press release

The Panels

Intellectual Property: New Rules

Sponsored by Public Knowledge

Documentary filmmaking is not for the faint of heart. Emboldened by a compelling idea, a great crew and available financing, filmmakers continue to be thwarted in their quest to clear rights to copyrighted materials. Obtaining rights and permissions to images, music, and other moving images is a daunting, time-consuming task for documentary filmmakers. This panel explores the idea of creating a licensing system, which would make the sharing of copyrighted materials easier without compromising the rights of copyright holders. Moderated by Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). Panelists include Jonathan Taplin (USC Annenberg), Jennifer Urban (USC IP Clinic), among others.

Friday, April 8 / Durham Arts Council / 10:00am

Television Broadcasters: Finding the One That's Right for You

In this panel, we focus on television distribution. Designed as a how-to program for filmmakers, the panel offers the chance to consider the options open to filmmakers interested in having their films broadcast on television. We will discuss financing as well as how to negotiate acquisition for television through distributors and/or programmers. Moderated by Lawrie Mifflin (New York Times Television). Panelists will include Brad Abramson (VH1), Sara Bernstein (HBO), Sophia Karteris (Turner South), Cara Mertes (P.O.V.), Ivana Schechter-Garcia (Spike TV), and Molly Thompson (A&E).

Friday, April 8 / Durham Arts Council / 12:00pm

Film Distributors: Finding the One That's Right for You

Designed as a how-to program for filmmakers, this panel offers the chance to hear directly from distributors about the process from acquisition on — and how it dovetails with cablecast and DVD release. When and how do you approach distributors? What do they acquire and why? Learn how the new emerging form of theatrical digital projection may affect a theatrical release. Moderated by Lynda Hansen (Producer, Consultant). Panelists include Eamonn Bowles (Magnolia Pictures), Udy Epstein (Seventh Art), Diana Holtzberg (Films Transit), and Barry Rebo (Emerging Pictures), among others.

Friday, April 8 / Durham Arts Council / 2:15pm

Heyday: The Reality of Theatrical Success

Full Frame continues its exploration of the state of the documentary. This year, we hear from people within the industry who will discuss the reality of theatrical success and the continued importance of television. The panel will consider a series of case studies which focus on recent "success stories" in documentary filmmaking. It investigates what really happens once a film makes it into theatres or onto television. Moderated by Sheila Nevins (HBO). Panelists include Joe Berlinger (Metallica: Some Kind of Monster), Eamonn Bowles (Magnolia Pictures), Lauren Lazin (Tupac: Resurrection), and John Sloss (Cinetic Media).

Friday, April 8 / Durham Arts Council / 4:30pm

Speak Out: Risky Business

Sponsored by TimesTalks, The New York Times Speaker Series

Over the past year, the U.S. has drifted toward moral conservatism in media programming. On the one hand, you have the ongoing moral panic over sexual content. On the other hand, you have concern over questions of decency and "taste," especially in reference to violence, explicit language, reality television, and some animated programming. In the midst of these battles, affiliates are increasingly taking it upon themselves to decide whether or not to show particular programs. This panel explores free speech issues for documentary filmmakers trying to break into television in such a climate. Moderated by Michael Oreskes (The New York Times). Panelists include Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), Jim Goodmon (Capitol Broadcasting Company), Sheila Nevins (HBO), and David Lange (Duke Law), among others.

Saturday, April 9 / Durham Arts Council / 11:00am

Soul of the Story: Filmmakers and Their Personal Journeys

This panel will explore the psychological journey of filmmakers invested in telling their own stories, and consider the art of committing "unclaimed experience" to film. We revisit age-old questions regarding the cathartic possibilities of art, and ask new questions about the stylistic challenges of working within the confessional mode, considering how film, in particular, lends itself to the exploration of memory and trauma. Panelists include Ralph Arlyck (Following Sean), Steve James (Stevie), Nathaniel Kahn (My Architect), Rachel Romero (In the Shadow of Eden), and Susan Stern (The Self-Made Man), among others.

Saturday, April 9 / Durham Arts Council / 1:45pm

Artists in a World at War

An extension of our curated program, Why War?, this panel considers the documentary filmmaker's role as "witness" to global strife, conflict, and warfare. It asks: if war today is often unannounced, unofficial, and indefinite, what new forms of filmmaking have emerged or must emerge in response? Moderated by playwright and author Ariel Dorfman. Panelists include Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight), Cara Mertes (POV), Klaartje Quirijns (The Brooklyn Connection), Peter Raymont (Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire), and Garrett Scott (Occupation: Dreamland).

Saturday, April 9 / Durham Arts Council / 4:45pm

Kültür/Culture: The Turkish American Exchange Project

Supported by U.S. State Department and The North Carolina International Visitor's Council

This panel is an opportunity to view and discuss the work of visiting Turkish filmmakers in advance of the film that they will be making with American filmmakers through Kültür/Culture: The Turkish American Exchange Project. Participating filmmakers will screen five-minute clips of their work, discuss the status of filmmaking in Turkey, and talk about their experiences as artists working with the medium of film. Moderated by filmmaker and critic Godfrey Cheshire. Panelists include Nurdan Arca, Ozgur Arik, Ersan Ocak, Murad Ozdemir, Sehbal Senyurt, and Mustafa Unlu.

Sunday, April 10 / Durham Arts Council / 9:30am

Three Billion Films: A workshop on subtitling technology

Participate in a live interactive demonstration of a new subtitling technology. 3BF technology makes films available in multiple languages at little or no cost to the filmmaker, thereby facilitating wider distribution and multi-cultural embrace of documentary film. Facilitated by Michael Smolens and Thor Sigvaldesen.

Saturday, April 9 / Durham Arts Council / 9:00am

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is produced by Doc Arts Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The presenting sponsors are The New York Times and Duke University.