Working in the documentary field and want to get noticed? TVO has launched the Doc Studio contest, a great initiative that could get your work shown on TVO this spring and land you a meeting with the great documentarian Alan Zweig at this year’s Hot Docs festival. Check out the press release from TVO below and visit docstudio.tvo.org for more info. Contest closes February 27 so don’t delay.
TORONTO – Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Do you know someone who dreams of becoming Canada’s next documentarian? TVO is giving the next generation of filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their cinematic talents with the launch of the inaugural Doc Studio Contest.
TVO is challenging aspiring and accomplished filmmakers, artistic visionaries and amateur film buffs across Ontario to think about all that can happen in five minutes; and then to capture it on film. Inspired by filmmaker-in-residenceAlan Zweig (Vinyl, I Curmudgeon, Lovable, A Hard Name), TVO’s Doc Studio Contest dares participants to reveal “Life in 5″ – a memorable moment, a shift in perception, a secret no one else could uncover – through an interview-based, five-minute film.
“We want entrants to hone their cinematic skills and create a film that conveys an issue or reveals something about the subject’s character in five minutes or less,” says Genie-Award winner, Alan Zweig. “Entries should be compelling and will be judged on how well the story is relayed visually, in an interview-based documentary format.”
The winning film will air on TVO in the spring of 2012 and the aspiring filmmaker will receive a mentoring session withAlan Zweig as well as an industry pass to the 2012 International Hot Docs Festival.
“We developed the Doc Studio website to help foster Ontario’s emerging filmmaking community,” says TVO’s supervising producer, Jane Jankovic. “And with the Doc Studio contest, we’re really excited to provide aspiring talent across the province with this opportunity to experiment, to learn and to showcase their work.”
A panel of judges, including Zweig, will evaluate eligible entries and select the top five videos. TVO will showcase the five finalists on docstudio.tvo.org from March 5 to 11, 2012 and TVO’s online audience will vote on the winner. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on March 12, 2012.
Entries can be submitted via YouTube or by mail with a completed entry form, a brief description of the video and a short biography. The contest closes Monday, February 27, 2012. For complete entry details, visit the Doc Studio Contest page at docstudio.tvo.org.
A leader in Canadian point-of-view documentaries, TVO devotes more than 50% of its primetime schedule to documentaries and commissions 8 to 10 new point-of-view documentary films every year, more than any other Canadian TV network. TVO created Docstudio.tvo.org to provide a platform for Canadian documentary filmmaking talent, in-development projects, exclusive filmmaker interviews and online mentoring.
About TVO
TVO is Ontario’s public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO’s vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario. As a registered charity, TVO depends on the support of its sponsors and individual donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
