Doc/Fest offers young people unique access to the documentary industry.

Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival is teaming up with 4Talent and The Grierson Trust to give young people an unparalleled insight into the world of documentary. Doc/Fest and 4Talent will be presenting an exclusive HotHouse offering twelve young people contact with industry professionals and access to documentary training.

This pioneering HotHouse, hosted uniquely for the documentary voices of tomorrow, will be held between 11 and 15 August 2008.

The twelve 16-21 year olds, eager to get a foot in the door of the documentary business, have been selected from hundreds of applicants from around the UK. The aim of the HotHouse, a five-day, intensive course led by industry professionals, is to encourage young people to have a bigger voice in the documentary industry. The participants will gain a unique insight into how the documentary business works from some of the some of the UK’s best documentary professionals. The HotHouse explores all aspects of filmmaking, from ideas and conception, through to production and exhibition. This specialised and focused course will give the participants an unprecedented look inside the documentary industry.

The HotHouse participants will then select five Youth Jurors to form a panel responsible for selecting the winner of the Grierson:Sheffield Youth Jury award. The panel will be chaired and mentored by Emma Hindley of The Grierson Trust. The 16-21 year-olds will view a long list of nine never before seen films, before bestowing a prestigious Grierson Award and a £2000 cash prize on one lucky filmmaker at Doc/Fest, taking place between 5 to 9 November 2008.

Heather Croall, Director of Doc/Fest, says: “Young people are already at the forefront of factual filming, using, for example, camera phones to capture stories and posting the footage on You Tube. It’s just that they often don’t call it documentary. This HotHouse is about harnessing that enthusiasm and potential, and giving these young people rare access to industry professionals and training. Doc/Fest is intent upon supporting filmmakers and the industry throughout the year, whatever their stage of development, so it’s really exciting to see such an overwhelming response to this project”.

Emma Hindley, Co-Vice Chair, The Grierson Trust, says: “The Sheffield:Grierson Youth Jury Award was created last year to encourage young people to engage with documentaries by directly involving them in the process of judging films and awarding a prize. For most of the jury of young people, it was the first time they had ever watched a documentary. We hope that this new partnership between Doc/Fest, The Grierson Trust and 4Talent will spur on more newcomers to the field and continue to support the future of factual film making – whether for tv, film or online.”

Jo Taylor, 4Talent says: It has been fascinating for us to see the passion all our Youth Jury applicants have shown for documentary film, for compelling stories and moving arguments about the world around them. From a drive to communicate the importance and relevance of science in our modern world to a desire to show that young people have a keen interest in everything political, the motivations and perspectives of this year’s jury really talk to the diversity of young people’s voices in the UK today. We can’t wait to start working with them.”