A slate of cinema’s top award-winning filmmakers galvanized a sold-out event at VIFF’s 24th Annual Film &Television Forum on Saturday, October 3 at the Vancouver International Film Centre. New Filmmakers’ Day, the only event of its kind in Western Canada drew a packed house for such notable guests as Oscar-winning writer/director Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York) and award-winning cinematographers, Ellen Kuras (Away We Go, Shine a Light) and Fred Elmes (Wild at Heart, The Ice Storm).
Session highlights included The Subjects of Change featuring entertainment lawyer extraordinaire, Peter Dekom; No Due Date: Keeping Dramas Fresh with writers Laurie Finstad (Durham County), Molly Newman (Brothers and Sisters) and Dahvi Waller (Mad Men); Storyville Day featuring the inaugural Pitching Forum with commissioning editors from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the UK, US and Canada taking pitches from local senior producers; Exploiting Sound, Exploring Silence featuring sound designers/editors Craig Berkey and Skip Lievsay. The Forum was especially happy to have partnered with DOC BC on DOC TALK Day to present such popular sessions as 21st Century Doc Distribution Strategies, Best Practices in Doc Genres and Reality Doesn’t Bite: Elements of a top-rate Series.
According to Forum Creative Director Michael Ghent, “The Forum fulfilled its mandate of providing networking opportunities and market intelligence with flying colours. This year’s event was overflowing with amazing talent and top-notch decision makers from around the world. Our audience of producers and filmmakers are now up-to-speed on the world of filmed entertainment.” He went on to say, “During the inaugural Storyville Pitching Forum, hosted in collaboration with Knowledge Network, Canadian and international commissioning editors were highly impressed by the quality of projects pitched to them. Indeed, there are strong indications that business has been done and we’ll see the results a little further down the road.”
The five-day industry event with its thematic streamlined programming continues to attract over 1200 delegates and is geared towards the professional development of the local film and television community. Back by popular demand were the Speed Dating Sessions designed for emerging filmmakers to pitch projects to broadcasters and senior local producers, get feedback and forge new relationships. In 2009, the Forum boasted a total of 124 projects (an increase of over 60% from 2008) pitched during the Speed Dating Sessions and the Telefilm Canada Tête-à-tête Meetings proved to be equally popular with 37 local senior producers pitching 66 projects to international commissioning editors, buyers and funders. A new initiative for 2009 was the introduction of informal Roundtable Discussions whereby 38 local documentary filmmakers had the opportunity to discuss their projects with Canadian and international commissioning editors.
The buzz of the Forum carried over into an array of glamorous industry soirees, including red carpet events hosted by Brightlight Pictures, Telefilm Canada Reception, Martini Madness hosted by Women in Film & Television, Vancouver and Industry Hours hosted by MPPIA, First Weekend Club and Knowledge Network.
The 24th annual Film & Television Forum took place in the Rogers Industry Centre at the Vancouver International Film Centre and Vancity Theatre, September 29 – October 2 with New Filmmakers’ Day on October 3. Vancouver International Film Festival acknowledges the generous support of Telefilm Canada.