Pepsi are looking for short films that are about football, be it you inyour local park or something more adventurous.  Once that’s in the (digital) can, upload it to the site and pester everyone you know to vote for it.  The film with the most votes will be awarded £50,000 and a team of experts to create a once in a lifetime football experience. Hmmm, intriguing.

There’s a great programme of eleven short docs (and one intriguing experimental short that explores the tyranny of the beauty industry through puppets!). Host, Robert West, will be joined by one of the subjects from Joel Engardio’s Justice Denied: Voices from Guantanamo’ for a Q&A after the screening.

Think this is going to be a pretty top night. For tickets and more information on the films, visit the Frontline Club’s event listings.

And for those who want to make rather than watch, the Filmmaker’s Centre is offering a chance for aspiring documentarians to sit down with Charlies Phillips, Marketplace Producer at Sheffield Doc/Fest, for the pitching initiative designed to match documentary makers’ most innovative project ideas with UK and international buyers.  To sign up, visit the Filmmaking Centre desk during the festival.  Come to Charlie with an idea in any stage of development that has international appeal and takes an innovative/fresh approach to either the content, the execution of the idea or both.  He’ll be able to give you more information on accessing funds inside and outside of traditional funding streams, including broadcasting, cross-media releases, DIY distribution and marketing.

Those are just a sample of the wide array of documentaries and activities the festival is offering, so be sure to check out their programme in full.

The website launched on 24 March and provides a selection of award-winning films, including The Yes Men Fix the World, The End of The line and Moving to Mars. Each month more films are added giving audiences the kind of choice they’re after. It’s really easy – just sign up for a license online, then with their simple booking system on the website they calculate how much it would cost to screen the film of your choice film, depending on who is watching, how many are expected and the location of screening. This project is really about putting your money where your mouth is. If organisations like BRITDOC are funding campaign docs, then the whole point is to get those films seen by as many people as possible. It’s about educating the masses. This can only happen if control is handed back to audiences.

Wow – sounds like a socialist manifesto! And it’s only 11am.

Deadline
Sheffield Doc/Fest: 16 June
IDFA: (Early bird) 1 May, 1 August (for films finished after 1 April)

Fees
Sheffield Doc/Fest: £25 + VAT
IDFA: n/a

Did you know?
Sheffield Doc/Fest: You can submit via online platforms such as Youtube, Vimeo and Dailymotion. Green and easy.
IDFA: For 2010, IDFA has decided to abandon the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary. However, this does not mean that the festival will not screen films shorter than 30/45 minutes. You can read all requirements here.

AR: “It’s a strange thing – having spent 3 weekends together, discussing each other’s projects in detail and getting to know each other, I now want everyone to get the money and make their films. But this cannot be! There were 12 originally but 1 dropped out, so now they will fund 7 out of 11. The decision rests on a host of different things – quality of the trailer you show, clarity of vision for your film, access to your central character/ place/ situation, your ability to convince people of your passion for the project, how appropriate your concept is for the 10 minute short form… lots of balls to keep in the air.

The workshops we’ve had have been extremely helpful. Peter Symes way back in January, then Danish guru-man Tue Steen Muller with his mountains of experience in pitching and a wry smile to challenge even the most assured director… and finally Henry Singer, and his boundless good humour. The eternal question he rightly asked at every opportunity: but what’s it really about? No, really? My project has come on in leaps and bounds, and it no longer takes me 15 minutes to bluster my way through the story of a character with all the complexities of real life. Getting the opportunity to meet these people has been brilliant, and not just for now; perhaps they can be allies for the future… specially Tue, in the big bad world of European documentary.

At the end of it, though, you’re on your own in the ring with the lights in your eyes and your knees trembling. Pitching is terrifying, but if I don’t get the money I’ll still make it anyway – I’ve started already, the relationship is going strong and the material I’ve already shot is good. I’ll just have to find some other source of cash… Other projects pitching are based in America and Japan – they would be in big trouble without the cheque in their hands. My set-up, though, is pretty simple – I shoot my own films, and often work alone because of the sensitivity of the relationship. Total immersion! It’s a bit weird, and doesn’t always lead to the best sound recording… but it also has it’s charms. Still, getting the money would mean I could buy a camera, which would make my life a lot easier. And if I don’t get it I will be seriously disappointed. So, fingers crossed, and a deep breath…“

Former monk Justo Gallego Martinez has spent the past forty years building his cathedral

One of the best aspects of living in London (as in any city) is that you’re constantly hearing about new screening nights, film clubs and discussions taking place. One that crossed my radar this morning is The Light and Shadow Salon at the Horse Hospital. The next event is taking place on Friday 19 March, where curator Chiara Abrosio will be presenting a programme of shorts around the topic of Docmentary, Myth-Making and the Moving Image.  Amongst the films being shown is James Rogan’s The Madman and the Cathedral, a great little doc I saw back in July at Rushes  Soho Shorts Film Festival.

The film follows Don Justo Gallego Martinez, a man who begun building a cathedral in his home town outside of Madrid back in 1963. Spurred on by his religous convinctions, Martinez (now in his eighties) continues to carry out this life-long task of finishing his project and making his vision a reality, despite gaining the nickname of  ‘el loco de la iglesia’ (the madman of the church) from locals. From an architectural perspective, the cathedral is beautiful because of its flaws and naivety; unlike most monumental structures you can see the human touch in its crooked walls and uneven arches. To feel the passage of time of one man’s life and to try and understand his unwavering sense of dedication and belief is quite remarkable.

For those of you who can’t make next Friday’s screening, fear not. We’ll be getting James’s film up on 4docs soon. Would be great to hear your thoughts on it.

As one competition ends, another opens – this time winners will be flown to Tribeca Film Festival and pick up a load of cash prizes.  To enter, you must make an ad of less than 90 seconds for one of six brands.

Many of you documentarians may balk at the idea of switching to narrative for the sake of a commercial, but as established filmmakers like John Sayles and Todd Haynes are finding, commercials are an increasingly becoming the most viable way for a director to make a living.  If nothing else, you can take the prize money and put it into your next doc.

Another plus is that MOFILM have offered Shooting People members an exclusive prize – all members who enter go into a draw to win an Apple MacBook. Not a member? No problem – sign up for a free trial membership.

Deadline: 6 April 2010

You can be a first time filmmaker or a pro – it doesn’t matter. They’re just looking for work that inspires action and packs a punch.  It needn’t even be a doc – they accept any genre. There are six contest categories: Sustainability, Innovation, Overcoming Conflict, Empowerment, Leadership & Governance and Local/Global Partnerships, so there’s plenty of room to interpret the brief in interesting and original ways. The Grand Prize is $20,000 and $5,000 is awarded to the winner of each category, with online voters determining the finalists.

The competition opens 30 April and the dealine is 31 August.