The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP) announce the Good Pitch will be held in the UK on September 7 & 8, 2009. The Good Pitch is a collaboration with Working Films UK and will be hosted by Amnesty International at their East London auditorium.
The Good Pitch brings together inspiring social-purpose film projects and a group of expert participants from charities, foundations, brands and media to form powerful alliances around groundbreaking films. The call for film projects is now open – deadline July 6, 2009. For more information, trailer and to apply visit http://britdoc.org/goodpitch
“It’s a perfect marriage. NGOs get access to some of the world’s best filmmakers, and filmmakers get access to research, distribution and funding.” - The Guardian
The first Good Pitch was held in July 2008 at the BRITDOC Film Festival in Oxford and again at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in May 2009 to fantastic feedback from participants and observers including Greenpeace, Amnesty International, AVAAZ, ITVS, The Times Newspaper, Gucci Tribeca Fund, Hartley Film Foundation, Fledgling Fund, MySpace, YouTube, American Civil Liberties Union, BBC, Channel 4, MacArthur Foundation, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Human Rights Watch, UNICEF, PBS and Witness. In London the Good Pitch is being held in association with the One World Media – dedicated to increasing global understanding through the effective use of media.
“The Good Pitch is at the heart of our work to reinvent funding and distribution models for important documentary projects, extending our role as brokers between filmmakers and the NGO and brand sectors in the UK,” says Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation CEO, Jess Search.
“Working Films collaborated with BRITDOC on the Good Pitch last summer in Oxford and is supporting the Good Pitch in the US,” says Robert West, Co-Founder and Executive Director at Working Films UK. “We are very excited as we open the Working Films UK office to support this strategic event that brings NGOs and excellent social issue films together – building mutually beneficial partnerships and showing how story leads to action.”
The Good Pitch UK is aimed at British or British-based directors and producers with an ambition to work in partnership to harness the power of documentary to create positive change. It will showcase up to 8 documentary film projects – each with an associated outreach campaign – which tackle important global and national issues and enhance our understanding of the world.
Chloe Baird-Murray, Amnesty International UK’s Head of Creative Relationships says, “Amnesty International is proud to partner with the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation this year and to be able to host The Good Pitch as part of our work with creative industries and individuals, to empower those who have the ability to tell the stories of those who can't. More than ever before we need honest ways to acknowledge real life stories so people listen, the truth is heard and action is taken.”
Channel 4’s Head of Documentaries and More4 Hamish Mykura says “Channel 4 has always been the home of alternative voices and challenging perspectives, and the Good Pitch is a great way for documentary makers with a point of view to get their work funded and made.”
The call for entries is now open. Deadline: July 6th 2009
For more information and to apply: www.britdoc.org/goodpitch
For more information contact Katie Bradford at the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation: katie@britdoc.org +44 20 7033 2562