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The Museum of Television & Radio Seventh Annual Documentary Festival Call for Entries!

The Museum of Television & Radio will present its seventh annual Documentary Festival in New York beginning on October 12 and running through October 22, 2006. This year’s Festival will premiere approximately twenty of the season’s most noteworthy documentaries. Each screening will be introduced by the filmmaker and followed by the lively Q&A sessions that have become a hallmark of the Festival. In addition, there is once again a call for submissions for both Festival premieres and workshops.

Along with the slate of premiere screenings, the Festival will feature seminars and panel discussions exploring issues critical to the craft and content of the documentary, including the ever-popular workshop, The Art of the Documentary Pitch. Other confirmed special events will include the panel The Art of the Cut: Editing the Documentary, a Master Class with direct cinema pioneer Albert Maysles, and A Tribute to filmmaker Jerome Liebling, hosted by Ken Burns.

The complete Festival schedule will be announced at a later date.

Call for Entries
Entries are now being accepted for both the premiere screenings and The Art of the Documentary Pitch Workshop. Complete submission guidelines and entry forms can be found at mtr.org/festivals/mtrdocfest2006/index.htm. There is no entry fee. Submission materials will not be returned.

* Premiere Screenings
Nonfiction, feature-length documentaries of any subject or genre are acceptable. Films may not have screened in New York prior to October 31, 2006. Applicants must submit a DVD or VHS screener of the film, any available press materials, and a completed and signed entry form no later than August 1, 2006.

* The Art of the Documentary Pitch Workshop Five preselected, emerging filmmakers will have the opportunity to pitch a documentary idea to a panel of television executives and producers. The winner will receive a $5,000 grant, sponsored by American Documentary Inc., the producers of the award-winning P.O.V. series for PBS. Applicants must submit a DVD or VHS sample of their project, a synopsis of the concept, and a completed and signed entry form no later than August 15, 2006.

For additional information, go to mtr.org.