effects without having to spend much money. As part of this effort I recently went to the Bread and Puppets Theatre in Vermont with Louise-Édith Hébert, a francophone ‘Mémé déchaînée’ who is an important person in my film. Two other members of our team, Carole Roy and Terre Nash came along for the weekend, along with my wife Jocelyne who has vivid memories from visits to the Bread and Puppets theatre when she was young.

Indeed, Bread and Puppets has been going for several decades now, performing with giant puppets in a natural setting. I thought the images of the theatre could be a way to evoke street theatre as one of the original inspirations for the Raging Grannies, founded in Victoria, B.C., 21 years ago. And thanks to DOP Martin Duckworth, we did get some spectacular images of the Grannies and the puppets. Also, we filmed Louise-Édith making her own puppet and bringing it to the show. In addition, eleven Vermont Grannies responded to our appeal and showed up to sing some songs. A good time was had by all, and a few more tapes were added to my pile. This film is severely under-financed, and it is just the kind of film that will become harder to make with the conservative government’s cutbacks. In fact, if my friends and colleagues didn’t support it, I wouldn’t be able to make it at all.

Louise-Édith Hébert with the puppet she made. Bread and Puppets actors and staff are meeting in the background.

Thanks to Jorge Bustos-Estefan for help with this blog.

Leaving the Fold, Interview with Eric Scott

Rivens, father and sons

The other day I went to see an excellent documentary directed by Eric Scott and produced by my friend Frederic Bohbot and Evan Beloff of Bunbury Films, here in Montreal. The film is called ‘Leaving the Fold’ and it’s about young people who have left their Orthodox jewish families and culture to live an ordinary life.

It is still playing at the Park Cinema in Montreal, and will be shown on Radio-Canada later in the season. ( It was turned down by the CBC, hard to understand !)

I was very impressed with the choice of characters, and with the access to the normally very closed Hasidic milieu. One of the things you learn is that life among the Hasidim is strictly regulated and controlled, and the rebellion of those who decide to leave the fold seems totally comprehensible. But of course they have grown up with those very strong values and strictures, and will never be able to completely leave them behind.

As a result, they are ‘free’ but still conflicted individuals. The way they open up and share their thoughts and feelings is very touching.

The most fascinating scenes are with a father, Pincus Riven, and his two sons Hudi and Levi who have left the fold. They all speak very honestly and emotionally. We follow the father to prayer sessions and ceremonies where his deep concern and sorrow for his ‘lost’ sons is clearly in evidence. But then, in a surprising twist which ends the film, we find them eating and drinking together and discussing their differences with a considerable amount of compassion and mutual understanding.

I put a few questions to Eric.

Eric Scott

How did you get access ? Was it possible because you were dealing with Lubavitch orthodox jews who are known to be relatively more open to the world ?

Although Pinchus Riven is a member of the most “open” Lubavitch Hasidic sect, that alone was not sufficient grounds to give me access. In my mind the more determining factor is that Pinchhus is a ‘baal tshuva’, someone who has repented, in other words become hasidic. He is familiar enough with “outside” culture so as not to be afraid of it. In the course of my research I met other ex-Lubavitch kids who came from “old line” Lubavitch families and the stories were as shocking as those of kids coming from more “closed” Hasidic sects. In those cases there was no question of the parents ever considering participation in a documentary.

The father and sons, in spite of their differences and the father’s sadness, they seem to have a very warm relationship – is this surprising to you, as someone who knows the community ?

The Riven boys do have a surprisingly warm relationship with their father, considering the gravity of their decision and its impact upon the family and its status in the community. Often the arranged marriage negotiations of younger siblings are put into jeopardy because a family would be considered “tainted” if another child has chosen to leave the fold.

The father thinks he did something wrong… is it possible that the reason two of his sons left was instead that he had some special quality, openness, curiosity… that he passed on ?

In the case if the Riven family, the reason that the boys left came more from their personal dissatisfaction with Hasidic life than from their father’s openness or curiosity. After all, they have 6 other siblings who have stayed firmly in the fold. The boys’ two religious brothers (the eldest and youngest of the four) are no less intellectually gifted or curious than Hudi or Levi.

Robert Lepage’s Image Mills: a fantastic experience

Image Mills in Quebec City

The other day my friend Stefan Nitoslawski and I undertook a pilgrimage to Quebec City to see theatre director – and sometimes filmmaker – Robert Lepage’s Image Mills. It is part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. Lepage comes from there, and his company Ex Machina is based there. The Image Mills tells the history of the city in a dense 40-minute audiovisual montage projected onto the abandoned grain silos of the port. The silos provide for a strong vertical theme, but then the considerable number of silos make up a projection ‘screen’ which must be a couple of hundred meters long, allowing for striking horizontal themes. The montage is beautifully done and full of surprises. I asked Sefan, who is an excellent DOP ( among the many documentaries he has shot are several of Brian McKenna’s series on wars) what impressed him the most about Image Mills. His answer:

Stefan Nitoslawski

Stefan : ‘The first thing that hits you is the scale of the projection. It is fantastic; so wide and panoramic that you feel it is a long series of unfolding post-cards telling a story. Then, Lepage cleverly integrates the architecture of the silos into the narration. The towering cylinders could be a unified screen or rows of cigarettes, candles, or people. Finally, I loved the many playful ideas for animation that tied together the history of Quebec.’

As a DOP, anything more specific ?

‘I didn’t really look at this projection with DP eyes. I looked at it more through my experience with animation. What I found inspiring was the simplicity of the ideas that were juxtaposed in very imaginative ways. So graphic, almost psychedelic patterns become waves as a ship slowly emerges from the bottom of the screen. Described in a sentence it seems banal but the experience is multilayered and powerful.’

We also went to see an exhibition called Passengers, which tells you about experiences of immigration and settlement in Quebec City, beautifully shot in black and white.

Stefan : ‘Passengers was fun because you get to look at immigration as a modern-day airplane traveller. At the ‘gate’ you are given a suitcase that you register and that, as you enter subsequent rooms, triggers, video interviews of different peoples experience of their arrival or their origins in Quebec. I travel a lot and it became a very accessible way of getting a sense for the trepidation of new immigrants or the ties to old roots.’

And anything more specific that impressed you?

‘I was struck by how the installation delivered the experience without dwelling on facts and explanations. There were only a few statistic provided and practically no historical explanations. What I liked about this balance is that it posed more questions than it gave answers. As a result, i left with a feeling of wanting to go and find out more about Quebec City on the one hand, and my own origins on the other.’

These two experiences together, do they say anything about where we’re at in terms of the presentation of documentary images ?

‘Both shows further expand the documentary pallet. The technology has become so sophisticated and seamless that there is a freedom in these productions making them light yet completely engaging. It also underscores the fact that our experience of the documentary is going beyond television and cinema in both its form and format. Multiple or single projections, huge or tiny, long or short with various techniques can be used to convey a documentary experience. It struck me to what extent this has become a mainstream language but also to the fact that it is a language susceptible to glitches: as we entered the last room of Passengers, our suitcases would not trigger the video screens. A reoccurring bug that the exhibits technicians are having a hard time killing.’

‘Sexy’ – an important short film

Sexy

A report by Quebec’s Conseil du Statut de la Femme (Status of Women Council) published this week sounds the alarm. The stereotyping in the media and in advertising lead to the hypersexualisation of youth, young women in particular. The girls have to be seductive and do everything to please the boys. Their self-esteem is out the window, jeopardizing the advances made thanks to decades of feminist struggles. The Quebec media were – not surprisingly – very critical of the report.

Filmmaker Sophie Bisonnette – who has made a number of feminist films, including Quel Numéro – What Number – made a film on this subject last year. Seeing her film, it is obvious that there are some serious issues here. I asked her a few questions.

The Council came out with its report now, but you were on to this much earlier. How long have people been aware of these issues, and who were the first people -or organizations – to bring them up ?

Sophie Bissonette : The sexualisation of our environment has happened insidiously and it manifests itself now in all media and consumer products for children and youths. The Women’s Y in Montreal, to my knowledge, was the first association to sound the alarm about it 4 years ago. In the youth programs the Y offers to girls to develop girls’ leadership and self-esteem, the facilitators became aware that the girls were being exposed continuously to sexualized images in their environment and it had a negative effect on them. The Y approached the community services at University of Quebec in Montreal and they put together a research and training project called Outiller les jeunes face l’hypersexualisation, to develop tools to help children and youths face the sexualisation of their environment. I approached the NFB who accepted to produce Sexy inc. which is the result of this collaboration.

This is an important subject, but the film was made on a very mall budget. Why ?

It’s a complex issue and the consequences are many and quite dramatic. The subject deserves to be treated more extensively and with more resources. However, we worked with a strong feeling that we needed urgently to bring out a film about this phenomenon, especially because it is affecting younger and younger children. As you well know Magnus, financing a documentary can take several years. So I decided to do a short half-hour small-budget film so it could be done within the year. I feel it was a sound decision : the film is a blockbuster for the NFB. There is an exceptional demand for it.
I still believe the subject matter deserves to be treated more extensively, so I would really like to do another film to go futher on that topic.

Sophie Bissonette

Did you make the film for a young audience, or for adults ? Can you do both at the same time ?

The film is intended for an adult public, to help parents, teachers and all people responsible for children’s well-being to understand the phenomenon and be better equiped to talk to children and youths about it. Corporations and marketers have targeted our children and teenagers to sell them sexualized and very stereotypical images. Our children are now immersed in this environment nos. It is crucial that parents and all those responsible for educating children react and act upon it to claim a territory we have lost out to private interests. The film also works very well for 14 to 16 year-olds but it is inappropriate for a younger public.
No, it is not possible to do both. I needed in this film to make adults aware of the images their children were exposed to, including pornography, and to let social workers and doctors talk about the harsh realities kids are experiencing, including their sexual experiences.

Could you make an effective film for a young audience on this subject, when they are already so inundated with messages with the other point of view ?

Our children and youngsters are very uncomfortable with these sexualised images. They do feel under pressure, invaded by these images and resent that a very stereotypical model is being pushed on them, which may not correspond to their personal aspirations. We need to help them develop their critical thinking and to turn them into resistants to these images, we need to offer other models and alternatives (let’s not forget that as parents we ARE their models). We also need to trust them and with them try to push back this phenomenon. It is true that we are facing big interests here, so we must all do it both on a personal level with our children but also collectively if we want to succeed. For instance we see in the film a mother who decides to do an activity with her very young children to dress up in a creative way the half-naked women of an ad by American Apparel on the back cover of « Voir », a weekly magazine in Montreal and they send their art work to the companies. This seems to me to be a very inspiring initiative that could be taken up by others to create a mass movement.

Uranium movie makes comeback

Radioactive uranium tailings at Elliot Lake.

One of my first films, released 18 years ago, was Uranium, about the radioactive wastes from uranium mining on aboriginal lands in Canada. Not a very exciting title, and there was a reason for it. Faced with intense pressure from the uranium mining industry, the NFB sent a letter to the industry promising that the film would not be called ‘Death Rock,’ my preferred title and the literal translation of ‘dada the’, the dene word for uranium. By the time I was told about it, the letter had gone out. I wasn’t happy. But the NFB really supported and promoted the film and organized an exciting cross-county tour with panel discussions. We picked up the award for best documentary at the Yorkton festival.

At the time, Canada was already the world’s leading producer and exporter of Uranium, and huge amounts of radioactive wastes were accumulating on native lands. There is a reason why aboriginal people are much affected by uranium mining, be it in Canada, in Australia or in the ‘four corners’ area in the U.S. Since they were shoved off the best lands but allowed to live on the infertile and rocky hinterlands, they find themselves in the same place as uranium ore.

And now, with oil prices rising, there is a huge upsurge in uranium exploration and mining.

As a result, my film is back in use. It has been shown at numerous conferences in Ontario in particular. According to the organizers, the only thing that has really changed since I made it are the hair cuts.

The man who acted as a consultant to our film back in ’89 was Gordon Edwards, of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsability. I asked him what he thinks about the present uranium mining boom.

“The soaring price of uranium is something we’ve seen before, in the early
1970’s. In a very short period of time the price went up tenfold. It turned out
to be due to price manipulation; the price then fell steadily for the next
15 years. The result was that uranium mines were welcomed by communtiies,
but the economic benefits never met their expectations. Meanwhile highly toxic long-lived uranium mill residues were left in those areas as a permanent radioactive legacy. Back in 1898, Marie Curie showed that the residues left over after uranium is extracted from the crushed ore are eight times more radioactive than the uranium itself. These residues contain some of the deadliest materials known to science: radium, radon, and especially polonium isotopes, which the industry admits is 250 billion times more toxic than cyanide. These toxic materials are inevitable radioactive byproducts of uranium, produced by the process of radioactive disintegration, and they remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.”

This is from one of the coordinators of the present Ontario campaign, Lynn Daniluk:

“The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) is a group of concerned citizens from the greater Ottawa Valley and Kingston area, who came together to prevent a uranium mine in Frontenac and Lanark region. A uranium exploration company has staked and claimed 30,000 acres of land at the headwaters of the Mississippi water system, which feeds the Ottawa River. Scientific experts and history tells us that if a uranium mine were developed in this region it would be a serious environmental and public health concern. Our area is renowned for cultural events, tourism, and cottage life.

Our non-native coalition made Canadian history by joining a peaceful protest that had been set up by the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation and the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation on June 28th, 2007.

On 15 February 2008, former chief Robert Lovelace, of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation began serving 6 months in jail for refusing to comply with the court injunction, while following Algonquin law to protect Creation.

The judge in the case handed down this harsh sentence along with heavy fines, saying, “compliance with the orders of this court are not optional”. The underlying issue, however, is that the government of Ontario did not consult with the First Nation community before issuing exploration licenses in Algonquin territory.

To date, fifteen municipalities in eastern Ontario have called for a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining in Eastern Ontario, including the cities of Ottawa and Kingston.

We also have the support of such organizations as Amnesty International, Council of Canadians, Greenpeace Canada, Mining Watch Canada, International Land Coalition, Green Party of Canada and Ontario, United Church of Canada, Physicians for Global Survival, Ontario College of Family Physicians, Lanark Health and Community Services, David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and many local organizations in the region.

An inquiry was held in four locations (Shabot Lake, Kingston, Peterborough and Ottawa) throughout the month of April 2008. CCAMU now in the process of complying the information and will be writing a report to present the government. For more information go to http://www.ccamu.ca/

The Interactive doc: Bob Lang and Diamond Road

From The Diamond Road

Can you be a documentary filmmaker in the present tough context and still have a life I do my best to have time for family and friends, and to get out in the bush or on a river somewhere regularly. This past weekend I was out paddling with another documentary producer/director, my friend Bob Lang from Port Hope. Bob has made some terrific films and television series, and he is one of the sanest people I know in the ‘business.’ For one thing, he has a great sense of story, only works on things he cares about, and makes very smart decisions. This has allowed him to keep his company, Kensington Comunications, going successfully for some twenty-seven years. Among his many excellent productions are The Sacred Balance, a four-hour series with David Suzuki.

One of Bob’s recent productions is the series Diamond Road, three television hours but also a feature film version which just received the top documentary award at the Houston 41st Annual WorldFest . In addition Bob and his team have created a non-linear interactive version of the film, Diamond Road Online. Here you can dip into the complex story of the world diamond trade at whatever entry point you select on a world map. After viewing the segment you picked, you can select another one, out of a total of more than three hundred, and in that way construct your own story. It’s an ingenious use of Web 2.0 technologies, driven by a new sense of interactive, non-linear storytelling. The underlying architecture is such that it is able to calculate your personal interests by the choices you make and then offer suggestions, Amazon-style, for where to go next. You can even, as a user, contribute stories, edit clips and thus enrich the site for others.

This reminded me of my visit to the World conference of Wikipedia two years ago. I interviewed one of the founders of the movement whose name now escapes me, and asked what he thought would be the next cutting edge, the next frontier. His answer was instantaneous, short, and to the point: ‘collective story-telling.’

Bob Lang in Frontenac Park.

Bob and I discussed whether we, as documentary filmmakers, used to structuring our stories in ‘auteur’ fashion, should be afraid of these kind of developments. I think we both agreed that yes, there will always be a place for stories in which we fashion and control the dramatic arc and editorial ‘line,’ but we should also welcome the participatory and democratic nature of these new experiences. If we trust the viewers they will make good use of the story material. Have a look at Diamond Road Online, it’s very well made.
http://www.diamondroad.tv/

a really inspiring doc: Young@Heart

Young@Heart

One of the most inspiring documentaries I have seen in recent years is playing in at least one theatre in Montreal right now. Young@Heart , by British filmmaker Stephen Walker, tells the story of a choir of elderly people preparing for an important concert in their Massachusetts home town. But they are not singing old folk songs and the national anthem. Classics of rock and roll and hip hop like Yes We Can or Shizofrenia take on a completely new meaning – or perhaps they just reveal their true meaning – when sung by people who are at the end of their lives. The preparations for the concert give the film a natural dramatic arc, but unforeseen events add surprising and touching turns of events. An impromptu prison concert is one of the best scenes in the film, and the death of two of the choir’s oldest members in the last week before the big concert adds a lot of poignancy. This is a must see film !

And it’s of special interest to me in the context of my own work. About ten years ago I made a film about a choir of homeless men in Montreal, called Enfants de Choeur in French and The Choir Boys in English. It was edited by Louise Côté and produced by Paul Lapointe at Érezi productions. Of all my own films, this is one of my favourites. It tells the real inside story behind the simple success story much covered by the media. The main theme of the film is the conflict between the choir director, a Mormon missionary, and the chorists who – in spite of all their addictions and other issues – aspire to controlling their own lives. As in Young@Heart, thanks to Louise, the songs really speak to what’s going on in the lives of the characters. The film was broadcast on the CBC and and on Radio-Canada’s flagship sunday night program Les Beaux Dimanches, a blessing in disguise as it came on the heels of the sound mix and on-line and prevented any theatrical distribution.

Also, right now I am working on the creative aspects of my film on the Raging Grannies, another film which will combine music and entertainment with serious social issues. As in Young@Heart and another recent film, Acros the Universe, I am planning to shoot some of the songs as video clips. This is going to be a lot of fun, for me and the crew, and also for our Granny friends who tend to be in their eighties.

CSTC Summer Institute just around the corner

Documentary instructors Peter Raymont and Steve Lucas with director Derreck Roemer and Jan Rofekamp, president and CEO of Film Transit International, at SIFT 2007.

Last december I had the opportunity to teach a two-day workshop on the basics of doc-making for the Canadian Screen Training Centre in Montreal. At the same time Nettie Wild and others were doing the same in other cities across the country.

Right now is registration time for the CSTC’s main activity, the Summer Institute of Film and Television (SIFT), which annually draws 250 participants from across the country to Ottawa for an intensive week of workshops, screenings and networking. ‘In sessions taught by seasoned documentary filmmakers, workshop participants explore the art and the business of capturing true stories on film, learning the essentials of concept development, pitching, shooting, editing and distribution.’ This year’s session starts on May 27th.

Here is a summary of who will be teaching and what (edited down from the CSTC’s material.)

Documentary : Getting Greenlit
From Development to Production with Steve Lucas
Five-day workshop (May 27-June1)

Level: Introductory

Getting Greenlit covers getting your documentary idea out of development and into production. If you’re ever going to make this film of yours, you’ll need to come up with a compelling way of talking about it. You’ll need to write about it in a compelling way, too. It’s a daunting proposition, no question, but it can be done. Thousands of people have done it—and so can you. This workshop is designed to help. You’ll meet documentary filmmakers who will share their films and experiences, and be able to pitch your idea for valuable feedback. There’s special focus on the art of the pitch and on what constitutes a promising film premise.

Suitable for: People who have a film idea or a story they want to develop and who are looking for a practical guide to documentary filmmaking. This is not a production course. Participants should bring two different ideas for a documentary or reality-based film – and come prepared to pitch.

About the instructor: Steve Lucas received an Academy Award nomination for his first film, a documentary feature entitled After the Axe, in 1983. He has been in the film and television business ever since.

Interventionist and Participatory Media
Making documentary media that matters with Katerina Cizek
Three-day workshop (May 28-30)

Level : Introductory/Intermediate

The course covers the basics of building media projects with partners that aim to change world-views, lives, policies, conditions – and tell good stories too. In this highly interactive workshop, you’ll learn about proven methods, projects and experiences, and we’ll brainstorm your own ideas and projects to develop concrete strategic plans. Bring your bright mind and ideas for projects.

Suitable for: Those who have made at least one film or media project (in documentary or other format).

About the instructor: Katerina Cizek explores the boundaries of the documentary genre with many and any media: video, internet, photography, audio, text, digital, blogging. She is this year winner at the 2008 Webby Awards (called “the Oscars of the internet” by The New York Times), winning for best online documentary series.

DOCOLOGY: Transforming Ideas into Images
with Peter Wintonick
Five-day workshop (May 27-June1)

Level : Intermediate/Advanced

This is a complete meal of a workshop including a few appetizers and drinks for dessert. We’ll examine the process of making marketable, idea-driven documentary from start to finish. From conception through to financing and how to gain exposure across the nowmedia world of multi-platform possibilities for documentary. An excursion into non-fiction whirl-wind of docmedia-making for intermediate and advanced level documentary a-fiction-ados, this workshop is suitable for everyone looking for wide-ranging exposure to the art, craft, philosophy and business of idea-driven, social filmmaking. For everyone hoping to turn fiction into faction.

Suitable for: Those who have made at least one film (in documentary or other format).

About the instructor: Peter Wintonick is a docfilmmaker and nowmedia maker among other incarnations, with a career spanning 30 years and more than 100 films. Known internationally as an Ambassador for Documentary Film, he was recently winner of the 2006 Governor General’s Prize in Media Arts, Canada’s highest such honour, and the Ontario Premier Prize.

For complete workshop and registration details visit www.cstc.ca/sift