London’s newest film festival, The Open City London Documentary Festival

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – BEST EMERGING DIRECTOR PRIZE

London’s newest film festival, The Open City London Documentary Festival is a prestigious, 4-day, public-minded celebration of documentary filmmaking brought to you by UCL.  They are calling for submissions from both established and emerging talent from Monday December 6th, 2010.

From shorts to full-length feature films, Open City offers existing and emerging filmmakers from around the globe the opportunity to have their work seen by Oscar and BAFTA award winning judges.

“It’s great to have a new festival in London bringing together practitioners and a broad public audience,” said Pawel Pawlikowski, multi-BAFTA award winning director and Open City judge. “At its best documentary film goes beyond the familiar and the cliché to reveal the mystery, the poetry, the ambiguity beneath.”

The BEST EMERGING DIRECTOR prize is open to students in full time education and graduating in 2011, 12 or 13.

Bringing documentaries to the public is only part of Open City’s vision.  They also aim to let the public bring documentary to them.  Central to achieving this is “MyStreet”, a nationwide online competition for members of the public to make a short film about their own community via the lens of their street, culminating in the best shorts being screened at the festival. “MyStreet is a terrific idea,” commented Stephen Daldry, Director of The Hours.

The festival will run from 16th – 19th June, 2011 at UCL venues in Tavistock Place and the Renoir Cinema.  For a detailed brief or to register for more information, visit www.opencitylondon.com <http://www.opencitylondon.com/> .  Press enquiries contact:  Andrew Steggall T: 07866 849 837 orandrew@opencitylondon.com

Judging panel
Cristi Puiu – Chair of the jury
Cristi Puiu is a multi-award winning director and screenwriter.  His most widely known work is The Death of Mr Lazarescu. A critical success, the film was awarded the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
His directorial debut was in 2001 with the low budget road movie Stuff and Dough which received several awards in international film festivals.  This was followed by Cigarettes and Coffee which won the prestigious Golden Bear award for best short film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Pawel Pawlikowski – BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker and academic
Documentary and fiction filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski’s debut feature Last Resort garnered international critical acclaim and earned the 2001 BAFTA award for “Most Promising Newcomer in British Film”.  His film My Summer of Love won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film in 2005.
Penny Woolcock – Acclaimed British filmmaker
Penny Woolcock has made a major contribution to both documentary and fiction by questioning the difference between the two.
Penny’s latest documentary On The Streets, was shot over eight months with rough sleepers and vulnerably housed people, giving the seen but unheard residents of London’s streets a voice. “Food is the least of our problems,” says Derek, a contributor.  Over the months making her film, Woolcock realised the problems of homeless people have very little to do with the lack of a roof over their heads or a bed to sleep in but in the lives they lived before.
Simon Chinn – Producer of Man on Wire
Writer, cinematographer and producer Simon Chinn first encountered Philippe Petit – the daredevil who did a high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974 – on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.  Charmed by Philippe’s story he pursued him for the film rights to his story.
Man on a Wire won an Oscar for Best Documentary and a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film in 2009.
UCL (University College London) is London’s leading multidisciplinary university, with 8,000 staff and 22,000 students.
Prizes:
Grand Jury Prize, Best London Film, Best Emerging Director, Best MyStreet Film.
Highlights of the festival to include: a KINO run “Open Mic” documentary event, open-air screenings accompanied by bands and much more…