TFI in Spain (DocsBarcelona, That Is!)

Just two months into 2012, TFI has hit the ground running with the westward expansion of the Tribeca Teaches program and the winter/spring submission cycle opening for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and the New Media Fund. The new year has also brought a quintessential first for TFI, with the 2008 Gucci Fund-supported If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front receiving an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category. With this momentum in place, it would only be natural for TFI to continue to expand its outreach for filmmakers!

It is with that mindset that TFI headed to DocsBarcelona last week: to make the Institute’s presence known to international filmmakers and industry and to promote a film that'ss already a part of the Tribeca family -- 2008’s Gucci and Tribeca All Access-supported Give Up Tomorrow (which had sold-out shows and won the Human Rights Award at the festival!).

Since many of the TFI staff had made the wintry, high-altitude exodus to Sundance the week prior, I was tasked with attending DocsBarcelona in search of eclectic European (and Catalan) documentary works. The festival/market ended up being one of the most challenging experiences that I have had, but in being so, it paved the way for an in-depth focus on filmmakers’ projects and their craft.

The first half of my stay revolved around the Financing Pitching Forum, in which a varied group of commissioning editors, festival coordinators and sales agents from around the world evaluated 24 works-in-progress and provided feedback on the filmmakers’ pitches. I was fortunate enough to take part in this panel, which also included Osnat Eden-Fraiman (YES TV, Israel); Peter Jager (Autlook); Simon Kilmurry (POV); Jenny Westergard (YLE, Finland); Yorinde Segal (IDFA); Claudia Rodriguez (RTVC Colombia); Charlie Phillips (Sheffield Doc/Fest); Lorenzo Hendel (RAI 3, Italy); Ali Delici (ARTE France) and Rosa Perez (TVE, Spain). Moderators Mikael Opstrup and Paul Pauwels (both of EDN) guided the 15-minute presentations and effectively sought input from all of the panelists (which ranged from the enthusiastic to the cautious). The forum was also bolstered by an audience of attending filmmakers that watched the pitches unfold, and their presence inside the spacious hall brought a palpable energy to the event.

Between the frenzy of project pitches and meetings, I also joined a Master Class discussion on the possible festival and market outlets available for docs. At the onset of the talk, it was apparent that the audience thought that TFI and TFF were one and the same, so I took it upon myself to fully explain the various distinctions that exist (as well as the many resources that TFI provides). My fellow panelists -- Quim Cassas (San Sebastian Film Festival), Yorinde Segal and Charlie Phillips -- pivoted the discussion towards their respective festivals, while I presented a thorough overview of the Institute’s funding initiatives and application cycles. Fortunately, the Catalan filmmakers and film students in attendance had a lot of pertinent questions about TFI, so I was more than happy to oblige them with answers!

My visit to DocsBarcelona was an engaging amalgam of both public industry events and intimate screenings, all the while exuding a laidback and congenial atmosphere that was a testament to the festival organizers’ hard work. Their selection of the projects pitched was also top-notch, as the roster presented unique creative output from international filmmakers.

In Contact Proof, Spanish filmmaker Juanjo Jimenez discovers boxes containing film slides and undertakes a journey to re-discover the locations and people featured in the photographer’s work. On a serious front, filmmaker Mark McLoughlin and artist Brian Maguire target the wave of violence in Juarez Mexico by remembering slain young women through portraitures in their web-oriented project Blood Rising. Lastly, Ventura Durall’s La Fin du Monde humorously profiles the small southern town of Bugarach, France -- deemed “the only place on the planet that will survive the 2012 Apocalypse” -- and the paranoid and eccentric inhabitants that ready themselves for The End.

Congratulations to all of the participating filmmakers -- as well as to Marty and Michael for their Give Up Tomorrow win!