The International Documentary Challenge
The International Documentary Challenge is a timed filmmaking competition. Filmmakers have five days to make a short documentary and the top twelve films premiere at Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto.
Overview
The International Documentary Challenge is an annual timed filmmaking competition where filmmakers have 5 days to make a short documentary film that is 4–7 minutes in length. In addition to being restricted on time, filmmakers must choose between 2 assigned documentary genres (such as Biography, Music, 1st Person, etc.) and are assigned a specific theme (such as "Freedom") that dictates the content and direction of their film. An elite industry jury determines the top 12 films. The top twelve films premiere at Hot Docs – North America’s largest documentary film festival where the winners are announced.
After the premiere, there are additional theatrical screenings in major cities and possible television exposure. The films also compete at The Audience Awards and receive digital distribution in The Audience Awards' library. The films end their festival run at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival – the largest film festival west of the Mississippi.
P.O.V. chooses the American Documentary | P.O.V. Award, DocuMentors and Documentary Educational Resources also sponsors The Doc Challenge. Each sponsor chooses their favorite film out of the top twelve films and offers awards to the filmmakers.
In 2008, Doc Challenge American Documentary | P.O.V. Award winning film Ars Magna received an Emmy nomination. In 2014, The Audience Awards winning Doc Challenge film Maikaru won the jury prize at the International Seattle Film Festival making the film Oscar eligible.
History
The International Documentary Challenge was founded by Doug White in 2005 and owned and operated by KDHX in St. Louis, MO. In November 2013, The Audience Awards founder Paige Williams acquired The Doc Challenge from KDHX. In August 2014, The Audience Awards and Doc Challenge merged platforms. That same month, The International Doc Challenge expanded the brand to include The International Fusion Documentary Challenge.
Fusion Documentary Challenge
In August 2014, The International Documentary Challenge partnered with The Fusion Network to launch a new Doc Challenge. The Fusion documentary challenge that focuses on creating compelling short documentary content for young, diverse audiences. The International Fusion Documentary Challenge challenges young filmmakers from around to world to create short documentaries (4–7 minutes) in five days from start to finish. The top 12 films as determined by an esteemed panel of judges will premiere at Slamdance Film Festival. Winners are awarded $4500. The top 20 films receive an exclusive 18-month licensing deal with Fusion and will feature across Fusion’s broadcast and digital platforms.
“We know that millennials are smart, young, curious and creative -- and the best way to showcase that is by allowing them to showcase themselves,” Fusion CEO Isaac Lee said. “By partnering with the International Documentary Challenge, we can engage with our audience while holding up the best they have to offer for their peers worldwide to see.”
“The International Documentary Challenge and The Audience Awards are proud to partner with Fusion Network to expand our trusted brand and create more opportunities for emerging filmmakers through Fusion Doc Challenge. One of our main goals is to provide talented young filmmakers great opportunity to advance their careers. A premiere at Slamdance and television exposure through Fusion is the perfect match for moving The Doc Challenge into the next decade.” Paige Williams, Doc Challenge Executive Producer.
About Fusion
Fusion is a news, pop culture and satire TV and digital network. It engages and champions a young, diverse, and inclusive America with a unique mix of original reporting, lifestyle, and comedic content that is both smart and irreverent. Fusion launched in millions of households nationwide on October 28, 2013. Seven major distributors are carrying the cable network including Dish Network, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS and Google Fiber. Fusion is a joint venture between Univision Communications Inc. and the Disney/ABC Television Network.
About The Audience Awards
The Audience Awards launched in November 2013 as a digital platform connecting filmmakers and festivals to audiences. The Audience Awards features film competitions where the film with the most votes wins, turn key user generated content competitions, user profile pages, short film distribution, filmmaking challenges, crowd source funding opportunities and entertainment news. The Audience Awards will host the Fusion Doc Challenge film competition in early 2015. The twelve films will compete for the most votes and the winner receives $1000.