The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (@fullframe) is absolutely wonderful. I’m a huge fan and could gush about it for entirely too long. They do an excellent job with the programming and planning. I find myself counting down the days ’til the next fest each year.
One of my favorite parts of the festival is conversations. Having impromptu convos between screenings, joining new friends for lunch, sitting through Q&As, and attending panel discussions have to be my favorite conversational parts of the fest. I love good conversations!
The A&E IndieFilms Speakeasy panel discussions stay with me all year long. Last year there were really great discussions. One, in particular, was titled “The Shifting Sands of Programming” and featured James Ackerman, Documentary Channel; Andrew Catauro, POV; Jason Janego, RADiUS-TWC; Molly Thompson, A&E IndieFilms. I really learned a lot listening to each panelist talk about programming.
Even better? Full Frame records the conversations and posts them on Vimeo. That way I don’t have to rely on my hard-to-read, handwritten notes but I can hear those panelists again later. It’s pretty wonderful.
If you’re a doc filmmaker — especially a newbie like I was — this is a great way to learn more and feel less alone in the process. While making Abandoned Allies and found myself craving this information and these types of conversations, but wasn’t sure where to turn because I was basically drowning in the production process. In recent years, I’ll tell ya, it has been really, really helpful to attend the festival each year. It’s been especially helpful to hear panelists like these talk about what happens with a film after it’s finished. I’m incredibly grateful.
You can watch the A&E IndieFilms Speakeasy panel discussions on the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival’s page on Vimeo. Check out “The Shifting Sands of Programming” when you get there, too. It’s full of helpful info.
Enjoy!
Full disclosure: I received no encouragement to write this post, nor was I paid in any way for publishing it. I did submit Abandoned Allies for consideration in this year’s festival programming. I do not, in any way, expect this post to influence folks managing the festival or watching the submissions. Every film can find an audience and I totally understand if this isn’t the fest for my film, ya know?