Al Jazeera spent time with us during a series of trainings in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas earlier this fall and reported on our work with our partners the Equal Voice Network and communities there and throughout the United States. But the role the media play in this particular narrative goes well beyond just covering the story. Filmmakers should also be prepared to answer questions on race and representation, as well as mental health issues. Our U.S. program team have been partnering with affected immigrant communities, advocacy groups and allies over the last year and a half. During Hot Docs Festival, April 30 to May 10, up to six Canadian filmmaking teams will pitch their short doc projects to a live audience and panel of judges at the Hot Docs Al Jazeera Short Pitch. Do you have any tips for the teams chosen for the Hot Docs Al Jazeera Short Pitch? 13.6k Followers, 174 Following, 507 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Al Jazeera: Witness (@ajwitness)

And they train communities to use their own media tools to document wrongdoing. Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez was arrested by two ICE agents who were in unmarked vehicles, wearing jackets that only said ‘police’. They will pitch in front of commissioning editors from AJ Witness, as well as a jury of short film professionals and an audience of their peers. Witness gave us a few themes that they were interested in exploring in the United States, and then Smriti and I tried to figure out the story and the character to lead us in. Witness needs compelling stories with dynamic characters—any documentary does. We just had to convince Bruce to agree. Sami talks to us about what it was like to collaborate with Al Jazeera on this powerful and intimate story of the rise of community activist and Missouri State Representative Bruce Franks Jr. Tell me about St. Louis Superman and why you decided to approach Al Jazeera Witness as a collaborator on this project? We were approached by Witness not vice versa. What did that collaborative process look like from beginning to end? Hot Docs interviewed Canadian filmmaker Sami Khan, who co-directed and co-produced the Oscar-nominated Al Jazeera Witness short film St. Louis Superman. Over the past year, NGOs and legal advocacy organisations have collaborated with media outlets to track cases of enforcement abuse. Phone: 718.783.2000. Witness films are rigorously journalistic but, whether it’s the story of a former guerrilla in the Colombian jungle or a Venezuelan smuggler, they're also known for the great sensitivity with which they’re told. I think it’s important to talk about your approach to the filmmaking process, on a personal and political level.

Hot Docs interviewed Canadian filmmaker Sami Khan, who co-directed and co-produced the Oscar-nominated Al Jazeera Witness short film St. Louis Superman. The diversity at Witness was also really important to us and informs how they collaborate. Witness - India's Forbidden Love: An With the president’s ceaseless talking and tweeting about threats like a government shutdown if Democrats refuse to fund his border wall, or that migrant caravan from Honduras, stories about ICE and its sister agency, CBP – Customs and Border Protection – are right up there on the mainstream media’s agenda.

More filmmakers need to understand the way their documentaries can be entertaining for audiences but deeply traumatic for the participants.

Brooklyn, NY 11217 Media interested in contacting WITNESS can do so through our Press Kit, or directly to Ambika Samarthya-Howard at ambika @ witness.org. Witness - Women of ISIL: Life Inside the Caliphate Through extremely rare testimony, women reveal their roles in ISIL and insights on their motivations and the failed mission of the armed group. The Al Jazeera English program “The Listening Post” has just published “ICE Watch: Turning the Lens on Immigration Agencies” featuring WITNESS’ immigrant rights work. That engagement is really startling in an age when other broadcasters have ossified and continue to make rather bland and conservative documentaries. The competition will award at least one winner with up to $50,000 USD for a full commission, and the winning project(s) will premiere on the Witness strand across Al Jazeera branded platforms, including television, online and apps. So it was a no-brainer for us to tell his story. There’s a reason why they don’t identify themselves, they are trying to use manipulative tactics to get information from immigrants or people who they’ve racially profiled in order to arrest and deport them.”. The Al Jazeera English program “The Listening Post” has just published “ICE Watch: Turning the Lens on Immigration Agencies” featuring WITNESS’ immigrant rights work. Witness's guidance in helping us build that edit puzzle was instrumental to the film's success. Our U.S. program team have been partnering with affected immigrant communities, advocacy groups and … ICE Watch: Turning the Lens on Immigration Agencies, Press release: Major Human Rights and Internet Watchdog Organizations Sign On to Demands for #AuditFBIndia As Pressure Builds, Announcing The People’s Database for Community-based Police Accountability: A Berkeley Copwatch + WITNESS initiative, Teaming Up on Video as Evidence: Welcoming WITNESS’ New Legal Advisors. For Witness, it's not enough to have an issue you're interested in; you need to find a character and a story that will resonate with people. Smriti made a beautiful film called A Suitable Girl, which caught the attention of Witness. “Eyewitness footage has been so crucial in exposing ICE’s manipulative tactics. The program has provided crucial information and resistance to communities at a time when raids and arrests by the agencies are up significantly across the country. From: Witness The Italian Doctor: Fighting COVID-19, isolation and uncertainty A young Italian doctor thrust into a COVID-19 ICU ward grapples with isolation and uncertainty, with no end in sight. What does AJ look for in their observational documentaries that made St. Louis Superman the right fit for Witness? Witness will push you hard creatively and journalistically but ultimately they give you the freedom to tell the story you want to tell. The best advice I can give to filmmakers pitching Witness is to know your documentary deeply on an emotional and story level. You look at the people who work at Witness and they have similar stories to our own. Hot Tips. Witness respects filmmakers and champions them. 80 Hanson Place, 5th Floor Learn more about Hot Docs Al Jazeera Short Pitch at the Hot Docs Festival this year. Through our Eyes on ICE program, we provide “know your rights” and video documentation trainings for how to safely and effectively capture details of encounters with ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. Copyright © WITNESS.ORG. Smriti and I are close friends who had formed a kinship trying to get our films made and just fighting the racism endemic in the film industry. We had incredible vérité thanks to the trust Bruce gave us, but without the proper structure our film wouldn't have resonated. That's quite difficult when you're in the early stages but, even if your conception of the story or characters changes, it’s important to have storytelling confidence that will make people understand why your film needs to exist at this very moment. Categories: Application close March 13. The Witness team is from every corner of the globe.

What was like to work with Al Jazeera Witness? Are there any challenges you faced or considerations you had to make in adapting your specific characters, story, and the story's larger themes for this format (a 25-minute runtime)? But Witness does a better job than most because they are in constant dialogue with a huge global audience—millions and millions of loyal viewers around the world. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Cases like that of Perla Morales-Luna, Juan Hernandez, or Romulo Avelica Gonzalez are just three examples of thousands that surfaced because they were caught on camera, explains Palika Makam, programme coordinator, WITNESS. Obviously, Bruce Franks Jr., the participant in St. Louis Superman is an unbelievably compelling character. They don’t treat filmmakers like disposable commodities like so many in the industry do. Runtime wasn’t so much a factor for us; the bigger issue was figuring out the sequencing of the scenes and building a narrative that was true to Bruce's story. If the filmmaker is talking more about themselves than the participants in their doc, than that will be a red flag for Witness. So when Witness approached Smriti, she forwarded me the email right away. Keep up-to-date with the latest news from Hot Docs and the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. For us, being filmmakers of color, who faced (and still face) a lot of discrimination in the film industry, we're so thankful to Witness for their support. I know that Witness really listens to how filmmakers frame their language. They faced adversity, covered global conflicts, and they have come together to tell these urgent stories. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sami talks to us about what it was like to collaborate with Al What can they do to ensure their project is in the best place to be considered for up to $50K from AJ Witness for a full commission?