Crossing Borders
Earlier this month I had the privilege of bringing Nowzad: Warzone Animal Rescue to the Crossing Borders Workshop in Asan, Korea.
Organised by the EDN – European Documentary Network and the Broadcast Content Promotion Foundation, this workshop allow me to share my work and get feedback from skilled peers attending the workshop and several experienced instructors from across Europe and Asia. I am especially thankful to have had the opportunity to receive notes from veteran editor Phil Jandaly, Producer-Editor Steven Seidenberg and the Deputy Director for First Hand Films, Gitte Hansen
In addition to the group and individual sessions, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to watch The Chinese Mayor by directed by Hao Zhou and produced by Zhao Qi and With or Without You, directed by Hyuck-jee Park and produced by Kyungsoo Han. Both documentaries took 2 or 3 years to complete and had me hooked from start to finish with their great pacing and storytelling. I was glad to have producers for both films with us for Q&A sessions after each screening.
You can check out trailers for both films here:
And fortunately, this was just the first phase of the workshop. I am looking forward to reuniting with my colleagues fro the Korea workshop at at the upcoming DOK Industry event later this year in Leipzig, Germany. There I will have the chance to pitch Nowzad: Warzone Animal Rescue along with a second project that I am currently developing with Nona Maria and Christy Anthonis in front of large panel of broadcast executives from across the world. I recognise the importance of this opportunity and I am very thankful to have it. Lastly, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mi-Jin Lee and the rest of her colleagues from the Broadcast Content Promotion Foundation of Korea for taking such good care of us while attending the workshop in Korea.
For any of my friends working in documentary either here in Asia or Europe, I would urge you to consider applying to the 2017 Crossing Borders workshop. You are sure to find it a rewarding experience.
PS: Seeing my high school buddy Chiman Song was a huge bonus too. <3 Chi-monster, hope to catch up with you again soon. ^_^
