Roisin Geraghty, Head of Industry and Marketplace at Docs Ireland
Leading names in documentary filmmaking including Dogwoof, Hidden Light, Hot Docs, Breakout Pictures and CAA will visit Belfast later this month to attend the Docs Ireland documentary film festival.
Alongside its packed cinema programme, Docs Ireland will host several industry focused events aimed at introducing local filmmakers to some of the world’s most important film financiers and production houses.
Now in its fifth year, Docs Ireland is steadily growing and attracting some of the biggest names in the global documentary film industry to meet local filmmakers and hear their pitch.
Marketplace
Docs Ireland will host its Marketplace day on Friday 23 June at 2 Royal Avenue. The marketplace will bring together documentary makers and funders from around the world and create a space in which they can strike deals to help generate ground-breaking new documentaries.
Hosted by audience designer Síle Cully, a range of panels and discussions on Engaging Audiences will also take place. Panels include a talk from NOISE Film and TV on documentary film PR and a conversation with leading documentary sales agents.
Additionally, there will be three keynote industry panels including:
· The Place of Markets Documentary Landscapes with guest speakers from Cannes, IDFA, Documentary Association of Europe and East Doc.
· A discussion on current trends in the documentary market hosted by BAFTA Award winning filmmaker and documentary trainer Andy Glynne. BBC NI, BBC Storyville, POV, RTÉ, S4C, TG4, YLE and more will be represented.
· The Festival Programmers Session with Mads Mikkelsen (Head of Programme CPH.DOX) and Heather Haynes (Associate Director of Programming Hot Docs).
Emerging Talent
On Thursday 22 June the Docs Society will host an Emerging Talent Training Day giving new talent an opportunity to gain skills and win contacts.
The Northern Ireland Screen Pitch will also take place on Saturday 24 June for filmmakers to pitch their documentary idea to industry professionals with the possibility of being awarded £7500.
Roisin Geraghty, Head of Industry and Marketplace at Docs Ireland said:
“At Docs Ireland, our key aim is to support the island of Ireland’s documentary filmmaking community.
“We do this through our core industry initiatives - the Docs Ireland Marketplace, the IGNITE Talent Development Programme and the Northern Ireland Screen Pitch, and through our ancillary industry events and networking opportunities, which cater to filmmakers at all stages of their careers.
“This year we will host sessions exploring current trends in non-fiction festival curation, meet with international broadcasters to discuss their commissioning practices, and focus on engaging audiences for documentary film, as well as collaborating on events with Screen Producers Ireland and Creative Europe Desk Ireland. We will also continue our long-standing partnership with Doc Society, hosting an Emerging Talent Day with the aim of fostering creativity and conversation, disseminating information and boosting the confidence of new storytellers to develop their creative non-fiction filmmaking practice.
“I do hope that there is something that piques the interest of every documentary filmmaker within this year’s programme.”
Industry passes are on sale now. The pass is £85 for professionals and £55 for students. There is also the option to pay separately for some events. More information can be read at docsireland.ie
Docs Ireland is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, Belfast City Council, Department of Communities, Film Hub NI, BFI FAN, Screen Ireland and Arts and Business and proudly sponsored by TG4, BBC Northern Ireland, Birra Moretti and Hastings Hotels.