User:Docedgenz/sandbox

In 2003, Dan Shanan and Alex Lee felt that New Zealand documentary industry needed to nurtured and promoted. They felt that documentary filmmakers needed to have an advocate and the wider community would benefit from having a documentary film festival. New Zealan] was lagging behind many global cities with successful documentary film festivals and New Zealand documentary filmmakers needed greater access to upskill themselves as well as resources and funding like their overseas counterparts.

The trust
Recognizing the explosion in audience numbers for documentary films and the world wide rise of documentary filmmaking, it became important to create a documentary film festival for the wider community to obtain greater access to the wide variety of documentaries genres.

Set up in 2004, The Documentary New Zealand Trust is a non-profit organisation promoting documentary filmmaking and advocating opportunities for New Zealand documentary filmmakers. Its signature events are an international film festival and an industry event.

The Documentary New Zealand Trust brings new business and filmic opportunities and great exposure to New Zealand and is committed to making the Festival and the Forum the biggest such event in the Southern Hemisphere.

History
Documentary Edge Festival is Australasia's premiere international documentary film festival held annually in Auckland and Wellington from April to June. The Festival showcases the very best in documentary films from New Zealand and around the world. It also includes a Gala Awards, Q&A Sessions with filmmakers, various social functions and special events. The first festival was launched in 2005.

Each year the Documentary Edge Festival aims to screen a selection of award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary films. Documentary Edge Festival is a contemporary cutting edge festival that seeks to bring documentaries that:


 * are thought provoking and challenge the audiences
 * provide a valuable insight into the topics and issues that confront our society
 * build bridges of understanding
 * give a voice to people and communities that are rarely or not heard
 * are cutting edge and innovative in their genre, style, narrative and delivery and welcome multi-media and experimental documentary films
 * promote a cinematic experience while at the same time ensuring that the works of emerging, independent and low budget films continue to be celebrated

Click here to see the full list of the Awards

New Zealand Selection
Click here to see the full list of the Awards

The Forum


The Documentary Edge Forum is an annual Film, TV and All Media industry event focused on innovative ways to create and fund all kinds of screen production. It includes seminars, panels, master-classes, and a pitching forum. The Forum is a place to update your tool-box with cutting-edge ideas and network with local and international professionals and experts.

The Forum is an industry event, held during the Documentary Edge Festival. It brings together local and overseas filmmakers/industry to share, network and learn from each other. It also aims to bring a business side to proceedings by facilitating local filmmakers to present their ideas to potential local and international funders, buyers, broadcasters and festival programmers.

The DOC Lab


DOC Lab is a three-day incubator to educate, inspire and develop filmmakers with a shared goal of developing and prototyping multi-platform documentary projects. Local and international experts are brought in as mentors to present and help develop the selected projects and teams. Up to 12 teams will be selected to participate with each team comprising 1-3 members.

The mentors will present their practice areas and speak on the developments and technologies that will help the selected teams in realizing their projects. They will also work with teams individually and provide feedback, suggestions and development strategies.

Starting from content ideas or from existing material, DOC Lab will discuss new documentary prototypes that use one or more new media. Workshop topics include:


 * a master-class in storytelling
 * the new and different forms of platforms and storytelling devices
 * how to collaborate across platforms and genres
 * how to engage with the community and the role(s) of the audience
 * interactive and data-based stories
 * the use of computer games for documentary purposes
 * funding and commissioning of cross media documentaries
 * new forms of distribution and delivery

The campus


Documentary Edge Campus is New Zealand's first resource centre for documentary films and materials. It is available to the wider community for free!

It includes:
 * A film library with over 200 titles, books, magazines, and other literature
 * 4 viewing stations
 * A drop-in centre available for meetings and workshops
 * Open all year round (excluding weekends and public holidays)