TV and Creative Documentaries
I have just left Biarritz after the final session of the archive based documentary training programme Archidoc, where 11 projects from all over Europe (5 of them from Eastern part of Europe) were presented to broadcasters from Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland. This was another chance to see where public broadcasting and television are going…. downhill. Late night screenings, more formatting, narration from wall to wall, all of them should sound and look alike, few tv slots for the more creative approach. Its not getting easier was the message from the assembled commissioning editors, who had difficulties to see where to place the many talented projects presented to them. More documentary time but also more formatting was the message from Arte, still considered as the most important channel in Europe for documentaries.
This situation and an many other matters will be discussed at a conference arranged by ETMA’s Paul Pauwels in Brussels in the beginning of March. More information soon to be found at http://www.europeanmediaevent.com/
