May 28, 2007
Six projects vie for Documart cash by Susan Tolusso
In addition to all the pitching that goes on at the Banff World Television Festival in meetings, on the green, at the bar and in the hallways, there are half a dozen formal pitching events. These include the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund iPitch, UK Style Lifestyle, The Comedy Network Comedy Pitch, The N Network Youth Drama, and the fox 21 Reality Pitch. But the CTV Canadian Documart competition offers the most cash, with six finalists vying for a total of $60,000 ($40,000 less than last year) in development funding, with $30,000 going to the winner, $20,000 to second place and $10,000 to third.
Documart entrants have three minutes to pitch and seven more to answer questions from Canadian and international commissioning editors. Every year, proposals span a spectrum of subjects and approaches, and the producers represent a variety of regional home bases.
Below is a preview of this year's pitches, followed by progress reports from last year's finalists. While being part of the Documart puts projects in front of industry heavyweights, the updates show that it nonetheless remains challenging to move doc projects forward.
2007 CTV CANADIAN DOCUMART FINALISTS
Title: Suck It Up, Princess
Format: TV hour
Producers: Susan Nation, president, Hop To It Productions, and Nina Beveridge, CEO, Hop To It and president, Beevision Productions, Toronto
Pitch to be delivered by: Nation and Beveridge
Synopsis: The producers say it's "an edgy, interior, musically enhanced look at the world of Renee Rodriguez - an 18-year-old website designer, reporter, charity organizer and victim of degenerative congenital muscular dystrophy. A powerful exploration of courage and strength.
