27/04/2012

Project launched to support documentary filmmaking in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan

Institutions, Events and Festivals

A project has been launched to support documentary filmmaking in the South Caucasus, run by People in Need, Sakdoc Film and Internews Armenia. The CAUCADOC project is funded by the European Union through the Eastern Partnership Culture programme and builds on the 14 years of experience of People in Need’s international human rights documentary film festival One World.

CAUCADOC includes residential workshops dedicated to the development of creative documentary films, master classes and lectures at partnering festivals, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Batumi Art House Film Festival and Tbilisi International Film Festival, as well as a series of debates focusing on key issues related to audiovisual industry in the region. CAUCADOC will support small-scale local documentary film festivals. Documentaries will also be introduced to schools as an effective methodology for civic education.

“We want to get more people interested in documentary film as an art form and also start up a documentary platform in the region," says Anna Dziapshipa from Sakdoc. CAUCADOC also aims to enhance public debate on recent and current issues of interest or controversy in South Caucasus. “Documentary films are really a serious tool in the society in terms of helping to better understand each other," says Nouneh Sarkissian, director of Internews Armenia.

CAUCADOC has also announced a call for applications for professional documentary filmmakers and has invited documentary film teams (directors and producers) from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to apply for an intensive project development course by 20 May. Selected teams will be given the chance to take part in a six month training course (two week long workshops and continuous online support). During the course, the teams will develop their film ideas with the support of international and local tutors, focusing on the content and form of their project as well as on the production strategy.

At the end of the course, the teams will have the opportunity to present their projects to international film funders and festival representatives at PitchDoc, which is being held during the Tbilisi International Film Festival. The most promising teams will also be provided with scholarships to attend major European documentary film events in 2013.

The €12 million Eastern Partnership Culture Programme aims at assisting the Partner Countries in their cultural policy reform at government level, as well as capacity building and improving professionalism of cultural operators in the region. It seeks to strengthen regional cultural links and dialogue within the Eastern Partnership region, and between the EU and ENP Eastern countries' cultural networks and actors.

 

Source: ENPI Info Centre