Big Sky Offers International Pitch with Top Industry Reps

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will host an International Pitch Session with top industry representatives including Diane Weyermann (Participant Media) Yance Ford (POV The American Documentary) and Lois Vossen (ITVS, Independent Lens).

The third annual Big Sky International Documentary Pitch Session will take place on February 23, 2012 as part of Big Sky Doc Shop (Feb 21-24), a five day non-fiction industry forum during the ninth annual film festival.

More about the Pitch:

Entry Fee: $25

Submission Deadline: January 6, 2012

Filmmakers have the opportunity to pitch their work-in-progress (WIP) documentaries to some of the top commissioning editors and funders for documentary film in North America. All documentary forms and all subjects are eligible to submit. Commissioning editors will critique and comment on each pitch. A maximum of 15 projects will be accepted to pitch in this session. Potential participants should submit a brief (250 words maximum) project summary and an additional one-paragraph project status report. A short (5 minutes maximum) sample reel of the work-in-progress may be submitted (via vimeo, youtube.com, blip.tv, etc.) in addition to the written application. Selected projects will have 20 minutes to pitch their project and show a short sample (if available) for the panel. Selected projects will be required to pay an additional $75 to participate, and will be notified of their acceptance by January 11, 2012.

Confirmed panelists include: Diane Weyermann (Executive Vice President, Documentary Films, Participant Media), Yance Ford (Series Producer, POV/The American Documentary), Lois Vossen (Independent Lens, Senior Series Producer & Vice President, ITVS) and Reva Goldberg (Communications and Fellowships Manager at Cinereach) Caroline Graham (Marketing Manager, The Documentary Channel).

Enter via Withoutabox.com


More about Doc Shop

February 20-24, 2012 at The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

The Doc Shop is a new, industry-focused feature of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. It offers documentary filmmakers opportunities for networking, discussion, and professional development. The DocShop schedule includes workshops, panels, a round table discussion, product demos, and the annual Big Sky Documentary Pitch session. These events deal with topics from funding to distribution, and everything in between. The Doc Shop brings filmmakers, industry decision-makers, and experts together in a dialogue about what matters most in the world of documentary film.

Confirmed participants at Doc Shop include: Diane Weyermann (Food, Inc.,An Inconvenient Truth) Yance Ford (POV, The American Documentary on PBS) Caroline Graham (The Documentary Channel) Lois Vossen (Independent Lens/ITVS) Richard Saiz (ITVS) Reva Goldberg (Cinereach Foundation) Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams, If A Tree Falls) Rebecca Richman-Cohen (War Don Don, Code of The West) Beth Harrington (Welcome To The Club: The Women of Rockabilly) Mike Woolf (A Man On A Mission) Ben Fowlie (Camden International Film Festival), Doug Whyte (The Hollywood Theater) Jeanie Finlay (Goth Cruise, Sound It Out) and Gita Saedi-Kiely (The New Americans).

Doc Shop passes - available for $50; good for all Doc Shop specific events, workshops, pitch sessions, and discussions. All-Access Industry Passes - available for $275; good for all Doc Shop events, festival screenings, festival parties, & special events.

For more Info contact Doc Shop Coordinator Noel Pederson at docshop (at) bigskyfilmfest.org

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Awards $10,000 Grant to Big Sky

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has received a generous $10,000 grant from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to support Special Programming at the 9th Annual Film Festival (February 17-26 in Missoula, MT), including filmmaker retrospectives and a unique music-themed side bar entitled Big Sky Mix Tape.

The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded $455,000 to 25 U.S. film festivals for the 2012 calendar year. "We are extremely grateful to The Academy for their support", said Big Sky Festival Director Mike Steinberg. "Without their generosity this sort of programming would simply not be possible."

Big Sky Mix Tape will feature new and historic work that conveys the depth and beauty of music in human life. From rockumentaries and tour films to profiles of renowned and unknown artists, the program will explore the limitlessness of music. The program will also include guest artists and live performances throughout the ten-day event.

The full slate of films and events, along with the Official Selections of the 9th Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be available in early January at bigskyfilmfest.org

Passes for the ten-day event are available for purchase now.

OPEN CALL for International Documentary Pitch Session

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is hosting the second annual
Big Sky International Documentary Pitch Session on February 23, 2012.
The pitch will take place as part of Big Sky Doc Shop (Feb 21-24), a
four day non-fiction industry forum during the ninth annual film
festival.

Entry Fee: $25

Submission Deadline: January 6, 2012

Filmmakers have the opportunity to pitch their work-in-progress (WIP) documentaries to some of the top commissioning editors and funders for documentary film in North America. All documentary forms and all subjects are eligible to submit. Commissioning editors will critique and comment on each pitch. A maximum of 15 projects will be accepted to pitch in this session. Potential participants should submit a brief (250 words maximum) project summary and an additional one-paragraph project status report. A short (5 minutes maximum) sample reel of the work-in-progress may be submitted (via vimeo, youtube.com, blip.tv, etc.) in addition to the written application. Selected projects will have 20 minutes to pitch their project and show a short sample (if available) for the panel. Selected projects will be required to pay an additional $75 to participate, and will be notified of their acceptance by January 11, 2012.

Confirmed participants include: Diane Weyermann (Executive Vice President, Documentary Films, Participant Media), Yance Ford (Series Producer, POV/The American Documentary), and Reva Goldberg (Communications and Fellowships Manager at Cinereach).

Enter via Withoutabox.com

There's less than ONE WEEK until the final deadline for entry into the 2012 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. This year's dates are as follows:

Final Deadline - Postmarked by October 17, 2011
Extended Deadline (withoutbox entry ONLY) October 31, 2011

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West, is seeking submissions for its ninth annual event. From February 17-26, 2012 the festival will screen 100+ films, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, rare and experimental works on Montana's largest screen at the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to ten days of screenings, the event will feature many public and VIP events including panel discussions, pitch sessions, galas, receptions and networking round-tables.

Now in its ninth year, the event draws an annual audience of 12,000, including thousands of enthusiastic documentary fans, filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters and industry professionals. Held in the idyllic mountain town of Missoula, Montana, Big Sky has grown to become the largest cinema event in Montana, and a destination for documentary devotees from around the world.

The competition is open to non-fiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (over 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15-50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the Big Sky Award).

Finished films, rough cuts and works-in-progress are all accepted for this final deadline, provided that the completed film will be available for exhibition by February 17, 2012.

DVD (NTSC/PAL), VHS (NTSC/PAL), DVCAM (NTSC/PAL), HDV (NTSC), and miniDV (NTSC/PAL) accepted for preview.

Enter via Withoutabox.com at - http://www.withoutabox.com/login/3969

or download entry form in pdf format at - http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/bsdff/festival/submissions

If you would like an entry form emailed to you in pdf format, send a request to .

For more information visit http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org

Deadline Approaching for 2012 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

It's coming up right around the corner... the deadline for entry into the 2012 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. This year's dates are as follows:


Regular Deadline - Postmarked by September 9, 2011
Final Deadline - Postmarked by October 17, 2011




The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West, is seeking submissions for its ninth annual event. From February 17-26, 2012 the festival will screen 100+ films, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, rare and experimental works on Montana's largest screen at the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to ten days of screenings, the event will feature many public and VIP events including panel discussions, pitch sessions, galas, receptions and networking round-tables.

Now in its ninth year, the event draws an annual audience of 12,000, including thousands of enthusiastic documentary fans, filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters and industry professionals. Held in the idyllic mountain town of Missoula, Montana, Big Sky has grown to become the largest cinema event in Montana, and a destination for documentary devotees from around the world.

The competition is open to non-fiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (over 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15-50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the Big Sky Award).

DVD (NTSC/PAL), VHS (NTSC/PAL), DVCAM (NTSC/PAL), HDV (NTSC), and miniDV (NTSC/PAL) accepted for preview.

Enter via Withoutabox.com at - http://www.withoutabox.com/login/3969

or download entry form in pdf format at - http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/bsdff/festival/submissions

If you would like an entry form emailed to you in pdf format, send a request to .

For more information visit http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org