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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