Show your love for short doccies

Five filmmakers, selected on the basis of their proposals, will be invited to attend a storytelling and production workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, 15 – 18 July 2007 during the Ninth Encounters Documentary Festival.

The Workshop Leader is award-winning director Leonard Retel Helmrich, whose film Shape of the Moon won the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Joris Ivens Award for best feature-length documentary at the IDFA.

In this four-day workshop, filmmakers will further develop their proposals with the view to producing a finished film within a 10-month period.

Encounters and the Jan Vrijman Fund will cover the costs of flights and accommodation, workshop tuition and meals.

Eligibility

Candidates must:

• be filmmakers from either Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia or South Africa
  
• have filmmaking experience – at least one completed film to their credit as either director/producer/writer

What to submit

The submission should consist of:

• a 1 – 2 page synopsis. A summary of the story, the key characters and filmmaking style. The proposal should be well thought out, though it will be ‘fine-tuned' during the workshop process.
  
• a CV – two pages maximum, that includes:

  • all contact details – physical and email address, tel/fax and cell numbers
    
  • details of your relevant filmmaking experience
    
  • details of your production team, if you have one
    
  • the names and contact details of two referees

  • signed declaration that the proposal is the original work of the candidate.

Please note – it is important NOT to deliver more paperwork than is requested.

What will be provided

Successful candidates will receive:

• a return flight from their home country to Johannesburg
  
• visa costs on production of a valid receipt
  
• accommodation, a minimum of five nights, including breakfast
  
• ground transport to and from the airport, and between the accommodation, workshop venue and cinemas
  
• luncheon during the workshop
  
• per diems to cover evening meals
  
• tickets for Encounters Documentary Festival screenings
  
• access to Festival Master Classes

Deadline: submissions must be delivered to Mandisa Zitha, by 5pm on Wednesday, 20 June 2007.

All submissions will be checked upon receipt and acknowledged by return mail. Results will be announced by no later than Wednesday 4 July, and those who have been selected must acknowledge their acceptance and be ready to travel within 10 days.

For further information on Encounters, go to www.encounters.co.za, and www.idfa.nl for the Jan Vrijman Fund and IDFA.