Ex Oriente Film 2011
International workshop for creative documentary projects from Central and Eastern Europe
March / June / October 2011
To apply with your documentary project, please fill out our online entry form .
Applying is free.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2011
Individual meetings with selected applicants: Febuary 10 – 13, 2011 (TBC)
Final selection of projects: February 18, 2011
Participation fee payment deadline: February 25, 2011
1st Session – Find Your Way: March 7 – 12, 2011 (TBC)
2nd Session – Production Development: mid-June 2011 (TBC)
3rd Session – The Market Opens: end of October 2011 (TBC)
Ex Oriente Film is a year-long international workshop that supports the development and funding of creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe. At three workshops that take place in the course of one year, directors and producers develop their projects and funding strategies and benefit from the assistance and valuable advice provided by established European producers, directors, AV experts and commissioning editors. An important aspect of Ex Oriente Film are the year-round online sessions and consultations led by the lead and guest tutors of the workshop. The Ex Oriente Film training programme is completed with the co-production meeting East European Forum that gives documentary filmmakers a chance to pitch their project and secure funding from West European and North American broadcasters. The three residential workshops and the East European Forum pitching are supplemented by our Follow-up Support that keeps track of the projects until their completion.
Participants
Out of all submitted projects, 14 projects – 28 participants in director/producer teams – are selected to attend the workshop. Preference is given to filmmakers based in Central and Eastern Europe, however, we may pick up to 4 projects from outside the region.
Participation Fee
The participation fee is EUR 1,500 per selected project (includes all accommodation, coffee breaks and lunches during the three workshops for 1-2 pers.). The payment deadline is Monday, February 25, 2011.
Scholarships
Participants from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia may apply for a scholarship to cover part of the accommodation and participation fees. Applicants must prove that there is no possibility of scholarship in their own country and that the project is not supported by any development funding.
Conditions of Participation
Participants must be proficient in English. All workshop sessions must be attended by both the producer and the director.
1st Session: Find Your Way
Location: Czech Republic
Probable dates: March 7 – 12, 2011 (TBC)
The first session of the workshop deals with inspiration, focusing on the story and the protagonists, analyzing international aspects of the projects, and drafting the basic concept for production and funding. Tutors confirmed for the session include Marijke Rawie (expert consultant, workshop moderator, The Netherlands); Mikael Opstrup (lead production tutor, producer and consultant, Denmark); Jean-Pierre Rehm (1st session guest tutor, FIDMarseille director, France); Erez Laufer (editor, Israel); Martin Kollár (photographer and cinematographer, Slovakia); Miroslav Janek (director, cinematographer, Czech Republic), and others. Apart from individual meetings, group sessions and film development lectures on storytelling and funding, we are planning a session by Bruno Felix of Submarine, or Andy Whittaker’s (Dogwoof, UK) session about the sales potential of documentaries, about finding new ways to fund, create and distribute documentaries, and an overview session on visual styles in documentary film by Martin Kollár. Erez Laufer will have a session on “Dramaturgical Rules in Documentary Film” as well as dramaturgical consultations with all participants.
2nd Session: Production Development
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Dates: mid-June 2011 (TBC)
The second session deals with financing, budgeting according to EU standards, legal aspects of co-production, strategies for selecting commissioning editors and an appropriate television format, as well as a deeper creative development of the film projects. The second session includes the following key subjects: “A Day of Budgeting”, “A Day of Legal Aspects” ,“A Day of Financial Tour”. In 2011 we plan to have the second session in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. We think that Bratislava has the ideal geographical position to attract Austrian and Slovak filmmakers and film professionals since Vienna is only 40 km away.
3rd Session: The Market Opens
Location: Jihlava, Czech Republic
Dates: End of October 2011 (TBC)
In October 2011, the workshop will be completed with the East European Forum pitching sessions that will boost funding efforts of the attending projects. The third session deals mainly with practical skills that are required for the presentation of the project and pitching. However, its main theoretical themes are distribution plan and sales, post-pitching negotiation techniques for documentaries, as well as communication strategies to get European broadcasters involved in the project. The theoretical parts of this workshop discuss specific examples of international co-production using case studies presented by commissioning editors, producers and distributors. The session is concluded with the East European Pitching Forum and Feedback Round Tables with selected tutors.
The selection results for the 2011 Ex Oriente Film will be posted at www.DOKweb.net on Friday, February 18, 2011.
Click here for more details.
