Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hello Everyone!

I am an American documentary filmmaker based in Morocco where I have been for the last few years.

I moved here after Smith on a Fulbright and never left and I still get lots of people asking when I intend to go back to New York and I simply say, when I am no longer inspired to make films here. Which hasn't happened as of yet.

I just finished a documentary called ALL I WANNA DO about a Casablanca parking guard and his 17-year-old son who form a hip hop group. The duo set out and meet their heroes, enter studios and radio stations for the first time in a journey through the music industry of Casablanca.

They represent some of the poorest residents of a very wealthy city and it's more common for them to hear people ask why they even try to aim higher than people encouraging growth and development. There is a lot of frustration and loss of human talent which I feel is at the heart of a lot of the protests here.

It's been a big hit in Morocco especially because it's an intimate portrayal as opposed to watching a film about "The People Of Morocco".

So far it's been official selected at over 22 festivals and has won "Best Documentary" at Da Vinci Film Festival, "Best Director" at WMIFF, "Third Prize" at Athens International and "Best Foreign Documentary" at the Atlanta Documentary Film Festival this week.

I could use a lot of advice as I have a lot to learn.

I would love to find a mentor and if anyone would like to send me advice or comments or suggestions I would appreciate it and welcome that very much. mmariesnow@yahoo.com

Here is a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy2B2Qq9_l0

Thanks a lot and look forward to hearing from you!

www.michellemedinafilm.com

Lots of good energy there, Michelle – looks like you're doing a pretty good job mentoring yourself already. A warm welcome to The D-Word, leap right in.

HI – my wife, Kim Shelton, who is an established filmmaker, and I are in the festival stages of getting our film, The Welcome, out into the world. Its a doc about an intense and unusual five day retreat for veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, along with family members, who create poetry about their experiences in war and return. It is doing well in festivals (a couple of awards so far) and my job is now to distribute the sucker. I'm working with another woman to connect with organizations around the country for local screening partners and I'm looking for any input/advice about both this particular strategy and about educational distribution as well. I've been a therapist for the past 20 years and this is new to me, but I'm having a great time so far. Any advice most welcome.

Welcome Bill. Waste no time in catching up with our week long special topic Selling Your Film where you can learn a ton of useful information to help get you started.

Hello,
I am a New York based photographer who is working on a shoot in Houston, Texas on October 15th. I am looking for someone in the Houston area who has experience recording audio that will consist of some recorded interviews as well as ambient sound. You should have your own equipment. This is a paid job, Please send me an email at LaurenJoyFleishman@Gmail.com Thank you.

So good to find such a wonderful forum of documentary filmmakers around the world. I am Judith Dancoff, founder and director of NewFilmMarketing.com, a breakthrough marketing service to help filmmakers sell their films to the academic and library marketings BY THEMSELVES!! Yes I take money, but only enough to coach you. After a career in doc films, I transited into writing, and then into the academic world itself. When it came time to distribute an old film I'd made, I was appalled by the ridiculous percentages of so-called distributors, and so taught myself the basics of distribution from scratch. Check out my blog at http://www.newfilmmarketing.com for a little of what I've been up to, and I will post frequently here. The important take-aways are that academic diy is not rocket science, there's money to be made here, and under no circumstances, ever give it away!

Welcome to The D-Word, Judith. Important work you're doing, great to learn about it!

Hello to d-word,

I am glad to be a part of your forum!

I have done extensive music production, and film-scoring most recently on a doc. called
"Persistance of Vision" yet to be released on the topic of the creative process.

It would be fantastic for anyone needing music to make their way to my site:
www.AnnePollackProductions.com

Many thanks!
Anne

Good Morning Filmmakers!
Glad to be part of the D-Word.
I'm based out of LA.
Is anyone else participating in the current ArcLight Doc festival in which they will be screening the top 10 most voted docs---
My film, Eloy Take Two is part of this....
And, let me tell you...It's tough to get votes.
It would be an awesome experience to screen there since they have
the state of the art screening technology and pretty awesome theater in general with delicious popcorn!!

If any of you have time on your hands and want to see my trailer and vote on it...

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnIINtW5tdQ&list=LLb9VJ2REqJVm0DnBfoDw8Pw&index=1

---To vote--All you have to do is "like" the trailer on the YouTube page---
If you Vote on it....Thank you so much!!
And Please feel free to share this info on any of the social Media outlets....

Thank you!! and it's a great pleasure to meet you!!
Hope we have an opportunity to meet at the next doc screening!!

Have a Great Day!!
rso

Welcome, Anne and Roberto.

Cool stuff, Roberto! I love it.

Hi,

My name is Andrew Shemin, an American filmmaker based in Paris. I have worked in mostly short films and music videos, while taking the occasional job as line producer or camera on documentaries in Paris. I am now directing my first feature documentary, Postcards from Paris, an experimental form that offers a kind of tour of Paris through images, or moving postcards, as I imagine them. Each fixed shot offering its own atmsophere and story to share about life in Paris. I would describe it as a mix of a Lumière Brothers actualité film, a Frederick Wiseman documentary, and a "city symphony" documentary.

You can see a trailer on the Kickstarter page I just made to try to fund the composition of an original score for the movie. http://kck.st/mYBZLE

I've enjoyed making a documentary in this way, and hope to do more like this in other locations.

If anybody ever needs assistance in Paris, I can help!

Cheers,
Andrew

Welcome, Andrew. Good to have you with us here.

Hi everyone!

I'm Ben, a communications student at Northwestern University, and am currently producing my first documentary. I am so excited to meet and learn from filmmakers of all different experience levels. I have never felt so passionate about any project before, so I feel that this community full of passionate artists is the right place for me. Looking forward to getting to know more of you as time goes on!

All the best,
Ben

Oh my God, a student snuck in here! :-) That's ok, we can use a youth infusion. Welcome to The D-Word, Ben.

Hello
I'm new here and was hoping to talk to some veteran documentarians who've already been through some festivals and distribution. I'm working on my first documentary about a boxer who fought for the world heavyweight championship in 1958. I was hoping there was some Texas natives on here that I could meet up with and get advise. Thanks

Welcome aboard, Josh. You might want to check out the back posts on the distribution and festivals topics here and get a feel for what's been discussed. Plenty of solid info and advice there.

Hello friends and colleagues
I'm Claudia, filmmaker, writer, radio woman, activist. Maybe sounds strange, but in these times I feel it's important to insist on political dreams and a standpoint.
I covered 16 years ago in USA and Europe the fight for Mumia Abu Jamal's life when he was facing execution in 1995 by organizing a radio campain, later started writing scripts, made my first documentary between 2006 and 2010 about Kryzysztof Komeda, Polish jazz musician and composer, also for films
In the end , I produced the film score by fundraising the money for my composers...
I'm interested in producing and sharing thoughts but I joined the site also to discuss the Iranian topic (arrest of our colleagues), as we, 7 Polish films and their makers, have withdrawn our films form Teheran festival yesterday to clarify our POV. Thank you, Claudia

Hello Claudia, dive right in. Welcome to The D-Word.

Hello All,

I'm a fairly new filmmaker and producer currently in pre-production for a doc set to film Jan/Feb. I have so many questions I don't even know where to start, but I'm very excited to be apart of this community and look forward to gleaning and giving back as much as possible.

Cheers!

Matt

Welcome to The D-Word, Matt!

Hey Everyone.

I'm new.
I must get connected.

I'm an emerging documentary filmmaker.
Maybe – like many of you,I have a film that I need to figure out how to get off the ground.

My day job is as an investigative reporter...

So, here goes.
Anyone – tell me where to start.

In the meantime, I'm checking out the site and familiarizing myself.
I hope to share my film and upcoming projects with many of you soon.

Peace and nice to be here.

Hi Tracy. You already started by joining The D-Word ;-) Do check around and read some of the topics (like Fundraising!). Also, if there's something specific you need to know, try our search engine. Chances are we've already discussed it.

Hi everyone. I'm an aspiring filmmaker from the US and I just moved to Barcelona to teach English. I'm really interested in connecting with some documentary filmmakers here so a friend suggested I check out this site. I'd love to get more experience and would be happy offer my help on someone's film project in exchange for a little mentorship. If you know of anyone based in Barcelona that might be interested, please let me know. (eve.richer at fulbrightmail dot org)

Thanks!

PS Here's a link to a web series I made about an English teacher living in small town Spain: www.pueblotheseries.com It's part doc/part fiction.

Welcome, Eve. Enjoy Barcelona, one of my all-time favorite cities. If you do an "advanced search" in our database to find members in Spain, you'll find many who live in Barcelona. You can then click on their profiles to find their contact info.

Hi all,
Thanks for having me in this great community of filmmakers! I am in the process of making my first (documentary) film, which I have been working on for several years solo. I am at the point of getting serious about it – shifting from having lots of footage to creating a story line, working with other experienced people, and completing it and getting it seen.

I know I will have lots more questions in the future. But what's on my mind right now is how I best to work with an experienced editor/producer whom I have found to make sure everything is kosher. What kind of agreements should I have in place and how to transfer files in a way that protects my ownership of the footage? If there's a place I should look in past posts, please let me know.

Thanks so much in advance for your collective wisdom!!

Jung Min

Hello. My last stop through was several months ago, so I am saying hello again. I am based in DC, and working on a project in Philadelphia, so I look forward to some face to faces in those cities. It is fantastic to know that d-word is still here after all these years and growing stronger. I updated my profile and added a picture, and will continue being more active in this community.

Great to have you back with us, Malkia. You were missed.

A warm welcome, as well, to Jung Min. I honestly think the best agreement to have with partner on the project is one you hand-draw up. It doesn't have to have any legalese. But it should be clear-cut. Here're some more in-depth thoughts on the matter.

Hi everyone! I'm proud to be in the company of talented people who utilize filmmaking to bring important messages to the world.

This year has been a special one for me – where I've dedicated my time and money to a non-profit feature-length documentary about the Japan earthquake and tsunami ("Pray for Japan").

I've learned a lot in the process and now have to deal with getting the film out there – which is overwhelming. I'm sure I will learn even more on this site – which I had joined it 8 months ago!

Thank you for having me here as part of your community.

Cheers!
--Stu

Glad you found us, Stu. Welcome and good luck with your film.

Thanks Doug!

In reply to Doug Block's post on Sun 13 Nov 2011 :

Thanks so much Doug!! I will follow your advice!
Jung Min

Hello! I am a documentary filmmaker based in Rome. I am developing a new project with a small company called Tailsfilm Production which looks at the relationship between access to energy and poverty in the developing world through the work of a mechanical engineer who has invented a cooking stove that is also a tiny portable refinery. His aim is not to sell stoves but to help set off a process through which millions of people can become self-sufficient (and carbon negative) in energy terms. We may need to work with stringers through the development process to gather material from a range of countries in Africa and Central America.

A little about me: I was born in Italy but grew up in New York City, where I started working in the mid-80s correcting proofs for The Nation magazine. I then moved to London for a Master's degree and stayed for ten years working on documentaries mostly for Channel 4 until 1999. I then returned to my roots and have been based in Rome, making films mostly in co-production and with the support of the EU's MEDIA Programme since. I work as a freelance producer, writer and executive producer while developing my own projects. I was most recently executive producer for Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi's documentary Italy: Love it or Leave it (www.italyloveitorleave.it). I have just come back from the Italian Doc Screenings in Florence where Fernanda Rossi gave a workshop and talked to us about how useful the The D-Word could be especially in the development stages of a film on global themes, so here I am.

A warm welcome to The D-Word, Vania. You should straightaway check out our Members' Only Topic on International Co-Pros

Welcome, Vania. Always good to follow the wise Fernanda's advice. And great to have another member from Rome, one of my very favorite cities.

Hello from Maine, everyone. I work on documentaries when not at my day job (which itself is also a lovely pursuit), right now am in early production on a film with/about the Somali immigrant community here in southern Maine, and the story of one young man's political ambitions in particular. We're calling it Home Country. Here's the preliminary trailer – http://vimeo.com/32058940

I'm also working with the subject/co-director of that film on another related project, a web series we're currently pitching. If that funding comes through, the series will be a travelogue about the Somali diaspora across the U.S.

Really enjoying reading everyone's thoughts here on D-Word.
alyce

Great to have you here, Alyce. Welcome aboard.

Hello everyone. Just heard about the site and had to join. I'll keep it short, I'm not writer. I am a 23 year old DP based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've been shooting for about 5 years now, 3 professionally. I'll leave a link to some of my work and keep it at that.

http://vimeo.com/alexhorner

Shoot and Edit, I also do some producing on this.
http://www.redbullusa.com/winchsessions

Hi everyone. My name is Ryan Scafuro, co-producer and director of photography for the upcoming feature doc "Bending Steel." The film is about Chris Schoeck, an introverted, small statured man, who is training to become an olde-time strongman. We are currently in post, and just finished a successful kickstarter campaign raising over $25,000 for finishing costs. Signed up to take a look at other indie projects people are working on.

Here's the kickstarter video we put together, please don't mind our inexperience in front of the camera, but it's the most concise edit we've done that presents the subject matter and gives a scope of the project.

http://vimeo.com/30524657

If it interests you, we are up for Indiewire's Project of the Month, you can read more and vote here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/decide-who-gets-to-talk-to-the-sundance-institute-vote-for-indiewires-november-project-of-the-month

Ryan.

Hi All,
I'm Nick Jordan, a film-maker from the UK. Thought I'd join this site to connect with other professionals, as I've just made my debut feature-documentary 'Between Two Rivers'. Please see http://www.betweentworivers.net for more info, including trailer and clips. Hoping to meet some of you at festivals in 2012!

Alex, Ryan, Nick, a warm welcome to The D-Word!

Hello all,

I am Eric Gulliver, an editor and graphic designer currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. I currently work as an assistant editor for FRONTLINE over at WGBH. I recently finished work as a co-producer and cinematographer on my first feature length documentary entitled Peace and the Quiet (www.peaceandthequiet.com) with fellow D-Worder Beth Balaban. I am pleased to be a part of this non-fiction community and hope to contribute to the various post forums in the future!

I'm back on the D-word after an absence of two years. What happened in those two years? I was let go of my tenure track University teaching position. Honest I had students that liked me but the lazy ones gave me poor student reviews which led to a non renewal of contract. What is even more strange, I was hired because I have a MFA in documentary filmmaking but I was never assigned to teach any film classes. Instead because of my animation skills I was assigned to teach graphic design. Which I had to dust off old art skills.
I began painting and have gotten into the Artists of Hawai'i Art show 2009 and 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Anyone who is an artist of note and lives in Hawai'i has been in this show.
The most important thing is I decided to finish my feature length documentary, "Alan at Work" which is on Indiegogo. DO a search for it. The campaign expires January 24 2012 and I am no where near my funding goal.
I spent the summer of 2010 logging all the footage- about 50 hours worth. Then life intervened and I got back on the project summer 2011. I hired Fernanda Rossi, the documentary doctor and she saved my documentary. I will send her my latest cut and hope for the best. I was open to any direction she gave me. If she thought it was a short, I would have made a short. She said the documentary was at least an hour long and after story editing- the length was 56 minutes. I found footage and added back a few scenes following her structure. Now the length is 80 minutes which I will cut down to 70.

Hi, everybody—

I’m new to the D-Word, new to the world of documentary filmmaking, and I have a ton of questions. I’ll confine this post to question number 1 but first a few words of introduction.

I’m a writer in Los Angeles, working in collaboration with a veteran European filmmaker on the development of a doc film project that’s been accepted into IDA’s Fiscal Sponsorship Program. On page one of the FSP Agreement it says that as Project Manager I’m required “to obtain appropriate liability insurance for all aspects of the project in an amount of not less than $1,000,000, which shall name IDA as an additional insured.”

I’d like to ask folks with experience in this area where I should (and maybe also should not) go to inquire about such insurance, how much I should expect to pay, if there are some plans better than others, etc. Any and all information will be appreciated.

Many thanks, and it's great to be part of this group--

Steve Cooper

P.S. Thanks to Lisa Hasko of IDA for telling me about the D-Word!

Welcome, Eric and Stephen, and welcome back, Lowell.

Stephen, would work much better if you ask questions like this (and any others) in The Mentoring Room. This is just the topic to introduce who we are to each other.

That said, a number of people here, including myself, have recommended the Charles Whelan Insurance Agency. You might want to give Charles a call.

Thanks, Doug. Here's what I just put on my Profile:

I'm a Los Angeles-based writer and a teacher, MFA in Creative Writing from UC Irvine, PhD in English (and film) from USC. I've published articles in literary magazines and film journals, and short stories here and there. My first book (as editor) was "Perspectives on John Huston." I also wrote "Full of Life: A Biography of John Fante" and edited several other books by and about Fante. Due out in 2012 in an anthology entitled "Film and Genocide" will be my interview with Polish filmmaker Irek Dobrowolski as well as an essay I wrote about Irek's award-winning Holocaust documentary "The Portraitist." Thanks to email and Skype, the two of us are currently collaborating on the development of a documentary film project about the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920--and boy do I have a lot to learn!

Hello, all.

As a fellow admirer, I'd like to offer a service of free from copyright, music. We have several songs available as instrumental and/or vocal. These are original film scores, composed with over ten years of experience. The label " Kreatrix" has produced 6 undergound techno albums. You're welcome to message us for material and/or produce a score for your doc. We know what the power of imagery can bring with an emotional score behind it. Thank you.

Hi again, Doug--

I just had a long and enlightening talk with Chuck Whelan about insurance, so thanks again for the tip.

Hello everyone!

I was so excited to find this community! I'm currently a Grad student at Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, studying Digital Documentary. SIU is also where I spent my undergrad years in the early 90s. I'm currently working on my first doc, "Jake and Janie", a story about family, and gambling addiction.
http://jakeandjaniemovie.com. I'm hopefully launching my Kickstarter campaign in the beginning of February to help fund the film.

A little about me:

As I mentioned above, I was here in Carbondale once before as an undergrad in the Radio/TV department.
I moved out west after graduation and instead of diving into the world of television, I ended up in the exploding world of E-Commerce, working for companies like eToys and Ticketmaster. It was a great ride (I ended up in London for a year!) However, as life moved on, I wanted to make my way back to my passion, which is telling great stories.

While I am focused on filmmaking, my former life in the online world is still with me. I work in the Marketing department at the SIU Student Recreation Center, focusing on their social media marketing efforts. I'm also one of the co-founders and VP of Social Media Club Southern IL, a professional networking group.

Anyway, I am quite excited to learn more about the website and everyone involved!