Alex Lee talks about the Documentary Edge Festival and Forum.

"NZ films and filmmakers are second to none in the world and it is important to ensure our profile is known to the wider international community.”

The Documentary Edge Festival is Auckland from February 27-March 14 and Wellington from March 13-28.

The Documentary Edge Forum was held on March 1-3 in Auckland, and

Why and when was the Trust and the Festival established?

The Trust was established in 2004 as a result of discussions between Dan Shanan and I about the state of documentary making in New Zealand. We felt it is important to promote and sustain the documentary industry. Every major city in the world has a documentary film festival and we felt having a showcase of local and international documentary films would allow us to generate grass-root interest in and support for documentaries.

How has it evolved since then?

It has evolved to becoming an important international event which international filmmakers choose to have their world premieres at. Also, the festival is a competitive film festival and we have grown our award categories beyond the NZ awards in our first year to a total of 15 awards. Also, we have introduced an industry event to our festival. The Documentary Edge Forum brings together local and international industry for master-classes, panel discussions and networking. Our DOC Pitch is a popular event for filmmakers to present their projects to seek funding or assistance to get their projects realized. Untouchable Girls: The Topp Twins was first pitched as a project at our Doc Pitch and as a result, both Arani Cuthbert and Leanne Pooley teamed up.

What’s been the biggest impact or success to date?

The biggest success to date is that we are still here and our festival has continued to grow. Many people may not have thought that we would endure let alone grown but we have. We have seen a growing base of support from the community and the industry.

What combination of people and resources are required to put on a festival of this scale?

Enterprising, creative and passionate people generous with heart and goodwill make up our team. We have volunteers and interns but what may be most surprising of all is that we only have one full time person working and even at that, he is doing so with a great deal of goodwill as his remuneration is not commensurate with commercial rates nor indicative of the hard work being done. We have a few part-time staff as well but we are lucky that we work like a family because we believe in our mission and we like each other.

As for resources, we have to rely on the generosity of our funders, partners and also, our team many of whom are willing to work for little or no financial reward.

What have been some of the challenges and how do you approach them?

Our biggest challenge is to find ways and means for us to keep our organization sustainable and our missions realized. If we manage to create an event of this size and nature with so little, imagine what we can do if we were properly resourced. To create a world class professional event, we must have sufficient financial support. We believe we have an international event and brand, which can become a major iconic international event which Auckland can celebrate as being its own. We want to attract large numbers of international visitors as well catering for the size of audiences that attend festivals in Toronto, Amsterdam and Sundance.

Our approach is never say NEVER. We believe in being focused and to take the hard knocks with a grin and a determination to move beyond it, to learn from it and to succeed.

As a team, we try to support each other and encourage each other in all our endeavours. To aspire and share a common dream is an important approach to deal with challenges

How does the Festival and Forum generate opportunities for New Zealand documentary makers?

Filmmakers here have an opportunity to learn about new developments and trends through not just attending the Forum but watching the range and styles of the international films screened. The Forum provides an excellent opportunity to meet international filmmakers and industry to seek a co-production opportunity, a sales or collaboration with an overseas creative. In the past, local filmmakers have found assistance with developing their projects, getting co-production funding, securing an award winning cinematographer and getting their film picked by a sales agent. International festival directors get to meet local filmmakers and view their films.

What is the theme for this year’s festival?

This year’s festival is focused on our rebranding. This means we are seeking to establish that documentary films are cutting edge. They create debate and discussion and not afraid to discuss controversial issues. There are two spotlights this year, one on China. As the fastest growing economy, this often means such growth is accompanied by issues like over-population, growing gap between the rich and the poor, increased arts and cultural achievements, the search for identity and so on. The other spotlight is Eco-Warriors. Regardless of your beliefs, conservation and the environment remain the hottest debated subjects of our century. We focus on what ordinary and not so ordinary people are doing to help save the world.

What are some of the highlights and what are you personally excited about?

The festival has chosen what we believe the best selection of documentaries in any one festival in the Southern hemisphere. These films are cinematic, they are exciting, they not only inform and create debate and they entertain. They mark the future of documentaries. The cinematic nature of The Belgrade Phantom, Mount St Elias, The End of the Line, At the Edge of the World will leave you spellbound and breathless.

I am particularly excited about Defamation, Petition, Stolen – all will cause you to debate the issues raised in labour of loves of their creators.

Films like The Yes Me Fix the World and The Red Chapel leave you rolling with laughter in the aisles yet at no time, do they deviate form their sharp political insights.

And the films like Mine, Only When I Dance, El Sistema, Tibet in Song, Journey from Zanskar tell excellent stories.

Tell us a little bit about the competition?

The Competition honours those films that have excelled. Firstly, every film in our festival is a film we feel is deserving of being honoured. It’s hard to try to narrow down the finalists.

We have awards for best international and NZ feature and short documentaries. We honour the best in editing, cinematography in both NZ and international categories. NZ documentaries also compete for Best in Sound, Research and Educational categories. The best NZ and international directors are honoured and we also award the best Emerging Filmmaker in NZ.

Tell us a bit about the aim of the forum?

The purpose of the Forum is to encourage and promote opportunities as well as to mentor developments within the documentary industry. We hope to connect filmmakers with industry and create international collaborations as well. NZ films and filmmakers are second to none in the world and it is important to ensure our profile is known to the wider international community.

Tell us a little bit about the Lab and Pitching Forum?

In the DOC Pitch, selected teams take this opportunity to present their projects in the hope of securing interest in their project from a panel of commissioners, sales agents, broadcasters, distributors and production companies.

DOC Lab 2010 will act as an incubator aiming to enable the presenters with the opportunity to develop their projects by sharing ideas as well as through mentorship programme based on feedback and interactive participation. Whether you are in drama or documentary, attending DOC Lab is a must if you wish to develop digital media ideas across. The Lab explores opportunities to create borderless 360 degree media for projects i.e. not just a documentary for film and TV but using social networking, gaming, podcasts, 3G technology etc.

How do you connect with other festivals internationally?

We travel internationally to meet with festivals and other event organizers. We communicate by email and social networking. Our filmmakers also help us to promote our events and the work we do. The Guangzhou International Documentary Festival signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Documentary NZ Trust late last year and they will visit Auckland for the Festival and Forum. In 2009, DOK Leipzig joined us through the Goethe Institut and as a result, Kirsty MacDonald was invited to travel with her film, Assume Nothing to their festival in 2009.

You rebranded this year, why was this important?

Every organization has growth stages. After 5 years, we refocused. We looked at where we started, what we achieved and where we are going to. We also look at what is happening within the wider industry. Our organization has grown up. We wanted to have a more international brand as we have been approached to take the brand overseas. Further, we also wanted to emphasise that documentary is cutting edge and that the documentary media is evolving beyond the traditional formats. Lastly, NZ is considered by many to be at the edge of the world so why not celebrate it.

With the assistance of Brain Richards in the concept of the new brand and Simon Cohen in visualizing it, we have a new identity which is modern, international and reflects who we are perfectly.

Describe your role

I am one of the original founders of the Trust. I am a Trustee but also, a co-director of the Trust and Festival. I am the Forum Producer whereas my co-director, Dan Shanan is the Festival Producer. Being a small organization though, the lines blur as we work and help each other across all areas. So we look after strategy, marketing, funding, administration, sourcing films and speakers, programming, scheduling, international relationships, industry liaison, mentoring local filmmakers. advocating and acting as a spokesperson for the NZ industry

Tell us a bit about your background

I am a lawyer by training. Born in Malaysia, I studied at Otago University. I have post-graduate qualifications from Auckland and Brussels. After 18 years legal practice, I decided to pursue my passion and completed a Masters in Film & TV Directing from Auckland University.  Following that, I taught Production at Auckland University as well as directed/produced a number of short and feature dramas and documentaries. I still practice commercial and entertainment law.

My other interests include an actors/directors/writers agency and a film sales agency. I am passionate about story telling in all platforms and have also been active in setting up the Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts and the Asia NZ Film Foundation Trust. I have run the Asia NZ Film festival and last year, co-organized the HK Film  Festival in Auckland.

Any advice for aspiring documentary makers?

I will use a quote from one of our speakers this year, Marc Boother, an inspiration Black filmmaker and a leading light in UK film and TV:

"If you begin to doubt yourself, you are f*****d. You dig deep and you find that passion, you remember your vision, you wake up the next day and you start again."

What are some of the challenges documentary makers face in New Zealand and internationally?

Creating a profile, remaining relevant and maintaining relationships. We can’t ignore the fact that we are at the edge of the world. We have to work harder to make international relationships work and to promote ourselves.

How does the festival help meet this challenge?

By inspiring us by the quality and breadth of works reminding us of what documentaries can do. Meeting inspirational people and creating valuable relationships.

And most importantly, that as a filmmaker, you are not alone.

What are your hopes and passions for the future of the festival and forum?

We want the Festival and Forum to be the leading innovator in documentary and the most important documentary event in our region - the documentary version of Sundance Film festival in the Southern Hemsiphere. We want to grow it so that it can become a major event, cultural icon and business event in New Zealand and most important, a joyous celebration of documentary.