1st Symposium 2008

FRIDAY 7 MARCH

09.15-10.00
REGISTRATION

10.00-11.30
CAN ARTS PROGRAMMES SURVIVE?

• Martin Pieper, Head of Culture & Sciences, ZDF - ARTE Kultur, Germany
• Jan Younghusband, Commissioning Editor, Arts and Performance, Channel 4, UK

For many people, the Arts are the epitome of the Public Service subject. They also symbolise the crux of the problem of the modern environment – these films are valued by a few, but hardly rate. In this session, several leading Arts commissioners discuss ways out of the dilemma.

11.30-12.00
COFFEE BREAK

12.00- 13.30
SCREENING: THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT
Produced and directed by Nick Watts, UK, 2007 (72’)
Created by Touch Productions for Channel 4.

Recently aired in the UK, sold throughout the world and with spin-offs currently in production in the US and Canada, The Human Footprint is the archetype of how to make factual programming in a new and innovative way. It brought science to the screen without you knowing it, and also had a significant multimedia presence.

13.30-15.00
LUNCH

15.00-16.00
CASE STUDY: THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT

• Adam Gee, New Media Commissioner, Factual, Channel 4, UK
• Tabitha Jackson, Deputy Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual, Channel 4, UK
• Nick Watts, Creative Director, Burning Blue Media Ltd, UK

Following the morning screening of The Human Footprint, the key players explain how they did it, and what they’ve learnt.

16.00-17.00
SAVING STORYVILLE

• Krishan Arora, Independents Executive, BBC Commissioning, UK
• Nick Fraser, Commissioning Editor, BBC Storyville, UK
• Greg Sanderson, Editorial Executive, BBC Storyville, UK

Storyville is the BBC’s long-running International Doc strand – acclaimed around the world for its brave and innovative programming. Earlier this year, it came under threat, with a planned 50% cut to its budget – symbolising the precarious state of PSB flagships. In this session, the Storyville team explains how they brought the strand back from the brink, and how they plan to ensure its survival in the long term.

17.00-17.30
COFFEE BREAK

17.30-19.00
SCREENING: MAN ON WIRE
Directed by James Marsh, USA, 2008 (90’)
Man on Wire was produced by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Hewes served as Executive Producer. The film is a Wall to Wall production in association with Red Box Films for Discovery Films the BBC and the UK Film Council New Cinema Fund. For Discovery Films Andrea Meditch is executive producer and Nick Fraser is executive producer for the BBC.

Man on Wire, winner of two prizes at the Sundance Film Festival, is the extraordinary re-telling of Philippe Petit’s daring and illegal scheme to walk a high wire between New York’s Twin Towers in 1974. It tells the story of how Petit and his accomplices, executed their intricate plan to break into the nearly finished World Trade Centre towers. Narrowly avoiding capture, they managed to rig a wire between the buildings which Petit then danced on, with no safety net, for just under an hour. Eventually arrested, Petit’s walk became known as “the artistic crime of the twentieth century”.

19.00
SANDWICH BREAK

19:30
SCREENING EUROPE'S BEST: TINTIN ET MOI
Directed by Anders Østergaard, Angel Films, Denmark, 2003 (90')
in the presence of the director

An international coproduction with Periscope Productions, Moulinsart Belgium, Dune France, Leapfrog Switzerland, France 2, France 5, AVRO, RTBF, TSR, NRK, SVT, YLE, DR. Eurimages, Danish Film Institute, Media Plus Programme, Nordic Film & TV Fund for Angel Production.

The film is based on Numa Sadoul's revealing interviews with Hergé from the 1970s, and goes into detail about Hergé's life and how the success of Tintin affected it. The film is based strongly around Hergé's experiences and state of mental health leading up to the writing of Tintin in Tibet, often heralded as Hergé's most personal album. The history of Tintin is examined through Hergé's life and the way that he was affected by the growing popularity of his character.

Preceded by an episode of ‘The African Spelling Book’, by Angelo Loy, Mestiere Cinema and Amref, Italy 2005, (3’)

21:30
DINNER RECEPTION
sponsored by MEDIA Desk French Community

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SATURDAY 8 March 2008

10.00-11.00
CASE STUDY: MAN ON WIRE

• Jonathan Hewes, Deputy Chief Executive, Wall to Wall, UK
• James Marsh, Director "Man on Wire", USA
• Greg Sanderson, Editorial Executive, BBC Storyville, UK

Man on Wire was funded as a feature film, with a large budget brought together from a variety of sources. This case study explains how they managed it, and explores the future plans for the film.

11.00-11.30
COFFEE BREAK

11.30- 12.30
WHO NEEDS BROADCASTERS?

• Monica Galeriu, Project Manager - MEDIA Programme - TV Broadcasting, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, Belgium
• Soon-Mi Peten, Project Manager - MEDIA Programme - Development, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, Belgium

The funding of PSB programming from broadcasters is becoming harder and harder, with many only wanting to invest their money once the project is underway. So how can producers go about raising money from other sources? In this session, leading figures from the financing world explain.

12.30-14.00
MARRYING FACTUAL PROGRAMMING WITH COMMERCIAL TARGETS

• Tabitha Jackson, Deputy Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual, Channel 4, UK
• Stephen Hunter, Senior Executive Producer, National Geographic Channels International, USA
• Lisa Plasco Head of Development & Production for Discovery EMEA, Discovery Networks Europe, UK *
• Sandra Whipham, Editor, More4, Channel 4, UK

Across Europe, broadcasters are trying to square the circle – bringing together public service values with the need to deliver audiences, and sometimes advertising. In this session, Commissioning Editors from around Europe explain their methods and motivations as they attempt an uncomfortable marriage.

14.00-15.30
LUNCH

15.30-16.10
SESSION WITH CLAIRE AGUILAR

• Claire Aguilar, Vice President of Programming, ITVS, USA

16.10-17.45
NEW PLATFORMS - NEW HOPE FOR DOCUMENTARIES?

• Adam Gee, New Media Commissioner, Factual, Channel 4, UK
• Neil Sieling Acquisitions, New Media, and Special Projects, Link Media, USA
• Peter Wintonick, Producer, Necessary Illusions Productions, Canada
• Femke Wolting Managing Director, Submarine, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The much vaunted broadcasting revolution is definitely upon us – with downloaded programmes becoming ever more popular, and internet start-ups across the globe beginning to capitalise on the opportunity. In this session, we’re guided through the landscape of new media, discovering whether they provide the next great hope for public service programmes.

17.45-18.00
COFFEE BREAK

18.00-19.00
SESSION ‘You're SO wrong' in which producers can tackle a panel of Commissioning Editors head-on about what subjects they should be commissioning and why. This session will be prepared by Christine Camdessus (Alegria Productions, France) with help from other European producers.

• Claire Aguilar, Vice President of Programming, ITVS, USA
• Olaf Grunert, Head of Unité THEMA, ARTE G.E.I.E. "Thema", France
• Christoph Jörg, Senior Commissioning Executive, ARTE France – Specialist Factual, France
• Wilbur Leguebe, Head of Documentaries, RTBF, Belgium
• Martin Pieper, Head of Culture & Sciences, ZDF - ARTE Kultur, Germany
• Greg Sanderson, Editorial Executive, BBC Storyville, UK
• Jan Stevens, Programme Manager Canvas, VRT Canvas, Belgium
• Reinhilde Weyns, Commissioning Editor, VRT Canvas, Belgium
• Sandra Whipham, Editor, More4, Channel 4, UK

19.00
SANDWICH BREAK

19.30
SCREENING EUROPE'S BEST: HIP HOP(E) IN THE FAVELA
Directed by Lazhari Abdeddaïm, Mishto Productions, Belgium, 2007, (52') / in the presence of the director

From the deep misery of the Brazilian favelas, a new generation of activists is emerging: young, imaginative and angry. One of them is Lamartine Silva alias Negro Lamar: committed artist, black and poor, he is one of the most eminent members of the MHHOB, (Organized Hip-hop Movement of Brazil), an artistic movement using culture as a tool of social change. In a society on the verge of exploding, we closely followed Lamartine and his comrades in their daily battle to make the MHHOB, an organization using hip-hop culture to represent the poor.

Preceded by an episode of ‘The African Spelling Book’, by Angelo Loy, Mestiere Cinema and Amref, Italy 2005, (3’)

21.00
DINNER RECEPTION & CLOSING PARTY
sponsored by ETMA

We reserve the right to make changes in the programme.

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Conception:

• Christoph Jörg, Head of Thematic Sessions, Discovery Campus
• Gregory Sanderson, Editorial Executive, BBC Storyville, London, UK

Moderation:

• Claas Danielsen, Director, International Leipzig Festival For Documentary and Animated Film, Leipzig, Germany

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(*) not included in the Discovery Campus Yearbook 2008.