Some great events not to miss

The festival season is here, a great time to network, meet other filmmakers and learn. But it isn’t just the festival circuit that offers you these opportunities. Here are three documentary events we think will be great for networking and exchanging knowledge.

London Film Society Live: Why We Make Documentaries

Though it can still be a struggle to get one made, three great documentary filmmakers discuss why documentaries are needed now more than ever. Nick Broomfield, Carol Morley and Kevin MacDonald will use their own body of work to analyse what it takes in order to make intelligent, factual films. The event will take place at the Curzon Renoir.

Date: May 30, 7:00pm

More information can be found here.

Insight with Nick Fraser – Why Documentaries Matter

Again it is the Frontline Club which delivers the goods. In a publication for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism entitled ‘Why Documentaries Matter’ Nick Fraser looks at the history of documentaries, showing how definitions have changed – and the fragility of funding. If we want good documentaries, he concludes, we have to find ways of encouraging their creators.

Fraser will be in conversation with director of Journalism at the Reuters Institute John Lloyd to discuss the evolution of documentary, its defining nature and the future for this form of storytelling.

Date: June 8, 7:00pm

More information can be found here.

Documentary Networking Party: Distribution

In anticipation of this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, the biggest event in theUK’s documentary calendar, the Frontline Club is hosting a networking party for documentary filmmakers and those working in distribution and production.

The party will be intercut with a short panel discussion on how you can get your documentary distributed and how to get the most out of an industry festival like Sheffield. The panel will be moderated by none other than Charlotte Cook, director of programming at HotDocs and includes Oli Harbottle, head of distribution at Dogwoof, and Nick Fraser, Editor of the BBC’s Storyville.

Date: June 11, 2012 7:00pm

More information can be found here.