CPH:CONFERENCEBusiness
as Unusual
The second year in a row, we had the pleasure of being invited to contribute to CPH:CONFERENCE at CPH:DOX, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals. CPH:CONFERENCE is a unique industry event offering a range of inspiring talks with visionary thinkers, investigating current themes in documentary filmmaking and creating an interactive and hands-on platform for exchange with other professionals of our documentary community.
After the daring conference program we achieved last year, this round we wanted the three-day conference to focus on the industry. The hybrid event hosted 32 speakers from all over the world but mainly from Europe, and most attended in person (finally!).
In close collaboration with the festival team and Documentary Campus, the main themes for the day were chosen to be authorship, finances and impact. All days had a few key-thoughts in common: while accountability, accessibility and inclusiveness were the main topics tackled by all four keynotes throughout the program, authorship, community and collaboration were the themes highlighted by a range of panels, fireside chats, discussions and case study presentations.
Our curator’s statement:
The documentary sphere is shifting from a creative craft with a social mission to a market-driven approach, dominated by a few streamers fueling mainstream audience‘s appetite for real-life content. The unequal power structures induce legitimate questions about the space for independent voices, untamed storytelling, safety, inclusion, as well as access to funding and distribution to have these stories shape the way people understand the world. In these three days, we want to rethink authorship and ownership (Claim your Story!), funding sources (Where is the Money?) and real impact (What’s Success?). Business shall not be made as usual if we want to challenge the status quo and avoid narrowing and commodifying the diversity and richness of non-fiction?
Our aim while creating this program was to instigate important discussions to bring the industry forward. Each day we examined the main theme from a critical perspective and looked at possible solutions and alternatives to improve the current documentary ecosystem. We made sure to include as many Q&A’s and polls as possible to give the audience a chance to join the conversations: using Sli.do we got very good results.
Same as last year, AC hosted the ‘Business as Unusual’ program, guiding the audience through the sessions with curator’s notes in between while also facilitating the interactive elements.
CLAIM YOUR STORY!
It all begins with a story. Giving access to unheard voices, sharing creative power and protecting the most vulnerable protagonists are warrants for documentaries that stand up for themselves, reaching far beyond any market value. Who may actually tell their own stories? How can co-creation secure the authenticity of culturally diverse stories? And how to work respectfully with all contributors?
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Competencies. Material. Money. Networks. From funding up to distribution, gatekeepers control every step of the film ecosystem. How can we accountably re-distribute power and give access to emerging authors with first-hand, authentic narratives from all around the Globe?
Poh Si Teng, Filmmaker and Former Commissioning Editor and Funder, US
Read about it: Ex-IDA Director Poh Si Teng: For True Equity in Docs, We Must ‘Reform, or Dismantle and Rebuild’ Hierarchies
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Authenticity, Representation, Inclusiveness or Accountability are neither buzzwords nor utopias. Two case studies frame how sharing creative power helps to enhance authentic stories, and how collaboration – from sound to camera work – can bring a voice to those who own the story.
Alex Pritz, Director, USA, Katya Mihailova, Film Composer, USA, Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau, Cinematographer, Brazil, Mafalda Ramos, Producer and Community Consultant, Portugal, and Piratá Waura, Filmmaker, Brazil, moderated by Shanida Scotland, Head of Film, Doc Society, UK.
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(This session was curated in collaboration with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.)
Who has control and power matter in every documentary genre. But in films that deal with violence, the risks to vulnerable contributors are far higher. What does it really take for filmmakers to work sensitively and effectively with people who courageously bring their trauma into public light?
Mais Al-Bayaa, Filmmaker, Iraq, Katy Robjant, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Freedom from Torture, UK, and Ilse van Velzen, Documentary Filmmaker and Impact Producer, ifproductions, the Netherlands, moderated by Gavin Rees, Executive Director, Dart Center Europe.
Read about it: “People Are Not ‘the Trauma They’ve Experienced'”: Trauma-Informed Storytelling at CPH:CONFERENCE 2022.
Which doors are open for funding? For whom? With the diminishment of the broadcast sector and the emergence of platforms homogenizing the content, how can we drive a systemic change to secure a stable business model for a more diverse and thriving industry? We explore sustainable economic mindsets and the unbeaten paths of new funding models supporting us to build the future we want.
FOLLOW THE MONEY!
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Do we have a funding system enabling us to get the future we want? What needs to be changed to ensure more equality, diverse and representative stories in a world we want more just? A systemic change needs a collective effort, but it may start with personal initiative. A producer shares his journey.
Derren Lawford, Founder and CEO, DARE Pictures, UK
Read about it: Derren Lawford delivers daring keynote speech at CPH:CONFERENCE
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A debate for a better funding system between a public service broadcaster and private equity: what are the (dis-)advantages of traditional funding sources, like public service broadcasters’ money, and which new equity funding sources are sound options for documentary filmmakers? Are these compatible?
Axel Arnö, Head of Factual, SVT, Sweden and Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær, Producer, Real Lava, Denmark, moderated by Patricia Finneran, Executive Director, Story Matters Media, US.
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Can agents attending markets help you find money your project? Do banks have a role to play? How can filmmakers access funding through VCs? Is NFT an option to fund documentaries? We explore ways, tools and models to finance documentary film production beyond broadcasters and funding bodies, now and in the very next future.
Elisa Alvares, Media & Entertainment Consultant, Senior Advisor, IPR.VC, Lilla Hurst, Joint Managing Director, DRIVE, UK, Judy Lindsay, Founder, NFT Photographers Alliance, Raiomond Mirza, Head of Operations, Cineverse, London, and Martin Dawson, Deputy Head of Unit at Creative Europe Media, European Commission, Belgium, moderated by AC Coppens, Founder, The Catalysts, FR/DE.
After making their documentaries visible by finding their audiences and distribution channels, filmmakers may ask: who actually holds the power to call their work a success? Is impact the success metrics of documentaries, and if yes, how to measure it properly? But beyond the projects, what is real success for documentary filmmakers who want to shape the way people understand the world?
SHAPING SUCCESS.
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“Golden Age of Documentary” is an often mentioned cliché, but we are far away from a wealthy sector – not even talking about the huge disparities in the economic results. How can we change the status quo? What would it take to make a real golden age happen with more abundance and less scarcity?
Mandy Chang, Global Head of Documentaries, Fremantle, UK
Read about it: Fremantle’s Mandy Chang Warns Against a ‘Corporate Age’ of Documentary as Streamers Fuel Docmaking Boom
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From sales, to views and critiques, up to creating long-lasting change – what are the parameters for a film to be considered successful? Who sets the criterias to measure the success of films and their filmmakers? This session will challenge and recalibrate the relationship we have with success.
Talal Derki, Filmmaker, Jouzour Film Production, Germany, Victoria Fiore, Filmmaker, Italy, Simran Hans, Film Critic, UK, Jason Ishikawa, Sales Agent, Cinetic Media, USA, and Danielle Turkov Wilson, Founder, Think-Film Impact Productions, UK, moderated by Marit van den Elshout, Head, International Film Festival Rotterdam, NL.
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Successful film projects are great, but are they enough to sustain a career? Not many documentary filmmakers can “„make it“ without compromising on their values, stories or ethics. We need to move away from mere project funding for a possibly new system to support and facilitate successful careers.
Stéphano Mendelek, Director of Development, Beirut DC, Lebanon, and Aisa Villarosa, Senior Director of External Affairs, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, USA, moderated by Estelle Robin You, Producer, Les films du balibari, France.
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What does it mean to be a successful documentary filmmaker in todays’ society – for the filmmakers, but also for society? Renzo Martens, known for his artistic critique on economic inequality, will give a final keynote to shift views about documentary filmmaking and its impact, way beyond the screen.
Renzo Martens, Director, Netherlands
