Blog

Alice Carder

Wow – where to start!

It all went by so fast, too fast, a whistle stop tour of everyone and everything you need to know in the world of documentary.

Day 1 -

The excitement had been bubbling away inside me weeks prior to the event. Wednesday morning came and there I was wheeling my over filled suitcase into the lobby of the Ibis, party frocks and shiny shoes dying to be let loose.

The area of the town centre surrounding the showroom cinema, Mecca of the festival, had become like a university campus to first years; the buzz of excitement filling the air as newly formed recognition darted across the smiling faces of delegates passing one another in the street.

I wore my delegate pass around my neck with pride, I felt part of something.

There they were standing in the foyer of the delegate centre, my fellow jurors. I was so happy to see them again after what had been a busy two months since the hothouse. One of the best things about being on the jury is the jury. Sometimes the apathy of youth gives young people a bad name, I’m glad I had the chance to get to know four very different, very talented young people who share my passion for documentaries and for life.

Our first task was to give a talk to young people at the Doc Day about what we feel makes a good documentary. After listening to Andy Glynne from Mosaic Films give an inspiring and practical talk on the hurdles of getting your documentary idea to pitching standard earlier that morning, I wasn’t sure anything I had to say would be quite as profound, or useful; but I gave it a bash anyway.

That’s another great thing about being on the jury… I have recently come to the conclusion that I am addicted to adrenaline and therefore constantly seek out and place myself in challenging situations which plunge me out of the warm womb-like surroundings of my comfort zone and into the cold grasping hands of the doctor pulling me out for a second time.

Speaking on stage to a group of teens was definitely one of these moments. Doing it made me feel scared, then relieved, then happy, then confident, then eager to do it again; in that order.

In short: the youth jury allows you to try things you’ve never done before, and that is pretty much the beauty of life. 

That afternoon we watched ‘P Star Rising’ by Gabriel Noble. It was the film I was most looking forward to watching again and it did not disappoint. Just like the first time I watched it back in August my spine was tingling from top to bottom from the moment P star starts rapping in the first scene.

The emotional energy created by the image of a little girl of 9 years being snook into the back of a Harlem HipHop club before taking to the stage to give a performance akin to those depicted in ‘8 Mile’, was one of the best openers to a documentary I have ever seen.

But the film is far more than a gawping look at a child star. It shows with sensitivity a family struggling to survive against the austerity of their impoverished existence, as single dad Jesse enters his youngest daughter into the rap game in a bid to provide for their future.

Speaking with the director Gabriel Noble I was astonished to hear he’d filmed the whole thing himself over four years. The relationship he’d built up with the family over that time is perhaps best illustrated by the time he recalls P Star and her father turning off the lights and falling asleep while he was still in the room, camera rolling.

Alice Carder

B3 Media Blank Slate Tour

Over the past month or so I have been working as Blank Slate Tour Ambassador for B3 Media in Yorkshire and The Humber.

Like 4Talent, B3 Media also find and nurture new talent with a focus on training, supporting and funding Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic filmmakers and artists.

The Blank Slate Tour is an opportunity for the filmmakers to showcase the films they have made and is also a chance for new talent interested in applying for the scheme to come and see what it’s all about.

My job was to book a venue and publicise the event to the target audience.

There was a good turn out and everyone really enjoyed the films.

One of my favourites was Jubilee by Doug Rao Prod. Centred on a white supremacist recruiting voters for his political party the ‘Patriot’ Party, the film draws some unnerving similarities to current issues surrounding the BNP. The film also premiered at the London Film Festival last night, where I hear it went down very well.

After the screening we headed to the bar where we talked late into the night about some very exciting ideas from next year’s hopefuls… And I of course took the opportunity to pimp myself out as an actress/assistant director to anyone who’d have me!

Overall the evening was a great success and Dom Oliver, Project manager and Producer for B3 Media said it was one of the best screenings they’d had so far, resulting in a blush on my face that matched the pink sequined dress I was wearing.

I really enjoyed my role at B3 and hope to work with them again in the future, maybe on one of the films… In front of, or behind the camera; I’m easy

To find out more about B3 Media visit: http://www.b3media.net

Alice Carder

Wow! What a week I’ve had at Channel4. I’ve watched some incredibly moving documentaries,

all capturing brilliantly a moment in time, accomplished snapshots of a place, of a life that would otherwise be concealed from the world’s eye.

Deciding on the final five was decidedly difficult as we each had our favorites. It is such a subjective process because each of us had connected emotionally with different characters and situations.

I feel I’ve learnt a lot from the intensive process of watching so many documentaries with a critical mind in such a short space of time as well as having the opportunity to discuss them in great detail with my fellow jurors, rather than just watching alone at home.

During the week I developed a criteria on which I found myself evaluating the strengths of a documentary. For me it is imperative that the documentary executes some or all of the following:

1. A strong narrative – The backbone of the thing, story telling is key.
2. Interesting, well developed characters
3. Impressive and stimulating use of sound and visuals
4. The issues raised – Whether these are new and challenging and whether a new voice has been given the opportunity to speak and be heard

I also believe that the directors intentions and opinions on the issues raised will have an effect on the final decision of who will receive the coveted Youth Jury seal of approval and be crowed ‘winner 2009’: But for that we will have to wait until we meet them at the DocFest in November…

As well as gorging myself on thoroughbred footage, my experience of being on the youth jury has been far more than a trip to the cinema.

An exciting realization dawned on me during the week, that having got through to the final 5 out of over 300 applications we, the youth jury had proved our intelligence, dedication and passion for the world of docs.
This meant that I suddenly found myself in conversation with people I’d never dreamed I’d be chatting to over mini burgers and chardonnay and the most surprising thing…they want to talk to YOU!

So I’m standing there in the heart of Channel4, the drum, the circular room just outside their in-house cinema. I’m chatting to Hamish Mykura, Head of CH4 Docs, sharing stories of Scotland. He is particularly interested in the time I spent living in a bus, which now resides on the small Scottish Island of Lismore.

Feeling comfortable in his company I begin to tell him about the documentary I am currently working on. But rather than looking straight through me with a fixed smile, as you’d imagine it would be easy to do when this could be the umpteenth proposal you’ve heard that day, he is genuinely interested!

He promises to put me in touch with Aysha Rafaele, editor of First Cut, channel4’s talent initiative for new directors.

First Cut?! I almost choke on my mini burger bun. At that moment the path ahead of me is illuminated like a snowy street on a winters night, suddenly bathed in light as the street lights snap into action.

I can’t explain to him enough how grateful I’d be for the opportunity to be paired up with a production company. The chance to realise my dream and make my documentary to industry standard with a showing on More4 dangles in front of me like the proverbial carrot.

He quickly explains that all he can do is recommend me and that there are no guarantees. But it doesn’t matter, simply his confidence in my ability and the encouragement I’ve already gleaned from this is enough to get me going, furiously scribbling down in my notebook the next steps I need to take.

A moment of reflection floods over me. I cannot believe I’m standing here having this conversation, a scene I could have never imagined myself being a part of just five years ago as I sat through regular counseling sessions, struggling to stay afloat on my small boat of isolation; battered on both sides by a long and draining sea of depression.

At this moment I feel so strong, so determined and focused on exactly what it is I need to do. It is this certainty and drive pulsing through my body that harbors my happiness.

At last I am no longer a cast away on the frustrating island of ‘Career Options’. I know what I want to do and I’m damn well gonna do it!

Doc making is not a job for me it has become my world. I think about it day and night. Every person I see on the tube, in the street; I wonder: ‘What is his or her story?’ My camcorder has taken up squatter’s rights in my handbag and is whipped out and used at every opportunity. 

Without wanting to appear rude, I thank Hamish for his pledge of help and then assure him that although I would be immeasurably grateful to take up a place on the First Cut programme, if that is not possible, if my application is unsuccessful and lady luck does not shine on me that day; I will be making the documentary anyway, alone.

Whatever happens I will realise my dream.

Raised eyebrows are exchanged between Hamish and Jo Taylor (Head of 4Talent) and I am satisfied I have conveyed my passion enough for one day and that they believe in me.

I’m grinning all the way home on the tube.

Alice Carder

‘Day2 - ‘Meeting Michael Palin’

This morning we met THEE Michael Palin, known by most for his comedy genius in Monty Python. Personally i find that genre of comedy a little out-dated now, although i know i may well be slapped round the gob with a sopping haddock for saying so. However i can appreciate its proud place on the mantlepiece of British comedy and the highly commended talents of those responsible.

Palin really came to my attention when I watched his documentary series ‘Around the world in 80 Days’ and the follow-up ‘Around the World in 20 Years’ which he described as a ‘reunion between friends’ and particularly heart warming as he was able to pick out the people he’d met during his first trip (which was largely mapped out by the director of the programme rather than by Michael himself) who had made a particularly lasting impression on him and whom he wished to visit again. Watching these documentaries was an eye-opener for me: I took a tiny bite of the world and it tasted gooood. Enthused, I realised travel journalism was where my heart lay.

We have two things in common, Michael and I: our paternal love for our shared home-town of Sheffield and the self-confessed Dromomaniac living inside both of us.

As he entered the room I felt my tummy flip over like a slinky falling backwards down a flight of stairs. But as he began to talk, revelling in tales of Bedouin camps in the Sahara and breaking bread with extraordinary individuals all over the world, I felt his eyes pulling me into his fantasmical world of wonder and extraordinaire.  I felt like a small child sitting comfy in the cosy lap of my grandfather as he recounted magnificent memoires for my sole entertainment.

When asked if he had anymore documentaries planned he replied coyly: ‘never say never’, though the warm film that glazed his eyes as he talked of his grandchildren suggested he was far more content to watch them grow these days and I thought how lucky they were to have this remarkable man in their lives.’

Alice x