IDFAcademy: Cross Media Documentaries

The IDFAcademy continues to switch on new lightbulbs in the mind. On a cold Amsterdam Sunday morning, the Compagnietheater auditorium was full of people wanting to learn more about sharing through media.

Daniel Cross and Brett Gaylor from Canada have been involved in cross media documentaries for 8 years. In their website www.opensourcecinema.com, they offer a great variety of footage for public use. They want people to produce their own films by editing the images provided. "Travelling to shoot one street in a particular country can be a luxury sometimes" says Gaylor. "We are trying to increase participation by providing different tools and materials". Cross emphasizes the political importance of the idea and addresses the project as a democratic system with the opportunity for self representation. Now with thousands of members, they want to pass on the spirit of inventing new paths of communication through media.

Similarly, but in a more specific way, ‘Gaza Sderot In Spite of Everything’ uses video as a communication tool. Joel Ronez and Serge Gordey produced a simultaneous story in two neighbouring cities of Israel and Palestine. On an equally divided page we see two cities, different stories, in parallel ways. As they also care about viewer participation, they put the project online with different tools: You can see short videos by using search tags: time, faces, maps and topics. Like on Youtube, there is a box below the video to leave comments - which allows you to do so in 5 languages.

Both of the projects suggest that to tell your story, you don’t necessarily need an HD Camera or a 100.000 euro budget. There are many ways to develop and apply your ideas through sharing. Contributing to and enriching one another’s work seems to be a perfect start for newcomers.

Selma Åževkli