CAMDEN — The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has released the lineup for its Points North Documentary Forum. Now in its sixth year, the Forum has quickly become the largest gathering in New England of filmmakers, key decision makers and thought leaders in the documentary field.

The three-day conference program runs concurrently with the festival from September 26 – 28, at the Camden Opera House in Camden, and Rockport Opera House in Rockport.

This year's program will feature a wide range of panel discussions, workshops, case studies, networking events and two public pitch sessions. Points North is dedicated to providing independent documentary filmmakers with unique opportunities for both professional development and creative inspiration, helping build a vibrant regional filmmaking community while sustaining a conversation about new directions in nonfiction storytelling.

This year CIFF introduced the Points North Fellowship, which enhances and expands upon the well-established Points North Pitch. Six selected filmmaking teams will travel to Camden for a day of pitch training and industry mentorship at the Maine Media Workshops. On Saturday, Sept. 27, the filmmakers will take the stage at the Camden Opera House and pitch their documentary works-in-progress and receive critical feedback from a panel of leading funders, commissioning editors and producers before a live audience.

The event, which will be free and open to the public, is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to secure vital support for their projects and audience members to see how documentaries are developed in their early stages. This year's panel will include representatives from POV, ITVS, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Ford Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, The Fledgling Fund and Al Jazeera America, among others.

One project will receive the Points North Pitch Award and Modulus Finishing Fund, which comes with a $1000 cash prize from Documentary Educational Resources, a $10,000 post-production package from Boston-based Modulus Studios, a $3000 tuition scholarship to Maine Media Workshops and three consultations with the Tribeca Film Institute. A full list of selected projects and filmmakers is included below. Last year's winner, The Sensitives, went on to receive the TFI Documentary Fund and the 2012 winner, In Country, is returning to screen at the festival.

A new addition to the 2014 Forum program will be the AJ+ Pitch, in which five filmmakers will pitch their ideas for documentary shorts on stage at the Rockport Opera House. At least one (but possibly all five) will leave CIFF with an AJ+ commission worth up to $10,000.

"We're honored and excited to have the opportunity to continue to develop a platform for filmmakers to introduce their projects to some of the most influential decision-makers in the documentary industry," says Ben Fowlie, founder and executive director of the Camden International Film Festival.

Filmmakers, students, and other Points North attendees will have numerous opportunities to connect with industry delegates throughout the festival weekend, both formally during panels, workshops and one-on-one sessions, and informally during CIFF parties and receptions. In addition to the Points North Fellows, CIFF will host nearly forty emerging and established filmmakers with projects in development, through partnerships with the UnionDocs Collaborative Fellows, the Bay Area Video Coalition's MediaMaker Fellows and the LEF Foundation's Moving Image Fund.

Since 2011, the Points North Documentary Forum has been highlighting experiments in documentary storytelling that take advantage of new media technologies. This year, the Forum will continue a speaker series called Doc/Tech, featuring innovators and thought leaders working at the intersections between storytelling, technology and social activism.

For filmmakers interested in strengthening their storytelling craft, Points North will feature a masterclass with two-time Academy Award nominee Marshall Curry, director of Street Fight, Racing Dreams, If a Tree Falls and the 2014 CIFF selection Point and Shoot. There will also be an editing masterclass with USC professor and Sundance Labs mentor Kate Amend, editor of the Academy Award nominee Into the Arms of Strangers and The Case Against 8.

"We're really honored to be bringing in such a diverse, talented and inspiring group of participants to Camden for this year's Forum," says Points North Director Sean Flynn. "Whether you're developing a feature, producing a short for the web, getting into interactive media, using media as a tool for social change, or interested in craft of documentary storytelling — there's something here for everyone."

On Thursday, Sept. 25, the Forum will host the second Aging in Maine Engagement Summit, in which approximately 20 Maine-based nonprofit leaders and healthcare professionals in the field of aging will converge in Camden for a daylong closed-door strategic summit meeting with documentary filmmakers focused on aging issues. The purpose of the meeting is to explore how their work can be supported and enhanced through the use of powerful documentary films focused on the experiences of older adults, their loved ones and caretakers.

The summit agenda will be designed and facilitated by Working Films, an organization that specializes in connecting storytelling with community engagement and action.

Access to the full conference program is open to all CIFF passholders. Passes are now on sale on the Camden International Film Festival website. For more information, visit: http://camdenfilmfest.org/pointsnorth.

The Points North Documentary Forum is made possible by the generous support of the LEF Foundation, Maine Arts Commission, The Fledgling Fund, Camden National Bank, the Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation, Modulus Studios, Documentary Educational Resources, Maine Media Workshops and the Tribeca Film Institute.

A full conference schedule and list of industry delegates is attached to this press release and available online.

2014 Points North Fellows

AMERICAN WARLORD

Directed by Tony Gerber

Produced by Lynn Nottage, Johnny Dwyer, Tony Gerber

AMERICAN WARLORD explores the journey of an American kid from Florida's working middle class to the president's palace in Monrovia where his access to power, drugs and his need to impress an absentee father transformed him into one of the greatest perpetrators of human right's abuse in what was already one of history's most lawless and abusive regimes.

DAWNLAND

Directed by Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip

Produced by Adam Mazo

The future of four sovereign nations is at stake in this lyrical story of belonging. A historic truth and reconciliation commission investigates why so many Native American children have grown up in non-Native families, losing their connections to their tribes and cultures. Can the commission overcome centuries of assimilation and oppression to begin an age of healing?

THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

Directed by Amy Benson, Ramyata Limbu, Scott Squire

Produced by Amy Benson and Scott Squire

Filmed over seven years, THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is an intimate portrait of a family in Nepal who get a chance to break their cycle of poverty —their brightest child is awarded a scholarship to attend school in the city. When she doesn't return home, the family is forced to survive without her and the opportunity they believed would change their fate.

THE REAGAN YEARS

Directed by Pacho Velez

Produced by Sierra Pettengill

THE REAGAN YEARS is a film about the Reagan administration's quixotic attempt to chronicle the President's every single official activity during his eight years in office. Told entirely through a largely-unseen trove of archival footage, the film will capture the pageantry, pathos, and charisma that followed the 40th President from Hollywood to the nation's capital. This film is about a prolific actor's defining role: Leader of the Free World.

SOLEDAD

Directed by Cassidy Friedman

Produced by Carmen Osterlye

A group of inmates inside one of California's most violent and overcrowded prisons painfully seek rehabilitation through a radical process of cathartic storytelling.

SWEETHEART DEAL

Directed by Elisa Haradon and Gabriel Miller

Produced by Peggy Case

Four Seattle women struggle to survive in the dangerous world of street prostitution, trapped by crippling heroin addictions. Their lives converge in the battered RV of a benevolent old man who tries to help them kick drugs. But he has a dark secret. Shot in a raw, vérité style, SWEETHEART DEAL takes the viewer on an astonishingly intimate journey of hope, survival, and transformation in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

AJ+ Pitch Finalists

EMOTIONAL ROBOT

Directed by Jillian Schlesinger

HALL OF THE EVENING STAR

Directed by Sierra Pettengill

PLAN C FOR CIVILIZATION

Directed by Ben Kalina

POWER GIRLS

Directed by Jayisha Patel

THAILAND'S FLOATING CITIES

Directed by Jon Bougher

Points North Documentary Forum Program

September 26 - 28, 2014

Camden Opera House | Camden, ME

Rockport Opera House | Rockport, ME

Friday, September 26

Camden Opera House

10:00am - 11:30am (Camden Opera House Auditorium)

Doc/Tech

In the second edition of Doc/Tech, we continue to explore how documentary storytellers working across a variety of media - including film, photography, radio and the web - are adapting to rapid changes in the media landscape, experimenting with new technologies to engage audiences, and creating participatory spaces for communities to play a more active role in shaping their own narratives.

Rachel Falcone (Sandy Storyline)

Tricia Finneran (Story Matters, Map Your World)

Susan Meiselas (Magnum Foundation)

Sue Schardt (AIR / Localore)

11:30am - 4:00pm (Third Floor)

Face to Face Meetings

Schedule a 20-minute one-on-one meeting with funders, distributors and industry experts to pitch your documentary project and receive valuable critical feedback. Schedule will vary for each delegate. If possible, bring your trailer on a laptop or tablet with headphones. RSVP to pointsnorth@camdenfilmfest.org by September 20. Space is limited!

Erica Anderson (Seed&Spark)

Alice Apley (Documentary Educational Resources)

Sara Archambault (LEF Foundation)

Lisa Kleiner Chanoff (Catapult Film Fund)

Liz Cook (Kickstarter)

Danielle DiGiacomo (The Orchard)

Athena Kalkopoulou (San Francisco Film Society)

Alex Marvar (VHX)

Molly Murphy and Andy Myers (Working Films)

1:30pm - 4:30pm (Third Floor)

Social Media Audit

Building an audience online has become an indispensable part of independent filmmaking, but where do you start? Where do you find your audience and what content should you be sharing with them? In these one-on-one sessions, you'll have a chance to spend 20 minutes getting tailored feedback on your film's online presence on your project from social media and audience engagement guru Kristin McCracken, former VP of Digital Media at Tribeca Enterprises. Bring a laptop and RSVP to pointsnorth@camdenfilmfest.org by September 20. Space is limited!

Kristin McCracken

11:30am - 12:30pm (Washington St. Conference Room)

MIDTERMS: Documentary Series Case Study

Director AJ Schnack (CAUCUS) and Producer Ashley Kenny provide an exclusive sneak peek at MIDTERMS, a three-part documentary series on Al Jazeera America that chronicles four bellwether political races in three swing states with unprecedented access to the candidates and their staff. The two will discuss the commissioning process (which began at last year's CIFF) and how they translated the up-close verite style of Schnack's feature-length CAUCUS into a broadcast series produced on a fast-paced schedule.

Ashley Kenny

AJ Schnack

12:00pm - 1:30pm (Tucker Room)

The Opening Scene - Editing Masterclass

Acclaimed documentary editor, USC professor and Sundance Labs mentor Kate Amend discusses her approach to drawing an audience into the story from the first frame. The editor of such films as THE CASE AGAINST 8, THIN, and INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS, Amend will share some of her own moments of discovery in the editing room by screening evolving versions of openings and exploring the creative process of setting the scene.

Kate Amend

1:30pm - 3:00pm (Washington St. Conference Room)

Kickstarter School

At a time when funders and broadcasters can support only a small fraction of the documentaries being produced, crowdfunding continues to be a vital source of funding for independent filmmakers. With $480 million pledged to creative projects in 2013 - and more than $200 million for film and video projects since launching - Kickstarter continues to be a leading platform for documentary filmmakers to build an audience while raising money for their films. In this peer-led workshop, Kickstarter's Liz Cook will be joined by CIFF filmmakers to discuss current best practices and common pitfalls when planning and executing your Kickstarter campaign, including current statistics and case studies of successful campaigns.

Liz Cook (Kickstarter)

Sara Dosa (THE LAST SEASON)

Jimmy Goldblum (TOMORROW WE DISAPPEAR)

Meghan O'Hara (IN COUNTRY)

Adam Weber (TOMORROW WE DISAPPEAR)

2:00pm - 3:30pm (Tucker Room)

Documenting Youth

The relationship between director and subject is always a delicate one - perhaps even more so when the main subjects of a film are children. What are the unique ethical challenges of placing children and adolescents in front of the camera? How do filmmakers artistically represent the experience of youth? Four masterful directors from the 2014 CIFF program discuss how they approached these difficult questions in different ways.

Jean-Francois Caissy (GUIDELINES)

Andrew Droz Palermo (RICH HILL)

Teodora Mihai (WAITING FOR AUGUST)

Amanda Wilder (APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT)

moderator: Charlotte Cook

3:30pm - 5:00pm (Washington St. Conference Room)

Building Audiences for Digital Docs

Digital and VOD platforms are redefining how many of us find and watch independent documentaries. But at the same time audiences on these platforms are expanding, the options for filmmakers are multiplying and becoming more confusing. In this panel, representatives from four leading platforms and distributors discuss the growth of documentary audiences online and how filmmakers can make best use of new tools for building audiences and generating revenue via digital distribution.

Danielle DiGiacomo (The Orchard)

Susan Margolin (Docurama)

Alex Marvar (VHX)

Sam Morrill (Vimeo)

moderator: Brian Newman

4:00pm - 5:30pm (Tucker Room)

Meet the Programmers

In the past 10 years, the number of submissions to top film festivals has increased sharply. How do festival programmers sort through hundreds of films and make difficult decisions about which films to screen? How can filmmakers put their best foot forward when submitting to a festival? Moderated by director Robert Greene (ACTRESS), this panel will offer filmmakers a chance to pull back the curtain and meet four leading programmers, learn more about their curatorial process and pick up strategies for navigating the ever-changing festival landscape.

Gabriele Caroti (BAMcinématek)

Joanne Feinberg (Ashland Independent Film Festival)

Jason Perdue (Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival)

David Wilson (True/False)

moderator: Robert Greene

5:30pm - 7:00pm (Third Floor)

LEF Foundation Reception

After a busy day of panels and workshops, come unwind over drinks, mingle with filmmakers and industry delegates and make some new friends. Open to all festival passholders.

Saturday, September 27

10:30am - 1:00pm (Camden Opera House Auditorium)

Points North Pitch

Six teams of filmmakers selected for CIFF's Points North Fellowship pitch their works-in-progress to an distinguished panel of funders, broadcasters and producers. Each pitch lasts exactly 7 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of critical feedback. The pitch is an invaluable chance to learn about the process of developing a documentary film and see first-hand how leading decision-makers evaluate projects. Filmmakers will have an opportunity to win the Points North Pitch Prize and Modulus Finishing Fund, which includes a $1000 cash prize from Documentary Educational Resources, a $10,000 post-production package from Modulus Studios and three consultations from Tribeca Film Institute. The winner will be announced at Dowling Walsh Reception in Rockland.

Alice Apley (Documentary Educational Resources)

Andrew Catauro (Ford Foundation)

Daniel Chalfen (Naked Edge Films)

Lisa Kleiner Chanoff (Catapult Film Fund)

Danielle DiGiacomo (The Orchard)

Kristin Feeley (Sundance Institute)

Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute)

Athena Kalkopoulou (San Francisco Film Society)

Ashley Kenny (Al Jazeera America)

Simon Kilmurry (POV)

Lyda Kuth (LEF Foundation)

Sheila Leddy (Fledgling Fund)

Lois Vossen (ITVS, Independent Lens)

moderator: Brian Newman

2:00pm - 3:30pm (Washington St. Conference Room)

Directing the Documentary - Masterclass with Marshall Curry

Two-time Academy Award-nominated director Marshall Curry (STREET FIGHT, RACING DREAMS, IF A TREE FALLS, POINT AND SHOOT) has built a reputation for consistently dramatic and complex character-driven filmmaking. In this masterclass, he shares insights into his creative process, including tips for finding stories, shooting, and editing.

Marshall Curry (POINT AND SHOOT)

Sunday, September 28

AJ+ Pitch @ Rockport Opera House

AJ+ is a new digital channel from Al Jazeera that commissions original, innovative and engaging short documentaries from journalists and filmmakers around the world. The first-ever AJ+ Pitch will offer five independent filmmakers a chance to pitch their short documentary concepts and works-in-progress to a panel of filmmakers and commissioning editors. At least one (but possibly all five) will leave CIFF with an AJ+ commission worth up to $10,000. Awards will be announced at Closing Night in the Camden Opera House.

Margaret Brown (THE GREAT INVISIBLE, THE ORDER OF MYTHS)

Rebecca Richman Cohen (CODE OF THE WEST, WAR DON DON)

Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute)

Jeff Seelbach (AJ+)

About the Camden International Film Festival:

The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) is New England's most respected documentary film festival, and recognized as one of the top 12 documentary festivals in the world. Established in 2005, each year CIFF highlights work that shows a dedication and commitment to the craft behind nonfiction storytelling, showcasing over 80 films from around the globe. CIFF is one of only 14 qualifying festivals for the annual Cinema Eye Honors for Non-Fiction Filmmaking and also hosts the Points North Documentary Forum, a career-making platform dedicated to providing emerging and established documentarians with opportunities for professional development and inspiration. Participants in this forum have included HBO, BBC, Participant Media, PBS, The Tribeca Film Institute and the Sundance Institute among others.

The 10th Camden International Film Festival will take place September 25 - 28 in Camden, Rockport and Rockland. Passes are now on sale at $175 for All Access Pass and $85 for Festival Pass through the festival weekend. The Camden International Film Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Fledgling Fund, the Unity Foundation, and Vimeo. For more information, or to purchase passes, visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.