MUMBAI: Mipdoc, the international documentary market, which takes place in Cannes France in April 2007 has announced that eight visionary documentary-makers have been chosen for the second edition of the International Trailblazers.
This is an initiative designed to recognise creativity and innovation in the documentary field.
For the second consecutive year, the event is sponsored by the Sundance Channel and organised with the support of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The International Trailblazers will take place at Mipdoc, which will be held on 14 and 15 April 2007 in the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel, Cannes.
The eight selected works have been drawn from Europe,Asia /Pacific, the Americas and Africa and chosen by an international selection panel made up of well-known documentary associations and festivals. The selection panel is made up of: The International Documentary Association (IDA - USA), Hot Docs (Canada), The European Documentary Network (EDN - Denmark), Encounters (South Africa), EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF - South Korea) and the association of all Japan TV Programs (ATP - Japan).
The eight candidates were selected according to:
- Innovation and Creativity: the use of new techniques in filming and story-telling, setting trends, opening new pathways for others...
- Originality: Content that provides a model, which is "different" or risk-taking.
- Breakthrough: Where there is a significant difference made in the genre, such as increased audience for documentaries, press coverage, public reception...
The 2007 'International Trailblazers' are - Marshall Curry (USA, selected by IDA), Larry Weinstein (Canada, selected by Hot Docs), Paolo Trombetti (Italy, selected by EDN), Uldis Cekulis (Latvia, selected by EDN), Jean-Marie Teno (Cameroon, selected by Encounters), Vincent Moloi (South Africa, selected by Encounters), Gan Chao (China, selected by EIDF) and Nao Kubota (Japan, selected by ATP) - All eight Trailblazers will attend Mipdoc, where a special Mipdoc Opening Lunch will be given in their honour, bringing together the documentary professionals at Mipdoc and the 'International Trailblazer' organisers.
Reed Midem director of the television division Paul Johnson said, "The second edition of the International Trailblazers will honour eight emerging and acknowledged filmmakers who through their creativity and desire to tell a story in their own way are pushing the documentary genre forward. Mipdoc delegates will have the opportunity to share the vision of some truly exceptional documentary producers."
Following the first edition of the International Trailblazers at Mipdoc 2006, two films have been acquired by the Sundance Channel, Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon directed by Khalo Matabane (South Africa) and the documentary Georgi & the Butterflies produced by Martichka Bozhilova (Bulgaria).
Commenting on her selection as an International Trailblazer, Martichka Bozhilova said, "It is very encouraging to have been chosen as a Trailblazer and to have our work acknowledged by such key documentary specialists. Making documentaries is a passion and a challenge. I am delighted to receive this tribute for what I have always tried to achieve - to be creative and take risks in a documentary world that is becoming more and more standardised and commercially dependent."
Mipdoc 2006 saw a 13 per cent rise in participation with 432 companies from 57 countries. 385 acquisition executives attended and production and sales companies sent 1,189 programmes to the digital screening library of which 769 were appearing at the market for the first time. There were a total of 26,000 screenings over the two days.
