Good Pitches Make the Big Screen
10 December 2013 at 9:20 am
An international forum that brings together documentary filmmakers with Not for Profits to create films that are good for society has reached Australia.
GOOD PITCH, which started in 2009 and has previously been held in the US and the UK, will be bringing GOOD PITCH² Australia to Sydney in April.
Australian organisers, Not for Profit organisation Shark Island Institute and Documentary Australia Foundation, are calling on Australian documentary filmmakers to submit their projects.
“GOOD PITCH is all about impact. It aims to support filmmakers by creating alliances, finding new avenues of support, funding, growing audience and distribution; and magnifying the social impact of outstanding feature-length documentary films,” Shark Island Institute’s Ian Darling said.
“I’ve seen first-hand how powerful a forum GOOD PITCH can be. My colleagues at Documentary Australia Foundation and I are all determined to bring the event to Australia so that filmmakers here can benefit from the same opportunities and international exposure.”
At each GOOD PITCH event, seven filmmaking teams are chosen to pitch their feature documentary and its associated outreach campaign to a judging panel of 10 invited representatives and a theatre of up to 300 participants. A moderated session follows each pitch with the aim of creating a lasting and unique coalition around each film to maximise its impact and influence in the years to come.
The films will be at the late stages of their production and may be seeking competition and outreach funding.
“Selected filmmakers don’t just turn up on the day with their prepared pitch,” Documentary Australia Foundation Chief Executive Officer Mitzi Goldman said.
“Instead, the GOOD PITCH² AUSTRALIA team will work intensively with the selected filmmakers, Not for Profits, philanthropists, broadcasters and experts to further develop the funding and outreach strategy for each project before it gets into the pitching area.
“As part of their preparation, filmmakers will have privileged access to development, pitching and impact workshops with local and international partners.”
Malinda Wink, former Executive Director of The Caledonia Foundation, has taken on the role of Executive Director of GOOD PITCH² AUSTRALIA.
With the selection of projects to be completed by April, the first all-day event will be held on October 8 at the Sydney Opera House. Successive events will be held in both Sydney and Melbourne in successive years.
Philanthropy Australia and Pro Bono Australia are Community Partners for the initiative.
For more information on the submission process and GOOD PITCH² AUSTRALIA, email hello@goodpitch2australia.com.au or visit the website here.
