12th Lemesos International Documentary Film Festival

Schedule Docs Talk 2017
3, 5 & 8 AUGUST 2017

Docs Talk is an industry event organized within the framework of the “Lemesos International Documentary Festival” (1 - 8 August 2017), and is addressed to professional directors / producers and to anyone who is interested in learning more about the various aspects of documentary production today.

Docs Talk will take place at Evagoras Lanitis Center, behind the medieval castle in Lemesos. Major Sponsor of Festival is the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus.

English is the working language of the workshops.

Docs Talk is co-organized with Creative Europe Desk Cyprus.

Πέμπτη / Thursday 03.08.2017

17:00 – 18:00

Directors Talk: Zaradasht Ahmed's Nowhere to Hide
με τον / with: Zaradasht Ahmed

Director and Photographer Zaradasht Ahmed is a Kurdish/Norwegian Filmmaker. He was born and raised in Northern Iraq. His previous work includes the award-winning Road to Diyarbakir, and he has many years of experience working with documentary filmmaking in the Middle East, North-Africa, and Asia, as well as training local people in documentation.

In his own words:
''My ambition is to let the audience reflect on the human consequences of a brutal reality where all taboos are violated. With Nowhere to Hide I want to show that we are all part of this reality – war, explosions, victims, terrorism, they affect us globally, and we are all responsible, despite our geographical whereabouts. Meanwhile, I want to show the human resistance that is growing among these survivors; to show the hope of rebuilding after the breakdown of civilization.

In the end, as humans, the only thing that can help us survive is to believe that the will to build will always be stronger than the desire to destroy.''

Σάββατο / Saturday 05.08.2017

10:00 – 11:00

Info Session: Creative Europe Desk Cyprus - Creative Europe Program Funding Opportunities (CULTURE and MEDIA)
Speakers: Yianna Americanou, MEDIA Sub-programme
               Dr. Andri Hadjiandreou, CULTURE Sub-programme

11:00 – 13:00

Myth-Busting on Outreach – and Selling Bugs!
με τον / with: Benjamin Kempas, Campaign Strategist
www.filmcampaign.org

Some say: “I’m a filmmaker, not an activist”. Others say: “I’m a filmmaker, so I need to be an activist”. And both assumptions are myths.
More and more producers and distributors are experimenting with outreach campaigns that engage audiences in new ways, build non-profit partnerships or aim to make the world a better place.
Yet many remain sceptical: “Why should we bother with this in the first place?” – “I’m not going to make any money off this, am I?” – “My intern can be the impact producer.” – ”My film is not issue-driven so it’s not for me.”
Ben Kempas will be on a mission to counter 13 of the most common misconceptions around outreach work. Because the worst myth is: “We can think about all this later.”
With Lemesos International Documentary Festival being a partner of the pan-European Moving Docs network, Ben will share a number of examples from the Moving Docs slate such as A Good American about surveillance or Bugs about edible insects.
And with a subject as "disgusting" as eating bugs, how can you still build a following through content marketing and nurturing individual relationships?

Ben Kempas, outreach strategist

Coming from a background in documentary cinematography and award-winning film making, Ben has been focusing on campaigns around films in recent years, recognizing how documentaries can influence public opinion and trigger social change. Clients across Europe and North America hire Ben as strategic consultant or active outreach producer to identify and engage target audiences, create networks and partnerships, produce additional content, and build action-focused websites.
First as producer of marketing and distribution at the Scottish Documentary Institute and now with his new company Film & Campaign, Ben has worked on high-profile projects including I Am Breathing (global screening day), Future My Love (‘pay-it-forward’), Bugs (building BUGSfeed, a publishing platform about edible insects), and Moving Docs (a pan-European initiative for audience development).
Ben specializes in adapting NationBuilder campaigning software for outreach work around films like Awake - the Life of Yogananda, Seven Songs for a Long Life, Bikes vs Cars, and for organizations like Danish Documentary, Auto Images, Meridian Hill Pictures, Fathers Network Scotland, or Van Jones’ Magic Labs Media.
Ben is also known for serving 12 years as volunteer co-host of The D-Word, building a professional documentary community with 10,000 members.
He is a frequent consultant, speaker and tutor at film industry events across Europe.

Τρίτη / Tuesday 08.08.2017

17:00 – 18:00

Directors Talk: Firas Fayyad's Last Men in Aleppo
με τον / with: Feras Fayyad

An award-winning filmmaker, Feras Fayyad has directed and edited several films, both documentary and fiction. He has participated in international film festivals and received recognition for his work about contemporary Syrian issues and the political transformation in the Arab world. He started working on his film Last Men in Aleppo two years ago, and his previous films include Behind the White Color and My Escape.

In his own words:

''We are here to share our story and we are here because we believed in the role of the film and arts to get attention for Just causes...I think this film is made out of the captured moments that documentary filmmaking produces - the reality and that which gives an artistic form to the absurdity of war...This film is a story about hope, and it is an attempt to study our human roots, our affiliations and our collective tasks in situations that require us to take control of our lives when faced with a mindless, irrational killer. It is a tool for understanding forgiveness and overcoming vengeance...War brings out the worst in human beings, but it also brings out the best in us. The White Helmets are indeed a living example of that.''

General Information
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www.filmfestival.com.cy