Debates and Workshops

All panels are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Special thanks to the Fledgling Fund, the generous sponsor of T/F's debates, panels and workshops.

Create Your Reality: Pushing at the Limits of Nonfiction: Truthiness is still valued in documentaries, but some rebels are increasingly bridling at some of the constraints of the genre. Is a third way emerging in the vast airspace between doc and fiction? Join four directors as they defend their heresies.
Film Forward: Where Hasn't Documentary Gone?: The demand for immediacy and advances in interactive technology are leading to a new age of nonfiction film exhibition, and with this panel we meet some of the movement's vanguard.
In a Strange Land: Making Movies Far From Home: Running a film production is hard enough under the best of circumstances. But when one is far from home and juggling survival with moviemaking, it can all go pear-shaped in the blink of an eye.
Pictures of the Year 2009: Based in Columbia, Pictures of the Year International celebrates the best photojournalism of the year. Join director Rick Shaw and a special guest to spotlight the best multimedia work happening today.
Spread the Word: An Outreach Competition for Docs: Join the competition to come up with the best outreach plan for three social/environmental issue documentaries.
The Balance of Power: More than shooting and editing, the tricky art of building relationships with the subject(s) of your film is paramount. Some of our visiting filmmakers swap stories.
The Kaspar & Silas Show: A Transatlantic Musical Collaboration: The Invention of Dr. NakaMats is one of the most delightful films of the year, and that's partly due to a sly soundtrack provided by Mark Mothersbaugh and Silas Hite of Mutato Muzika, known for their work with Wes Anderson on The Royal Tenenbaums among others. Director Kaspar Astrup Schroder and composer Hite demonstrate the nitty gritty of how successful collaborations like this are built.
The Same But Different: Are all the good ideas for films taken? Maybe, but that's not important. That's because every filmmaker can bring a unique, distinctive approach to their material. Meet two directors who set out independently from each other to document two different Mexican traveling circus families, and who succeeded wildly.
There Are No Small Stories: With Big Issues like Terrorism and Immigration looming large, what can a poor documentary filmmaker do? Get small, by sketching intimate portraits of characters whose stories make tangible our giant world.