Documentary Film Makers Get Galway Focus

Documentary filmmaking is being highlighted at the forthcoming Galway Film Centre and MEDIA Antenna event.
It is being held in association with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, which is hosting a two-day seminar, Talking Documentary: Finance, Form & Future.
The seminar will take place on Fri 15th & Sat 16th October in the Radisson Hotel in Galway and will include IFB Production Executive Alan Maher as one of the speakers.
The seminar is divided into a number of sessions which will explore different aspects of documentary making. This free event is aimed at filmmakers, film students and film fans and will be an invaluable insight for experienced and aspiring documentary makers.
Friday morning will focus on Documentary in Europe and will feature European Sales Agents, Distributors and Commissioning Editors giving their views on European market trends for Documentary Films.
Speakers will include Tue Steen Müller, - former Head of European Documentary Network, Christina Müller - DRTV Denmark, and Gitte Hansen - First Hand Films, Switzerland.
The international panellists will also be available for one on one meetings with selected filmmakers over the lunchtime period.
The Friday afternoon session will be chaired by Tue Steen Müller who will lead a panel of key Irish Commissioning Editors in a discussion and questions and answers session. All the main Irish Documentary funding bodies will be represented and speakers will include Niamh O'Connor, RTÉ, Fintan Maguire, TV3, Michael Ó Meallaigh, TG4, Alan Maher, Irish Film Board, Fionnuala Sweeney, Arts Council and Ciarán Kissane - Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
There will also be screenings of films by this year's Oscar nominated director Anders Østergaard (Burma VJ) and the 2009 Hot Docs Winner, Geoffrey Smith (The English Surgeon), and both directors will attend the seminar.
Saturday morning will explore the question: Where is Documentary going? Is Feature the Future or is the Reality TV?
This will take the form of a panel discussion in front of an audience which will be chaired by Margo Harkin (Producer of Waveriders) and include practitioners Donal Haughey, (Hawkeye Films & Film Lecturer, GMIT), Geoffrey Smith - The English Surgeon, Anders Østergaard - Burma VJ and Richie O'Donnell - The Pipe.
On Saturday afternoon a Masterclass will run with Anders Østergaard interviewed by Donal Haughey in front of a small audience of selected filmmakers. This Masterclass is funded by FÁS STI.
This event is free but places are limited so participants must register to ensure a place. To receive a registration form email: [email protected]
(BMcC/KMcA)