What's the Big Idea?
Good Pitch brings together filmmakers with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, brands and media around leading social issues – to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners, good for the films and good for society.
ABOUT GOOD PITCH
A partnership between BRITDOC and Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Good Pitch has been gaining momentum since the first international event in 2009.
Running several times throughout the year in the US and Europe, as both standalone events and in conjunction with bespoke conferences and film festivals, it brings together specially selected foundations, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, broadcasters and potential corporate and brand partners to form powerful alliances around groundbreaking films.
Six to eight filmmaking teams pitch their film and associated outreach campaign to the assembled audience with the aim of creating a unique coalition around each film to maximise its impact and influence.
To date, more than 90 documentary projects have been presented at Good Pitch events in London, Oxford, New York, Washington DC, Toronto, San Francisco and Johannesburg. In that time more than 1500 organisations have attended – varied organisations from different sectors all bringing something unique to the table: expert knowledge, research and archives, membership networks and mailing lists, campaigning and lobbying expertise and access to policymakers as well as production and outreach funding. Together they make powerful allies.
To get a flavour of what Good Pitch does, take a look at our trailer...
THE BIRTH OF GOOD PITCH²
Additionally in 2011, we launched a satellite version of the forum, called Good Pitch² (Good Pitch Squared). With the same mission as the flagship events - to connect good films to good people - Good Pitch² enables regional organisations all over the world to put on their own Good Pitch events. Once selected, the local host receives training and access to the Good Pitch model, brand and web tools.
The first Good Pitch² was held by the People to People (P2P) International Documentary Conference in Johannesburg on September 13th 2011.
The next Good Pitch² will take place as part of the Movies that Matter festival at The Hague on March 27th 2012. You can find out more and apply here.
IMPACT & LEARNING
We continue to track the progress of all the projects presented and this year completed our first Good Pitch Review. The event has leveraged more than $3.4 million in funding – in addition to an extensive range of non-fiscal resources, partnerships and expertise from participating organisations. Outcomes have included on-the-spot financing and broadcast offers, and the development of NGO partnerships that went, in one filmmaker’s words, “from first-date to marriage."
THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT
Good Pitch is made possible by our generous major supporters, Chicken & Egg Pictures, CrossCurrents Foundation, The Fledgling Fund, Ford Foundation, Impact Partners, Wyncote Foundation and anonymous donors. We are also grateful to Working Films for providing the campaign development workshop for filmmakers.
BRITDOC
BRITDOC is a UK-based not-for-profit organisation backed by Channel 4 TV. It is dedicated to reinventing funding and distribution models for British documentary filmmakers. As well as funding ground breaking social-issue films (such as 2012 Oscar nominee Hell & Back Again, double Sundance winner Afghan Star, Berlin winner The Yes Men Fix the World, Sundance 09 feature doc The End of the Line and Tribeca winner We Are Together), the Foundation brokers relationships between filmmakers and the NGO and brand sectors in the UK to create better, more effective films. The Good Pitch is a key part of the Foundation’s important work in this area.
http://www.britdoc.org
SUNDANCE INSTITUTE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROGRAM
The Sundance Institute DFP supports contemporary nonfiction filmmakers globally with year-round activities, including the Sundance Documentary Fund, Creative Labs focusing on the art of documentary, the DocSource website and the Stories of Change partnership with the Skoll Foundation. The DFP has supported over 400 films since 1996, including Nerakoon: Betrayal, Trouble the Water, Iraq in Fragments, My Country, My Country, Why We Fight, and Long Night’s Journey Into Day. The DFP is a core program of the Los Angeles-based non-profit Sundance Institute. Founded by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences.
http://www.sundance.org/docsource
