Good Pitch Call for Entries: NYC

The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, are delighted to announce that the touring funding and networking forum the Good Pitch – will be returning in 2011 with expanded plans, including a third forum in New York City hosted by the Ford Foundation at their midtown headquarters.

The call for entries for the Good Pitch NY 2011 is now open and will close on February 18^th. The call is aimed at filmmakers of any nationality working on feature-length or hour-long independent documentary film projects which tackle important global and national issues and enhance our understanding of the world. For more information and to apply go to http://britdoc.org/goodpitch.

“We are excited to be entering our 3^rd year of international Good Pitch events with a dynamic new supporter and venue. In addition, we see Good Pitch scalable globally and we intend to pilot that in 2011 and 2012,” said Jess Search CEO of the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation. “With the Ford Foundation’s support, Good Pitch can continue to grow, open doors for world-changing films, engage major stakeholders across multiple sectors and fast-track creative game-changing partnerships.”

The Ford Foundation joins the Tides Foundation, the Fledgling Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Impact Partners, Crosscurrents Foundation and a number of anonymous donors as supporters of the Good Pitch. Working Films will continue to provide campaign development for the invited filmmakers.

“The foundation is committed to expanding the community of film and media makers who are creating compelling works, particularly around some of our most urgent social issues,” said Orlando Bagwell, director of the foundation’s social justice media initiative. “The Good Pitch is superb at bringing together key players from the nonprofit, government and business sectors to ensure that these powerful social justice stories reach audiences who can make change happen.”

The Good Pitch is an invitation-only event, starting with an intensive two-day campaign development workshop for the filmmakers, followed by a day-long live event which brings together invited foundations, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, broadcasters and other media to expand the resources aimed at maximizing the impact of social-issue documentary. Filmmaking teams pitch their project and its associated outreach campaign with the aim of creating a unique coalition around each film to accelerate its impact and influence.

“Sundance Documentary Film Program has been the creative partner for the Good Pitch since the beginning because we believe it offers new possibilities for increasing the resource and stakeholder pool for independent social issue documentaries,” said Cara Mertes, Sundance Institute DFP Director. “In a time when documentary resources are eroding and the independent media landscape is undergoing massive realignment, a new initiative that prizes independent storytelling of great skill with the potential for new partners is sorely needed, and the contagious enthusiasm that filmmakers and funders alike have shown for this approach has led us to continue its evolution.”

Since the first North American event in Toronto in 2009, Good Pitch has received over 1200 applications to events in North America and the UK. Over 60 films have now pitched to more than 700 organizations, with a vast range of positive results, including over $2 million leveraged in new funding.

The Good Pitch NY 2011 is the year’s first Good Pitch event. Further events will be announced later in the year. You can sign up to our newsletter to receive updates on upcoming events or check back on our website.