As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Marieke was selected to attend Documentary Campus Masterschool, a European development program that offers filmmakers the opportunity to access the international non-fiction market.

A week after her return, she told us what impressed her most about the experience.

What surprised you the most?

Undoubtedly, what surprised me the most was that not only could I learn from the professionals that give the workshops and conferences during the Documentary Campus, but also from the other students with whom I shared this experience. Many of them have been in the documentary world for a long time and know how to handle it.

What is the main challenge facing your project now?

As always, the hardest part of any project is to fund, find funding sources that are willing to invest in your project, despite it being at an early stage.

How was the project received?

To introduce our project to the others, we made a teaser. But we realised it did not work because it was too obvious and had pictures that may describe many clichés, images that have been repeatedly seen in other documentaries. For the next teaser we will show our own point of view.

What will make your project stand out from the others?

Perhaps the main difference is that it has a strong background in research, scientific and academic information. It’s a creative documentary with a strong research base behind it.

Any good tips to share?

We were given several different financial fund references which could be interesting and that could help us with the project. As well as encouraging us to change the teaser, we also received some ideas of people we could interview.

We know that the Doc Campus and Sheffield Doc/Fest is not all work and no play… What fun did you get up to?

The tenth anniversary party for the distributor Dogwoof was fun. They had set up a photo booth and wigs so you could take the funniest pictures and there were quite a few drag queens to spice up the party. We ended up dancing with a lot of commissioning editors on the podium next to the DJ!

Of all the workshops, which was the one that impressed you the most?

There were three that I really liked. “Trailer introduction” by Sigrid Dyekjær, a Danish producer with years of industry experience that taught us the intricacies of teasers; “Two mins workshop” by Roger Graef, who gave us advice so our teaser is sufficiently attractive to the audience during the first two minutes; and “How to: Clearances” by Elizabeth Klinck, one of the greatest archive and clearance specialists in the world.

What is the most important thing you learned?

I learned how to present things to the others. Not only in terms of paper or audio-visually, but how to show things in person so others can understand them; how to approach the project.

Which Doc/Fest documentary stood out most for you?

“Last Hijack” by Femke Wolting and Tommy Pallotta.

When is the next appointment with Documentary Campus?

In mid-August, in Malmö (Sweden). This time we will work on our teaser and the focus will be how to fund the documentary and control the costs.

We are going to have to wait till after the holidays so you can tell us more!