Below ZERO 2013. 

January 16 – 19, 2013. Tromsø, Norway

Below ZERO seeks a wide range of documentary projects on all subjects related to life above the Arctic Circle. These can be projects focusing on culture, environment, resources, politics, climate changes and indigenous peoples as well as general human stories.

Filmmakers from all over the World are welcome to submit projects for Below ZERO. Stories with a broad international market appeal are preferred. From the submitted project proposals a maximum of 12 projects will be selected for participation. The working language will be English.

What do previous participants say about Below ZERO?

'Below Zero proved for me as a Director of the film Arctic Dreams invaluable in creating and understanding the needed financial structure of my film, in understanding how a co-production of a film shot in Canada, by a Swedish person working out of a UK based production company should look. As a forum for discussion and in helping you as a film maker to focus your project by conversations with tutors, other film makers and commissioners it helped me enormously in understanding the story I was telling and gave the project a great backing for getting the funding I was looking for as well as a very good introduction to several of the European commissioners.'

Marcus Werner Hed, director, Pundersons Gardens, UK
Below ZERO participant with the project ARCTIC DREAMS

The Below ZERO programme

The programme for Below ZERO will consist of:

- a pre-pitching workshop where the selected projects will be developed under guidance from experienced international experts from the documentary business. The workshop will focus on how the projects can be developed in the best possible direction and how the presentation of the project can be optimized

- a pitching session where each project will be pitched in seven minutes for a panel of international financiers and possible future collaborators. The pitch will be followed by a brief round of feedback from the panel and individual meetings between filmmakers and financiers

- networking events to encourage future collaborations between organisations, financiers, producers and filmmakers.
Financiers for the pitching panel

The financiers present for the pitching panel will be a combination of leading European broadcasters, national film institutes and regional film funds. We will announce the names for the 2013 panel as soon as we have them available.

For the 2012 edition we had the following financiers present:

Charlotte Gry Madsen, DR International Sales, Denmark

Grigori Libergal, TV Kultura, Rusland

Tore Tomter, Commissioning Editor, NRK, Norway

Hans Erik Voktor, North Norwegian Film Center, Norway

Stefan Kloos, Rise and Shine World Sales, Germany

Sirel Peensaar, Filmpool Nord, Sverige

Svein Andersen, FilmCamp, Norway

Stig Andersen, Film Consultant, Norwegian Film Institute, Norway
How to participate

The deadline for submitting your project is November 26, 2012.

You submit your project by sending a written 2-page presentation of your project accompanied by visual material.

Your written 2-page presentation should include the following elements:

    - title, name of producer, production company and director, length, format
    - short CV & filmography of company and director
    - the film. Depending in the nature of the project this can be: The Story / Characters / Visual approach / directors note etc.
    - status of the project: in development / in production / in postproduction.
    - contact information

You can send your 2-page presentation by email to submit@edn.dk

The visual material
We prefer receiving applications accompanied by visual material; either as material already shot for the submitted project or as a previous work. You submit your visual material either as a DVD or by including a link to an online streaming facility, when emailing your 2-page presentation. Please note that submitted DVDs will not be returned.

DVDs should be posted to:

    EDN
    Att: Mikael Opstrup
    Vognmagergade 10 1st floor
    Copenhagen K
    Denmark

Participating as Observer
For Below ZERO a number of observer seats are available. When participating as an observer you will take part in all sessions on equal terms with the pitching participants. Only exception is not having a concrete project developed and pitched.

Participation Fee
Each selected project pays a participation fee, which includes one participating person. Every other member of the pitching team pays an individual fee.

 
Background on Below ZERO

The Below ZERO event was initiated in 2009 in order to bring together filmmakers, producers, financiers and organisations whose common interest is documentaries thematically rooted in the Northern Polar region. Building on the success of the first three editions of Below ZERO, this fourth edition will further strengthen and develop the international network for documentaries made around or focusing on the Arctic region. Below ZERO is set in Tromsø, Northern Norway, during the last days of the polar night.
EDN Contact:

Mikael Opstrup
mikael@edn.dk

+45 3313 1122

Below ZERO is organised by EDN. The event takes place in the framework of Tromso International Film Festival.
Below ZERO is made possible by the support from:
Nordnorsk Filmsenter AS
Filmpool Nord
Tromso International Film Festival
Filmcamp

http://www.edn.dk/activities/edn-activity-texts/edn-activities-2013/below-zero-2013/