Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hi. New here. Curious and want to get connected to other filmmakers.
I'm shooting a doc about dog fighting -- but my original script sucks.
Now what? Man, now that I've done a few interviews, there's a lot
more to the story. Also want to fund creatively by doing screenings.
Does that work? -- Rill

Hi my name is Jessie and I'm a digital filmmaker and have been an
advocate of digital technology for filmmaking since 93. You might say
I was digital when digital wasn't cool.

I'm now looking for funding for a doc on 4 middle aged siblings who
each have very different and distinct mental disorders spawned by an
abusive mother and her lovers. They live in the deep south which
always offers rich storytelling in documentaries I believe. Some of
the things they went through are almost unbelievable. Such as being
put into a raccoon cage (or coon cage as they put it) with one of the
wild animals as punishment. To a possible murder witnessed by the
middle child (male) that he was sworn to secrecy over. And countless
other abuses. Some sexual.

An interesting little piece is that 3 of the 4 siblings and the
mother all see the same psychiatrist, who by the way is so enthralled
with their life he has urged them to participate. The crux of the
story will be to get the mother, who is a foul mouth chain smoking
born again christian, to finally admit the truth about what she has
done. Something her kids have needed to hear for a long time and will
hopefully provide a very dramatic ending.

So here I am trying to get us much information as I can to help me
with the project. Looks like I came to the right place.

Hello there! I'm Marlene C. Francia from the Philippines and I've
been doing documentary videos for the past fifteen years. I went
freelance in 1997.

Early this year, I did a documentary on domestic violence in Cebu
City in Central Philippines. Here, women victims of domestic
violence, a local women's group and a nongovernment organization
successfully engaged the city government in passing an anti-domestic
violence against women and children ordinance, putting gender on the
budget, and making gender equality a priority in all aspects of
governance. This model on gender responsive governance is now being
shared in other Philippine towns and cities.

I have also done a documentary on local community experiences in
biodiversity conservation (especially since the Philippines has one
of the richest yet highly threatened biodiversity systems in the
world); the indigenous women of Southern Philippines and their ties
to the land; good governance stories; health risks of women workers
in the workplace, and so on.

Also, I do a lot of production management, coordination,
interviewing, filming, etc for foreign filmmakers. These include
award-winning documentaries on Filipino women migrant workers, the
kidney organ trade, internet mail order brides, child labor, the
devastation wrought by mining, and the global maritime industry,
etc.

I got to know about this site through the SilverDocs newsletter and
I look forward to participating in and learning from the various
discussions here.

Cheers!

Welcome, Rill, Jessie and Marlene! Rill, why would you script a doc?
Maybe that's part of the problem.

Hello, I'm an American living in Tokyo; I'm not actually making any documentaries right
now, so I probably can't offer any practical advice, alas. For the past 2 years I've been
involved with the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, and I co-edit a
journal called Documentary Box (issued in English & Japanese). You can read back
issues here! http://www.city.yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff/docbox/docbox-e.html I've been
feeling the need to have more documentarists in my life, so here I am. Ann

Welcome, Ann. Noticed you've registered for the community... we'll
see you there soon.

Hello, I started work on my first documentary this summer. I actually prefer to call it an
intimate character portrait about a 60-year-old man in Philly who is a digital-aged Robin
Hood, collecting used computers and giving them to the poor. He's also a master Rolfer
who focuses on children with developmental problems. (Rolfing, in my words, is a type of
deep muscle manipulation that realigns the body along a vertical plane of gravity.)

I've made several scripted shorts in the past, but this is my first time diving into the
documentary pool, and I'm absolutely in love with it. I love the extended commitment I've
forced myself to take and the amorphous nature of it all which will ultimately yield a
touching portrait of a person's soul. I'm having a blast, and I know this is the right place
to come for answers.

Frank

sure is. glad you found us, frank. welcome and keep having a blast!

My husband and I are video professionals, working for a non-profit in
the Chicago area, and while we've done some small documentary-style
projects in the past, we're embarking on our first long-form one.
So, we thought we'd join this community to learn and interact with
others in the field.

julia

welcome, julia (and hubby).

hello,

my name is george oliver. decided to join up to get connected to
other like minds. i'm headed to antarctica for five months and the
thought of putting together a doco struck me. i'm open to
suggestions, ideas, comments and any possibility of collaboration.
please feel free to get in touch should you be interested:
junk@i8bozo.com

i'm currently editing my first short film (a little sub 10 minute
piece) and i hope to complete that while down on the ice.

thank you for hosting this forum!

welcome. you're welcome. dress warm ;-)

Hello,

I am an independent film director and producer based in Bethesda,
MD.

I am currently working on a documentary entitled Technostorks:
Artifical Reproduction in the XXI Century (www.technostorks.com)

I am looking for enthusiastic people with equipment (camera, sound,
lighting) in the DC metro area to shoot a few interviews in
September, as well as people in DC-MD-VA, Philly and NYC to shoot a
couple of events in October. No pay.

I have produced and directed short narrative DV films before, but
never a feature length documentary. So, also need mentoring.

Please let me know.

Best,

Andrei.

Andrei,

I think we met a few months ago (didn't you come to the GW screening
of CRUCIBLE OF WAR where you met me and Leon Gerskovic?). I know
Leon is pretty busy right now, but I can post your message to the
Women in Film and Video-DC listserv if you are not already a member.

As far as mentoring, feel free to join us at the next Docs in
Progress workshop in DC on September 14. My colleague Adele Schmidt
and I moderate audience feedback on documentary works-in-progress and
you might find it of interest to hear the feedback given to other
filmmakers to help you think more about your own. More info at
http://www.docsinprogress.org

Hello!

I'm Kevin D Clark, and I'm preplanning to dive into my first
documentary next year. I'm here basically to soak up knowledge. My
primary concerns here is sound (I know NOTHING of how to handle sound
for this, much of it will be on the street in public interviews).

I'm planning on shooting in several places all over America, so my
project is doubling as the great college road trip, I suppose! :)

-Kevin

welcome, kevin. good luck with your road doc.

Hi people.

My name is Douglas McMillan, and I am a Brazilian
writer/producer/journalist/documentarist. I currently work in Latin
America for Japan's NHK, and had stints with the BBC as well. Before
that, I was international reporter for a national daily here, did
stories in Europe, North of Africa and the Middle East.

If anyone thinks I might be of use, drop a line.

Make sure to join the D-Word Community as well. It's our private
forum for documentary professionals:

www.d-word.com/community

Thanks, Ben. My entrance is still pending approval.

Congratulations for the great work. Been reading the forum with
commissioning editors and it just @rocks@!

I'm sure your entrance will be approved shortly.

(Hey, Doug, wake up!!)

i'm awake, ben! don't worry, douglas, you'll get in. just can't
register you from my work computer for reasons way too boring to get
into. i'll do it tonight at home. but til then... welcome.

and ben, isn't it your bedtime already?

it would be ... but there's this upcoming sales tax deadline ...

Hello, I am yet another documentary filmmaker looking for a
community! I was based in NYC for 4 years doing a wide range
projects and films, and I recently came home to Bogota, Colombia
with the hope to tell so many untold stories from here that go
beyond the drugs, the crime, and our 50 year war. Anybody else in
Latin America with the same interests? Gracias!

Well, Adriana, me, for starters. I work as journalist and producer
(soon will add "film maker", hopefully) in Brazil. Latin America is
my point of interest.

I currently work for NHK as producer for Latin America.

Do you have anything on your mind already?

welcome, adriana and douglas. since you've both been registered for
the d-word community, you should continue the conversation there
(also, be sure to introduce yourself there again).