CONTACT:
Jody Arlington, SILVERDOCS
301.495.6759,
mailto:jarlington@AFI.com Tammy Shea, Discovery Communications
240.662.6506,
Tammy_Shea@Discovery.com SILVERDOCS: AFI/DISCOVERY CHANNEL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL EXPANDS TWO DAYS AND ADDS NEW VENUES FOR 2008 TO MEET DEMAND Festival Slated for June 16-23, 2008, at the AFI Silver Theatre
Now Accepting Film Submissions for the 2008 Festival and proposals for
$10,000 SILVERDOCS/ACE Grant
Silver Spring, Maryland, October 18, 2007—SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel
Documentary Festival announced today the expansion of the Festival by two days and the addition of venues to meet demand for SILVERDOCS offerings following last year’s higher demand for shows and increase in industry participation. The Festival will run from
Monday, June 16 through Monday, June 23, increasing from a six-day to an eight-day
event, with the last day ‘Best of the Fest’ screenings to provide passholders and local
audiences an additional opportunity to catch the award winners and most popular films.
SILVERDOCS will continue to program 100 documentaries, but the number of screenings per films in the program will increase.
“All of us at SILVERDOCS are proud to be a part of the amazing surge in audiences for
documentary film. In 2008, we will be maintaining the quality, focus and intimacy of the
Festival while offering our audiences more options to experience the stellar documentaries and compelling programs that the Festival presents,” said Festival Director Patricia Finneran.
The concurrent International Documentary Conference, building on a track record of success with powerful presenters including Vice President Al Gore, AOL Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis and Academy Award winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme, will extend to new facilities at nearby Montgomery College.
SILVERDOCS also announced it is now accepting submissions for the sixth annual Festival at the AFI Silver Theatre complex in Silver Spring. The Festival is seeking documentary features and shorts that demonstrate excellence in cinematic craft and innovation in storytelling. Filmmakers will compete for $50,000 in combined cash and in-kind prizes. The submission deadlines are January 11 (early), February 15 (regular) and March 7 (late).
More information at
www.SILVERDOCS.com.
“We are continually impressed and inspired by the quality and diversity of work submitted to SILVERDOCS,” said Director of Programming Sky Sitney, “And we are proud to launch films that go on to great critical acclaim, such as last year’s Academy Award winner, THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT and Academy Award nominee, JESUS CAMP. We are excited to discover the gems that await us this year.”
For a third year, SILVERDOCS is joining forces with ACE (Animal Content in Entertainment), a program of the Humane Society of the United States, to offer a feature-length
documentary film grant of $10,000 for the creation of films that include animal issues. For more information about the grant and application process visit,
www.SILVERDOCS.com or
www.ACE-TVFILM.com.
SILVERDOCS presents the best of what the documentary film world has to offer—from the celebrated work of Martin Scorsese (THE LAST WALTZ), Werner Herzog (GRIZZLY MAN) and Michael Apted (49 UP) to the 2007 SILVERDOCS grand jury winner, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, by Director Weijun Chen. Past SILVERDOCS award winners include JESUS CAMP, BORN INTO BROTHELS, DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE, MY ARCHITECT and STREET FIGHT, all of which were nominated for Academy Awards.
Together, the SILVERDOCS Festival and International Documentary Conference are a must-attend event for media professionals working at the cutting edge of content, commerce and community. In 2007, SILVERDOCS attracted over 21,000 attendees including 650
professionals from across the media spectrum—filmmakers, leaders from both private and public media, new media innovators and the philanthropic community.
About SILVERDOCS
SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival brings the best new documentaries to Washington, DC, audiences, with eight days of programming, showcasing 100 films from over 40 countries, plus special screenings and the 4-day International Documentary Conference. Now in its sixth year, SILVERDOCS is the most talked about documentary festival in the United States. The Festival—which will take place June 16 – 23, 2008—serves as a launch pad for independent documentaries, and affords international filmmakers access to US audiences.
As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival—as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 35 years, AFI’s Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at
AFI.com.
About Discovery
Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative
subscribers in over 170 countries. Through TV and digital media, Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks include
Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and Discovery Health, The Science Channel and Discovery HD Theater.
Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse
Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery’s founder and chairman. For more information please visit
www.discovery.com.