Tribeca Film Institute and A+E Films Launch Three-Day Workshop

Industry Leaders including Academy Award®-Winning Producers and Directors to Lead Master Classes and Mentor Participants at First-Ever A+E Films Feature Doc Storytelling Workshop


[New York, NY – The Tribeca Film Institute today announced a new workshop for filmmakers in partnership with A+E Films that will provide in-depth assistance for five filmmaking teams with feature theatrically-minded documentary projects in development. The TFI/A+E Films Feature Doc Storytelling Workshop, a three-day program designed to help position commercially-viable documentaries for the big screen, will provide one-on-one mentorship, pitch training and a pitch forum, master class discussions, case studies, screenings, and networking opportunities. The event launches today at the newly opened Made in NY Media Center by IFP in DUMBO.

Master classes will be led by two-time Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching for Sugar Man). Additional industry leaders will serve as mentors, including Academy Award®-winner Ross Kauffman (Born Into Brothels), famed producer Julie Goldman (Buck, A Place at the Table), A+E Films’ Molly Thompson (Jesus Camp, The Tillman Story, September Issue), TFI’s Director of Documentary Programming Ryan Harrington and TFI’s Director of Digital Initiatives Ingrid Kopp.

“It is an honor to partner with A+E Films on this new initiative supporting long-form content in a world increasingly focused on short-form,” said Ryan Harrington, Director of Documentary Programming, TFI. “We are always looking for documentaries with compelling characters and unique stories that have that ’lean forward’ effect and our goal with this workshop is to instill similar skills in the filmmakers when they are developing their film projects.”

“A+E Films is committed to helping filmmakers find their voice,” said Molly Thompson, Senior Vice President of A+E Films. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Tribeca Film Institute on this incredible initiative.”

Participants in the inaugural TFI/A+E Films Feature Doc Storytelling Workshop include:

• Pride: MUSHARRAF IN EXILE, Directed and Produced by Mohammed Ali Naqvi (2012 TAA, GTDF grantee for Children of the Red Mosque); Produced by Jared Ian Goldman – Exiled former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, despite having a flawed legacy as dictator and being sought for arrest on murder charges, decides to return to Pakistan and run for President.
• Silenced, Directed by James Spione (2013 GTDF grantee); Produced by Daniel Chalfen (2013 GTDF grantee) – In a time of increasing secrecy, four national security whistleblowers fight to reveal the darkest corners of America’s war on terror as the government steps up its campaign to punish them.
• (T)error, Directed and Produced by Lyric R. Cabral (2013 TAA grantee) and David Felix Sutcliffe (2013 TAA grantee)—(T)ERROR is the first film to explore—in real time—an active FBI counter-terrorism sting operation, from both the perspective of a government informant and the suspect that he has been assigned to monitor.
• The Hand That Feeds, Directed and Produced by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick – An undocumented immigrant deli worker sets out to end abuses at a Manhattan bagel shop and winds up making history.
• Untitled Transgender Youth Documentary, Directed and Produced by Eric Juhola (2011 TAA grantee for Broken Heartland), Produced by Jeremy Stulberg (2011 TAA grantee for Broken Heartland) and Randy Stulberg (2011 TAA grantee for Broken Heartland)—The film follows a landmark case in Colorado, where a 6-year-old male-to-female transgender girl is banned from using the girls’ bathroom at her elementary school.

About the Tribeca Film Institute
The Tribeca Film Institute is a 501(c)3 year round nonprofit arts organization founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in the wake of September 11, 2001. TFI empowers filmmakers through grants and professional development, and is a resource and advocate for individual artists in the field. The Institute’s educational programming leverages an extensive film community network to help underserved New York City students learn filmmaking and gain the media skills necessary to be productive citizens and creative individuals in the 21st century. Administering a dozen major programs annually, TFI is a critical contributor to the fabric of filmmaking and aids in protecting the livelihood of filmmakers and media artists.

For more information and a list of all TFI programs visit http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/

For images please download: https://tribecafilminstitute.org/press_releases/images/ae_workshop

About A+E Films
A+E Films is the feature documentary production arm of A+E Studios. A+E Films is committed to developing the work of outstanding independent filmmakers and helping them reach the broadest possible audience. A+E Films commissions, acquires and provides finishing funds for feature documentaries intended for co-branded theatrical release. Films include the 2006 and 2007 Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature, Murderball and Jesus Camp; Nanette Burstein’s American Teen, which received the Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival; Amir Bar-Lev’s My Kid Could Paint That; R.J. Cutler’s The September Issue; Amir Bar-Lev’s 2011 PGA Award nominee The Tillman Story, Alex Gibney’s 2011 PGA Award and DGA Award nominee Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, The BAFTA Award winner The Imposter and Mike Myers directorial debut, Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.