Don’t miss Cork Film Festival’s Doc Day, which takes place this Friday, November 16th from 10am to 5pm in Republic of Work, Cork City.
Presented in partnership with Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland and Screen Training Ireland, Doc Day is Cork Film Festival’s annual documentary-focused Industry Day which informs, inspires and connects established and emerging directors, producers and writers with international producers, directors, programmers, sales agents, distributors and film sector leaders to further understand and develop opportunities in the documentary landscape.
The Doc Day panels and guest speakers, who are documentary directors and industry professionals, will explore key topics such as sustainable models for Irish documentary production companies, as well as a wider consideration of documentary’s role as the cinema of social concern and the broader context of the challenges and opportunities for Irish filmmakers internationally and the future of Irish documentary film. For more information see the Cork Film Festival website.
Schedule:
10:00 – 10:30 Registration & Refreshments
10:30 – 10:40 Cork Film Festival Welcome
10:40 – 11:00 Screen Ireland Platform: The Future of Irish Documentary Film
James Hickey, Chief Executive of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, discusses the future of Irish feature documentary filmmaking and funding in Ireland, including Screen Ireland’s strategic objectives for the long-term ambitions and sustainability of the sector following the publication of Ireland 2040 earlier this year.
Presented by: James Hickey – Chief Executive, Fís Eireann / Screen Ireland
11:00 – 12:00 Documentary as the Cinema of Social Concern
The panel aims to examine the experience of filmmakers who tackle social issues in their filmmaking: what inspires their efforts, how do they choose their projects, and navigating the politics of this type of non-fiction filmmaking.
Speakers:
Thomas Dumican – Director, No Greater Law
Cynthia Lowen – Director, Netizens
Lea Marin – Producer, What is Democracy?
Treasa O’Brien – Director, Town of Strangers
Astra Taylor – Director, What is Democracy?
12:15 – 13.15 Through the Lens: challenges and opportunities for Irish filmmakers internationally
International documentary film industry players, including leading financiers, sales agents and distributors, discuss how Irish documentary filmmakers can engage and collaborate with them, and strategically promote their work on an international level.
Speakers:
Isabel Davis – Head of Production / Producer Pulse Films
Calum Gray – Head of Sales, Embankment Films
Katie Holly – Producer, Blinder Films
Greg Phillips – President of Distribution, Kew Media Group
13.15 – 14.15 Lunch Break
14:15 – 15:00 Building a Sustainable Model for Irish Feature Documentary Production
A case study of Northern Irish production house Fine Point Films, exploring how the company has built a sustainable documentary specific company model within the domestic and international markets, and the opportunities and challenges involved in producing a non-fiction specific remit in their output.
Speakers:
Trevor Birney – Producer, Fine Point Films
Sarah Dillon – Development Manager, The WRAP Fund
15:15 – 15:45 Dogwoof – Exploring Feature Documentary Distribution
UK Documentary Distributor Dogwoof present a case study on their documentary slate, how they acquire titles and engage with international documentary filmmakers, and their strategies behind releasing non-fiction feature film.
Presented by: Marcel Karst – Head of Theatrical Sales, Dogwoof
15:50 – 17:00 What We Talk About When We Talk About Documentary
The documentary film landscape has changed significantly over the last decade, with innovative and creative new approaches to creating non-fiction film coming to the fore; through techniques including animation, docu-drama and hybrid filmmaking; which blur the lines on how documentary film traditionally has been seen. Our panel discuss how these methods are changing the nature of documentary film, current trends, and what the future holds for the form.
Speakers:
Sarah Dawson – Film Programme Manager and Associate Programmer, Sheffield Doc/Fest
Michael Hayden – Programme Director, Cork Film Festival
Donal Mosher – Co-director, The Gospel of Eureka
Justine Nagan – Executive Director, American Documentary / Executive Producer, POV and America ReFramed
Michael Palmieri – Co-director, The Gospel of Eureka
17:00 – 18:30 Doc Day Networking Drinks
The Imperial Hotel, 76 South Mall