Montreal, Monday, August 1st, 2022 – The Forum RIDM is pleased to announce the return of the Cuban Hat Pitch, in collaboration with the Montreal cooperative Makila, as part of the 18th edition of RIDM’s professional market. Documentary producers and filmmakers with projects of any type, format, medium and at any stage of production, are invited to submit them before September 5. With numerous industry awards, the Cuban Hat Pitch, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, is a festive high point of the Forum RIDM.
Prior to the event, taking place on November 21, five submitted projects will be selected by a committee of experts. Finalists will receive three pitch training sessions offered by Makila and accreditations for all Forum RIDM activities. They will be invited to defend their projects on the Cuban Hat stage in front of the general public for a chance to win cash prizes and services offered by our partners. Any unfinished linear, serial, interactive or virtual reality documentary can be submitted to the competition.
This year's Cuban Hat already contains several cash prizes and services and continues to reach out to more partners. In addition to bringing the documentary community together by gathering artists, industry professionals and the audience, the amount raised will support the production of the winning projects and lead them to the success they deserve. The list of prizes continues to grow, and can be viewed on the event page.
Here is the list of prizes confirmed to date:
● Agence TOPO: 1 free registration to its next training and mentoring program in multiplatform production
● Cinema Politica: 1 cash prize + support in their "Adopt-a-doc" program for a project that encourages social change
● DOK.fest Munich: 1 festival pass in 2023 with access to the DOK.forum market
● Hot Docs: 1 All-Access accreditation for Hot Docs 2023
● Documentary Association of Canada (DOC): 1 year subscription for each member of the winning team
● L'inis: 1 discount on a training program
● Lussier & Khouzam: $1000 in legal advice
● Main Film: $1000 in equipment rental and production/post-production services + 1 year membership to Main Film
● SLA Location: 1 prize in rental services
● T&S Coop: 50% discount on subtitling services (up to $800)
● Vidéographe: 1 year membership + one week and one weekend of editing room rental and one day of digitization room use
● Xn Québec: 1 general membership as a professional member for one year
We thank Makila and all our partners of the Cuban Hat Pitch: Agence TOPO, Cinema Politica, DOK.fest Munich, Hot Docs, the Documentary Association of Canada (DOC), L'inis, Lussier & Khouzam, Main Film, SLA Location, T&S Coop, Vidéographe, and Xn Québec.
About Makila
Makila is a non-profit solidarity cooperative based in Montreal, Canada, composed of members who have brought together their diverse skills, backgrounds and interests to create, produce and distribute participatory media projects in a spirit of collaboration and reciprocity. Conceptualized by Giulia Frati and Diego Briceño, the Cuban Hat Pitch is a concept owned by Makila.
About Forum RIDM
Forum RIDM aims to stimulate the production and distribution of independent documentaries, both nationally and internationally, by promoting the exchange of information and meetings between the various professionals in the documentary industry. Roundtables, conferences and workshops on major current issues will bring together over 300 filmmakers and representatives of relevant production, broadcasting and distribution companies over five days.
The Forum RIDM industry market will take place from November 19 to 23, 2022.
Information: ridm.ca/en/forum-ridm / info@ridm.ca
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For interview or visual material requests, please contact:
Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca