Artist Katia Kameli is on her way to Algiers for a month-long film development workshop with five promising filmmakers from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. We caught up with her at the opening of New Cartography at Cornerhouse.

The driving force behind the project, Katia is determined to give filmmakers from North Africa the opportunities to develop their ideas and their artistic vision in a professional environment.

It all started with the 2006 initiative Bledi in Progress. "In 2004, while filming Bledi a possible scenario, I went to the University of Ben Aknoun and Fine Arts of Algiers and saw their obvious lack of audiovisual equipment.  The students felt quite frustrated with the representations of Algeria abroad and the lack of  a "home grown" outlook on Algerian society on the international artistic scene. The idea for a month long workshop to develop their projects came from these discussions." 

5 films were produced during the month and toured major international festivals and exhibitions. Above all, these workshops really changed the outlook of the participants and they have all taken giant steps towards a professional carrer in video and film. You can watch all 5 films (or extracts) produced during Bledi in Progress on the Belle Ville website (in French) .

Now Trans Maghreb takes the adventure even further, opening up collaboration, exchange and opportunities between Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia - the three countries known as "Maghreb".

“We put a call out for scripts last year and selected the filmmakers on the strength of their ideas" says Katia. “We received over 70 applications and have selected 5 really strong proposals. I am going there on Saturday and I'm bringing a DOP, sound engineer, visual artist and editor with me to help them turn their project into reality."

Having a specialised team on a film production is of vital importance to Katia and she is keen for the young filmmakers to understand how all these elements contribute to the artistic process.

"I am pretty much able to do most roles on a film. If I have to, I can edit, do the sound and everything else but working with a team of specialised professionals makes for far superior work; not only technically but creatively. Nowadays, I would never embark on one of my own projects without my editor and my sound engineer. Not only do their technical skills manage to produce some amazing work I could not achieve to the same level but working as a team really helps to take a step back, focus and produce the work to its full potential. After spending hours shooting and working on a scene, you find it hard to let go of it, even if it does not bring anything to your work as a whole. You need an editor to help you make these harsh decisions (and tell you off!). Sometimes if you do it all yourself you are not always capable of that".

Katia also feels very strongly about bringing a visual artist - other than herself - to the project. " I want the participants to realise how video art is an integral and important part of film practice and to see for themselves the different approach and perspective a visual artist has on filmmaking; it makes them reflect on their practice and opens up new avenues they can explore"

The month will be divided between reworking the scripts, shooting and editing. A  further 5 people who submitted a project but were not selected will be invited as assistants so they can hone their skills in all various aspects of filmmaking.

Talking to Katia reminded us how much these kinds of initiatives are important; "in Algiers there is one cinema school but they don't have a sound department - that's one fundamental aspect of filmmaking that is not even touched upon at film school for lack of technical facilities. The filmmaking scene is still in its infancy throughout the Maghreb and professional and technical means are extremely sparse compared to what is available in Europe.

Culturally, producing video work is not easily accepted by the population at large; it can be difficult to shoot video in Algeria, even taking pictures is frown upon. There is a real distrust of the camera.

This was illustrated by one of last year's filmmaker work. Amina Zoubir's Prends le bus et regardes is an experimental film depicting Algiers’s inhabitants everyday life through their daily bus journeys. "Shooting the film in buses was not easy but easier than we thought. We actually got quite a lot of good responses to the presence of a video crew on the bus from the passengers," says Katia " but when the film was screened in the cinema there was a massive uproar. I remember some people shouting "You should be ashamed of yourself! How can you do this to your parents?" There is still a big cultural barrier to overcome.

It’s been a lot of work putting this project together from scratch – including finding all the funding. Katia’s drive was really impressive, as well as that of her team. “I have a colleague in Algiers who is sorting out all the practicalities; she’s amazing she’s sorting out at least 3 problems a day everyday. Her work is absolutely vital in making this happen”.

Good luck to the selected filmmakers Faouzi Boudjemai; Sophia Djama; Khaled Hafi, Amine Hattou and Abdelaziz Zerrou and to the Trans Maghreb team - we're looking forward to seeing the resulting films

So you've got a great idea for a documentary how do you go about pitching it? Cue the Pitching for Documentary workshop that took place earlier today.

We heard from experienced filmmakers Steve Boulton and Sophie Chalk who gave lots of great advice to those wanting to get their ideas commissioned and onto our TV screens.

Steve Boulton started working on documentaries in 1982 and was a researcher at Granada. He's worked with a whole host of companies including Channel 4, ITV, BBC and Channel 5. Steve started his own company in 2002 and went on to make the documentary Young Nazi and Proud, which won a BAFTA  - not bad hey.

So here's Steve’s advice on how to pitch for a commission -

- It matters that you learn how to sell - the power of persuasion is key.
- It helps to have a reputation, experience or awards within the business.
- If you don’t its important to encapsulate your idea in no more than 100 words to get it across clearly.
- Never give more than two pages for an idea.
- Always start with the nugget of the documentary.
- Know your character.
- Know exactly what you want the documentary to be about.
- Think about who would be involved on the talent side i.e. celebrities, experts.
- Research the people you're pitching to. Each broadcast channel has a genre and specific topics that they are looking for so watch out for those and taylor your pitch. 

Things NOT to do when pitching a documentary -

- Undermind the person/company you're pitching to.
- Do no research into the person/company you're pitching to.

More useful tips from Steve -

- Use a Narrative Ark that shows a clear beginning, middle and end of the documentary.
- Take a few mins sample footage of your documentary that covers the core of your work.
- If pitching about a character it should be about the character and nothing else.
- No graphics should be used unless its explaining something brief.
- Stay clear of music besides the intro and ending.
- Simple is best.
- No fancy editing.
- Communicate your passion for your documentary.
- It’s a hard business so you have to be tough skinned.

Up next was Sophie Chalk. Sophie started working in documentaries in 1989 and over the years has worked with companies including Sky News, TVAM and Yorkshire TV. Sophie set up her own company Rooftop production in 1998 and also works for the International Broadcasting Trust.

Here's Sophie’s advice on making and pitching documentaries:

- Documentaries that are about misery don’t work well.
- Pitch to a company that you like and who work with similar topics as your documentary.
- Being turned down becomes a way of life, dont take it personally, be thick skinned and passionate.
- If it's an international documentary make it more about the people than the topic.
- Find a human narrative and a familiarity in peoples lives that the viewer can relate to.
- Think about the sensitivity towards the viewer.
- Produce adocumentary that would inspire a viewer.
- Include a mixture of humour and sadness or seriousness

And more advice on commissions from Sophie -

- BBC3 have made a real skill of developing serious documentaries without them looking serious.
- All of these channels/progs are looking for new ideas NOW for documentaries: BBC1, 2,3,4, Dispatches, Panorama and Crew Cut.
- To find out who to speak to watch documentaries and keep an eye on the credits to catch contact names.
- Don’t be put off by the commissioners saying it will cost more to film abroad, in many cases this isn’t true. It costs a lot to film in Britain.
- Make sure your taster video has your name at the beginning, end and on the DVD.

Monique Jarrett
Digital Reporter
@roidmj

 

There was a lot of helpful advice dispensed at yesterdays panel discussion. Successful director Phil Hawkins chaired the session and a group of industry professionals talked about their experiences on becoming a freelance filmmaker. These included....

Mercedes Crescenti the funder of Mercedes Crescenti TV. She began her career as a runner at the BBC and graduated to head up production for the Current Affairs department, producing a wide range of programme, from BAFTA nominated documentaries to live broadcasts. Over the past few years, Mercedes has worked for independent companies shooting award-winning television commercials for multinational brands.

Richard Bodgers has composed and produced music for over 1000 commissions, including global TV and cinema ad campaigns for brands such as Bentley motors, Mercedes, Tomb raider and Hoover. He has also written original scores for computer games and films.

Paul Kondras a production designer and art director with a background in theatre.

And Ollie Pillon who is fairly new to the industry after graduating from Manchester Met two years ago. He's now an assistant director and editor after beginning his career as a runner.

Phil and the rest the group had recently worked on a Manchester-made feature film called Being Sold which is due to be released early next year. 

Everyone agreed that being a runner was a good way of getting into the industry. If you're eager to learn and can make yourself indispensable then you will hopefully progress. It's a great way to learn about the industry. An ability to drive is a useful skill to have as a runner. It's not a necessity but will make you more hireable.

Working on short films is a good way to acquire new skills and get your work out there quickly. If you can get your work shown in one of the many film festivals around the world then that's a good way of marketing yourself. There are also still avenues for funding, even in this financial climate.

Another great positive for being freelance is the freedom to do your own thing, up to a certain point. Everyone agreed that it can be a little daunting if a constant supply of work isn't flowing in. You just have to keep publicising yourself and be as proactive as possible and you will hopefully find more work.

The best piece of advice was to just go for it. If you have an idea, for a film or business, then you can make it happen. If you have the passion and the commitment to get into the film industry, give it a go. Be as confident as you can be and introduce yourself to other professionals. There is a lot going on, in and around Manchester for the freelance filmmaker in terms of projects and networking events and with MediaCityUK opening in the coming year the future seems bright for the freelance filmmaker.

And if that wasn't enough advice for you our Digital Reporter Dan Shannon caught up with Phil after the panel. They talked funding opportunites, the different routes into the industry and those all important characteristics you need to make it.

Rob Birchall
Digital Reporter