Current News + Events
Join SDF at Full Frame 2012!
Spring has arrived -- the pollen is thick, the mockingbirds are singing, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is around the corner... SDF can't wait to see everyone at the festival. Come eat and drink with us on Friday, at our annual Full Frame party, and come see some of our terrific films at the In the Works screening on Sunday!Friday, April 13th
3 to 6 pm
The Mascot Gallery, 308 W. Main Street
EAT! DRINK! TALK!
"In the Works" Screening and Discussion
Sunday, April 15th
1:50p to 3:50p
Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris Street
MODERATED BY FRANK STASIO
The Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) is proud to present In-the-Works at Full Frame again this year. This program provides audiences with a unique opportunity to watch documentaries in various stages of production, and to participate in the critique process. It also gives southern filmmakers the opportunity to receive feedback from a dedicated assembly of their peers and serious documentary enthusiasts. This year, In-the-Works will screen the short film Café Sense, and excerpts from Can't Stop the Water and untitled LUCY film. Conversation around each title will be moderated by Frank Stasio, host of North Carolina Public Radio WUNC's The State of Things.
tickets available online!Morning coffee is a familiar routine for Americans. In the last few decades, specialty roasting companies have tried to make the connection between the small farms that grow the plant to what we find at gas stations and in whipped drinks. Durham's Counter Culture Coffee hosts a weekly tasting where drinkers learn to distinguish the flavors associated with different countries. Café Sense explores these hidden taste notes and a sides to coffee we rarely see.
Can't Stop the Water by Rebecca Marshall Ferris and Jason Ferris
For 170 years, a Native American Cajun community has lived on Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny island deep in the bayous of south Louisiana. Over the last fifty years, the island has been gradually shrinking, and is now almost gone. Four months into filming the lives and daily dramas of the families that call this place home, one of the greatest environmental disasters in history left the people of Isle de Jean Charles with an even more uncertain future.
untitled LUCY filmby Elisabeth Haviland James
Lucy Daniels believes a family secret she was told at four years old radically changed her life. Born into a prominent newspaper family, she lived -- and almost died -- by her ability to write. Despite suffering from anorexia and enduring brutal treatment in mental hospitals, she penned a bestseller and won a Guggenheim - all before age twenty-two. The film uses imagined narrative, constructed dream sequences, intimate interviews and Lucy's writing to explore a story with implications for all artists and dreamers.
SDF March Mixer
Making documentaries is amazing work, and hard… Sometimes it helps to commiserate, right? Or share successes? We're launching what we hope will turn into a regular series of mixers, where project directors and other local documentary artists can meet, trade stories from the trenches, maybe hear from a special guest.
For our kickoff event, we'll gather in Durham at the Fullsteam Brewery on Tuesday, March 27 from 4-6 pm. Our special guest will be Kristin Henry, Senior Social Media Strategist at Working Films. She'll fill us in on how Working Films tackles community engagement from many different angles, from online resources and workshops, to consultation and full campaign development and management.
4-6pm Tues, March 27Fullsteam Brewery
726 Rigsbee Ave. Durham, NC
SDF Fundraising Campaign
Dear Friends,Did you know that over the past nine years the Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) has facilitated the production, promotion, and distribution of over 100 independent media projects? It's true! Many of these documentaries, made in or about the American South, have broadcast nationally and screened around the world. One SDF sponsored film, The Loving Story, was recently shortlisted for an Academy Award!
SDF offers critical support and guidance when one most needs it. This organization has become an essential catalyst to the creative work taking place in our community.-Nancy Buirski, Director/Producer, The Loving Story
These projects have an enormous impact, and here's why: documentary artists have the power to inspire audiences around vital issues -- social justice, the environment, education, history, and the arts. Here in North Carolina and across the South, SDF has become a dynamic partner with veteran and emerging documentary filmmakers and artists doing this critical work.
But we need your help.
Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Southern Documentary Fund, to help us link documentary artists with resources and audiences, regionally and nationally.
And here's some exciting news: your support will go even further now -- a long time SDF supporter has stepped forward, offering a $10,000 challenge gift to our year-end campaign. This generous offer will be matched on a 1:1 basis for all gifts made before February 1, 2012.
Please help us take advantage of this amazing opportunity for SDF!
As we approach our 10th anniversary in 2012, expect to hear more great things about what's cooking at the Southern Documentary Fund. We remain as committed as ever to growing this community of Southern storytellers, and with your help, can continue nurturing their work.
Thank you for supporting independent media,
Rachel Raney, Executive Director
And the SDF Board
Two Ways To Donate:
Send a check made payable to Southern Documentary Fund:
762 Ninth St. #574
Durham, NC 27705
Donate via credit card or PayPal account:
The Southern Documentary Fund is a 501(c)(3). All donations are tax-deductible.
Call for submissions: In-the-Works Session at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012
The Southern Documentary Fund is proud to announce that we will again be collaborating with Full Frame in programming the In-the-Works Session at the 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC. The festival takes place from April 12-15, and the In-the-Works Session will take place on Sunday, April 15th.
The In-the-Works Session offers an unusual opportunity for professionals and non-professionals to view documentaries at various stages of production and participate in the critique process. The audience is encouraged to give constructive feedback about the structure, content, characters and clarity of the film in a post-screening discussion that will be facilitated by a moderator.
Submissions must comply with the following guidelines:Must be made by North Carolina filmmakers or filmmakers in the Southeast
Must be in the final stages of completion
Must be a documentary
Filmmakers must be present at the screening
What do we mean by "In-the-Works?" We are NOT looking for rough string-ups, audio gaps, incoherent stories, etc. Your submission doesn't need to be mixed and color corrected but should feel like a film with a story. We should be able to have a really good idea of where your film is going. There are no length requirements but we tend to screen features. In other words, submit your best cut! Be prepared for criticism that will be constructive but may feel harsh; the ultimate goal is to help you make the best film possible.
We'll select 1-2 projects to feature, and may screen only a portion of the works. For consideration, please submit your project to The Southern Documentary Fund no later than Feb. 15th 2012.Send 2 DVD copies of the film, contact information and a short description of the work. If your film is selected we will ask for additional information. You can also submit your work on Vimeo. Be sure to send us password information.
Send submission to:
Southern Documentary Fund
Attn: Jenn Cromling
762 Ninth St. # 574
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: 919.308.3714
Email: info@southerndocumentaryfund.org
Work-in-progress screening of MONSIEUR CONTRASTE
The Southern Documentary Fund invites you to a work-in-progress screening of MONSIEUR CONTRASTE, a film by Rodrigo Dorfman.
Tuesday, November 8th at 7pm
The Auditorium @ Duke's Center for Documentary Studies
1317 W. Pettigrew Street, Durham NC
Space is limited so if you plan to join us please RSVP by sending an email to: info@southerndocumentaryfund.org
Coffee and Conversation with Filmmaker Laurens Grant
SDF is hosting a reception for documentary filmmaker Laurens Grant on Thursday, October 20, at Beyu Caffe in downtown Durham, 9:30am - 11am. Laurens recently produced the Emmy Award winning film 'Freedom Riders' with Stanley Nelson. The film will be screening Thursday evening at the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill, but come in the morning for some coffee and conversation with this talented filmmaker. There will be no formal program, just come ready to talk about your projects.