See: The Brighton Documentary Festival Confirms 2011 Programme
Published 31st Jan 2011 by Kate Smith

Now in its sixth successful year, SEE: The Brighton Documentary Festival returns between 24-27 February and the line-up promises the 2011 delegates another exciting and informative programme, celebrating the work of a host of home grown and international names from the industry. Chris Atkins, Florencia Di Concilio, Kim Longinotto, Mark Henderson and the Sheffield Doc/Fest’s nationally renowned pitching workshop, are just a few of the highlights.

The weekend-long festival, organised by award winning Back2Back Productions and supported by Screen South, will offer screenings, seminars, discussions, and special events, showcasing a range of documentaries. SEE 2011 also continues to provide a platform for the best student films from the region, with participation from Brighton and Sussex Universities and the National, Film and Television School (NFTS) and, of course, provides a fantastic networking opportunity for those working in factual media.

Chris Atkins, the man behind some of Britain’s most innovative and acclaimed films of recent times, will be holding a masterclass. BAFTA nominated Chris directed ‘Taking Liberties’, which was one of the highest grossing documentaries of 2007 and broadcast by Channel 4. There will also be a screening and Q&A session of his 2009 film, ‘Starsuckers’.

Other masterclasses include ‘Music in Film’ with acclaimed film composer Florencia Di Concilio and chaired by film Director Marc Francis who worked with Florencia on the award winning feature documentary ‘When China Met Africa’. Discussions in this session will include aspects of film composition, including the director/composer relationship, the use of orchestration, placing music in film and knowing when not to use music at all.

Screenings to look out for at SEE this year include; the opening night BAFTA screening of Jerry Rothwell’s ‘Donor Unknown’; The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath’s 2010 Sundance prize winning film, ‘Enemies of the People’; ‘Out of the Ashes’, a film on the Afghan cricket team and their remarkable rise to glory, directed and filmed by Tim Albone and Lucy Martens and also ‘Pink Saris’, by NFTS graduate, Kim Longinotto, who is regarded as one of the most pre-eminent documentary filmmakers in the world.

Other highlights include, ‘My Kidnapper’, directed by Mark Henderson, who was taken hostage in Colombia 2003. 11 months after his release he received an email from one of his kidnappers and the film follows his journey to meet him. Mark will also be holding a Q&A session and is available for interview ahead of the festival.

SEE 2011 will also include, for the very first time in the Screen South region, the Sheffield Doc/Fest’s nationally renowned pitching workshop. At this workshop, factual producers, filmmakers, and creatives from all media will be invited to take part in an intensive two-day proposal development and pitching workshop to help prepare factual projects for UK and international funding opportunities.

Festival founder and MD of Back2back productions, David Notman-Watt, said "SEE: The Brighton Documentary Film Festival, has rightly earned its place as one of the most exciting events in the festival calendar. As always, we have drawn up an intoxicating line up of screenings, premiers, workshops, seminars, and special events. Taking part are the big, the bad and the beautiful of documentary film-making, making this a must attend event for anyone who loves docs as much as we do, be they new, untapped talent, or more established film-makers."

SEE Festival has been enabled by Screen South and the RIFE (Regional Investment Fund for England) lottery funding programme and will be held at Komedia and The Old Court Room in Brighton.

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