Docs Ireland 2024 begins next week, running from June 18th to 23rd. As well as screening Irish and international documentaries, the festival has a host of industry events to attend.
Docs Ireland 2024 opens on 18th June with the award-winning documentary The Flats directed by Alessandra Celesia. Closing this year’s festival is the extraordinary documentary No Other Land made by a collective of activists as a form of resistance to the ongoing injustices in their region. Running alongside these screenings are a number of In Conversation events, industry workshops, and networking opportunities.
In Conversation with Asif Kapadia
Saturday, 22nd June 2024, 6.30pm at Queen's Film Theatre
Docs Ireland will welcome award-winning documentary filmmaker Asif Kapadia, who will be sharing his insights and experiences in a long-form conversation with filmmaker Lisa Barros D’sa. Docs Ireland will present Asif with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Documentary.
Kapadia is an Academy Award, four-time BAFTA Award, Grammy Award & European Film Award winning director, writer and producer. Known for visually striking films which often feature ‘outsiders’ fighting against a corrupt system. He is best known for the acclaimed trilogy of films Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona.
Amy is the most successful theatrical British documentary of all time, winning the Academy Award, BAFTA, European and Grammy awards for Best Documentary. Diego Maradona premiered in Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kapadia has also directed the BAFTA-winning drama feature The Warrior, episodes of the hit series Mindhunter for David Fincher, he series-directed and exec produced the music series 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything. Creature was Kapadia’s adaption of the ballet made in collaboration with choreographer Akram Khan & the English National Ballet. Kapadia is presently in post-production with 2073, a genre-bending documentary set in the future which tackles the biggest challenges endangering our present, starring Samantha Morton and Naomi Ackie.
Marketplace Training
Thursday, 20th June 2024, 10.00am at Queen's Film Theatre
This one day, in-person workshop, led by documentary trainer Andy Glynne, will give filmmaking teams the essential skills needed to navigate, and make the best out of, the Docs Ireland Marketplace. This isn’t just about the “pitch”, it’s about being clear on how to get the support for your film that it needs, both in terms of finance and strategic partnerships. This is an experiential workshop, using your project to help develop specific skills including:
- The Development Toolkit - Understanding and making the best out of your proposals, treatments, teasers and pitch.
- Finance Plans and Partnerships - Ensuring you have a solid and realistic finance plan, and how to ensure you understand all the mechanics of international co-production.
- Development Strategy - Ensuring you have the best strategy for the development of your feature documentary.
- Navigating the Market - How to get the best out of the market - strategic partnerships, working with broadcasters, and the role of distributors in helping to develop and finance your film.
All participants will rehearse their pitch throughout the day, and refine their development and financing strategy.
The Year That Rocked Irish Dancing | TV Doc Series Case Study
Thursday, 20th June 2024, 12.00pm at Ulster Museum - Lecture Theatre
An observational character-driven documentary set in the competitive world of Irish dancing, the BBC Northern Ireland doc-series The Year That Rocked Irish Dancing unexpectedly found itself embroiled in complexity when a scandal broke within the community it was documenting.
This case study will look at how filmmaker Gillian Callan, an alumnus of the IGNITE-Docs programme, dealt with the unforeseen developments affecting the project and how it evolved and adapted to the external forces impinging upon it, all while maintaining its duty of care to young contributors.
Speakers:
- Gillian Callan: Director & Producer, The Year That Rocked Irish Dancing
- Mary McKeagney: Commissioning Executive, BBC Northern Ireland
Creative Documentary Making in Focus
Thursday, 20th June 2024, 2.00pm at Queen's Film Theatre
The Producing Truth event will open the doors to documentary filmmaking talent from the UK and Ireland in a friendly and inclusive environment. The event aims to foster creativity and conversation, disseminate information and boost confidence for non-fiction storytellers to develop their creative filmmaking practice, and dissect the intricacies of the production process for documentary.
The event will frame the experiences and insights of doc-makers through presentation, case study and interview. Session will include a case study of recent Doc Society / Screen Ireland co-production No Place Like Home by Myrid Carten, an analysis of the distribution strategy behind Ella Glendining’s award-winning documentary Is There Anybody Out There? from Conic Film and a creative case study of Leo Regan’s My Friend Lanre.
From Pitch to Screen: A Live Scoring to Documentary Skills Event
Thursday, 20th June 2024, 5.00pm at Oh Yeah Music Centre
In collaboration with Docs Ireland, the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland presents a day-long music composition workshop where member composers, under the supervision of SCGI mentors, work collaboratively to score and produce a music demo in response to a music for documentary brief. The session is closed to SCGI members.
However, the day will culminate with an open feedback session, where their musical outcomes and mentors’ opinions will be shared with the public. This live feedback event will offer audiences a rare fly-on-the-wall opportunity to witness how composers respond musically to a creative brief.
To learn more about Screen Composers Guild of Ireland an all Island representative group for composers for screen, go to www.screencomposersguild.ie
Sustaining a Living as a Documentary Filmmaker
Thursday, 20th June 2024, 6.45pm at Grand Central Hotel - Observatory Bar
Though the prominence of non-fiction work internationally has never been greater in this ‘Golden Age of Documentary’, sustaining a career as an independent documentary-maker can be a precarious endeavour, and is an issue that globally affects those making non-fiction films as their primary output.
This event will provide a platform for discussion on this important topic, analysing the challenges faced by doc-makers, methods for navigating our difficult ecosystem, and potential implementations to better represent and support the interests of the community.
Keynote presentations will be delivered by the Documentary Film Council, a new organisation working to enable effective, coordinated action to address the key issues of the independent documentary industry, and Film in Mind, who advocate for better mental health in the film industry.
In addition, a panel of documentary filmmakers working on the island will give their first-hand accounts, contributing their perspectives on how to make this way of life tenable, as well as strategies and models for sustainability, and providing an open forum for attendees to discuss their own experiences.
Keynote Speakers:
- Emily Copley - Acting Director, Documentary Film Council
- Clair Maleney - Engagement Manager, Film in Mind
Panel Speakers:
- Tom Burke - Director & Producer, Broadstone Films / Head of MA in Documentary Practice, Dublin City University
- Daniel Hegarty - Producer, Marmalade Films
- Alison Millar - Director, Erica Starling Productions
- Clare Stronge - Producer, Plainsong Films
- Ciara Nic Chormaic - Director, Farran Films
In Real Life | Giving Your Doc a Life in Cinema
Friday, 21st June 2024, 9.30am at The Black Box - Green Room
There is an audience for cinema documentary in Ireland – so how do filmmakers find, engage and excite them?
Combining filmmaker-delivered case studies with insights from experienced industry consultants, In Real Life is a half-day interactive workshop and networking session for filmmakers with feature documentary projects that are currently in production, post-production or recently completed who want to understand today’s cinema landscape and learn essential tools for navigating it successfully.
Docs Ireland will host this workshop led by filmmaker Luke McManus and the culture journalist and curator Derek O’Connor. It will take place as part of Docs Ireland on Friday 21st June 2024 (9.30am – 1.00pm) at the Blackbox Belfast. There will be a charge of £25 for selected participants (maximum of 2 attendees per project).
Spotlight on the Nordics
Friday, 21st June 2024, 10.00am at Belfast Exposed
Docs Ireland is honoured to spotlight the documentary film industry of the Nordic region, and the infrastructures and mechanisms that keep it sustainable. Through presentations, case studies and discussion with invited speakers (including broadcasters, film institutes and festivals), this event will give a fulsome insight into the ecosystem surrounding the documentary community in this territory.
Using the expertise of, and knowledge-sharing with, the contributors, the aim of the event is to foster and provide opportunities for Irish doc-makers to consider co-production with partners from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Speakers:
- Anni Asikainen - Advisor / International Promotion and Cultural Export of Documentary Film, Finnish Film Foundation
- Charlotte Gry Madsen - Commissioning Editor, SVT
- Anna Risgaard Dahl - PR, Marketing & Festival Manager, DR Sales
- Sara Rüster - Festival Manager, Docs · Swedish Film Institute
- Lea Maria Strandbæk Sørensen - Head of Industry, Nordisk Panorama
Host:
- Brigid O’Shea - Co-Founder, Documentary Association of Europe
This event is supported by Creative Europe Desk Ireland MEDIA
Meet the Festivals Networking Lunch
Friday, 21st June 2024, 12.30am at 2 Royal Avenue
This event is for Industry Pass Holders only (Pure Class Delegate Pass or Pure Docs Pass)
In advance of the Docs Ireland Marketplace, the festival welcomes guests and attendees to join us for a networking lunch, giving an opportunity to hear from our visiting festival programmers.
Festivals in attendance include Camden International Film Festival, Dokufest Kosovo, Nordisk Panorama, Sarajevo International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, and True/False.
Anatomy of the Cut
Saturday, 22nd June 2024, 10.00am at The Black Box - Theatre
Centring the integral role of editors in the documentary-making process, this event will utilise the expertise of leading Irish and international editors to discuss the fundamentals of documentary-cutting and demonstrate its essential creative function in non-fiction storytelling.
The event will include a panel discussion with esteemed editors regarding their craft and collaborative processes with directors and an in-depth case study with Mick Mahon on some of his acclaimed non-fiction work.
Speakers:
- Elisa Bonora - Editor, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, Still Working 9 to 5
- Cara Holmes - Editor, Notes From Sheepland, Piano Dreams, The Father of the Cyborgs
- Chloe Lambourne - Editor, For Sama, Lyra, My Friend Lanre
Mick Mahon - Editor, Gaza, I, Dolours, Nothing Compares
- John Murphy - Editor, Atomic Hope, North Circular, Stolen
The event will be followed by a networking lunch at 2 Royal Avenue, supported by Screen Skills UK
Northern Ireland Screen Pitch
Saturday, 22nd June 2024, 3.30pm at The Black Box - Theatre
Docs Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, in association with Yellowmoon Post Production, return in 2024 for the sixth edition of the Northern Ireland Screen Pitch. This public pitch offers the opportunity for documentary makers, from established filmmakers to new and emerging talent, to receive an award of up to £9,000 towards a pilot for a documentary feature.
Shortlisted projects will present their project at this public pitch at Docs Ireland where they will receive feedback from a panel of leading Irish and international documentary industry players. Previous winners of the pitch include No Place Like Home (Myrid Carten), The Last Balkan Cowboy (Dragana Jurisic), Asking for it (Grace Sweeney), They Say It Is Love (Roisin Agnew), and The Unrest Collective (Lia Campbell).
Visit the Docs Ireland website to learn more about the full programme and to purchase tickets.
