Rough Cut

How do you get funding for your film before you have anything to show? In this episode, Jennie sits down with Co-founders Lisa Kleiner Chanoff and Bonni Cohen, and Senior Program Director Megan Gelstein of Catapult Film Fund, which provides development funding to help story-driven and cinematic documentary films get off the ground.Catapult Film Fund gives early support to propel projects forward that hold the promise of a story that should be uniquely told in film. It provides development funding, up to $20,000, to documentary filmmakers who have a strong story to tell, have secured access, and are ready to create a fundraising piece to help unlock critical production funding. It also enables filmmakers to develop their projects to the next level, at the early stage when funding is hard to find. The Fund supports powerful and moving storytelling, by filmmakers with a strong voice across a broad spectrum of subject matter.Apply and learn more at catapultfilmfund.orgAlso check out Catapult's annual Rough Cut retreat.Rough Cut on InstagramHost Jennie Butler on InstagramProducer Sky Dylan-Robbins on InstagramLearn more about The Video Consortium

Sven Pape, a popular documentary and narrative film editor, talks about the challenges of selecting footage in documentary editing and the process of organizing the documentary based on beats and major turning points. They also discuss transitioning from short docs to feature-length films, moving forward from the rough cut stage, and the importance of making radical choices in editing.

Marco Williams is a documentary filmmaker and professor of film production at Northwestern University. His films—which center around race, injustice, and American history—have received numerous awards, including the Gotham Documentary Achievement Award and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Marco has also been nominated three times for the Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize.My films are about America; about whom we have been; who we are; who we aspire to be. I have committed myself to creating a record of America by trying to deal with the topics that challenge our sense of who we are and our sense of justice, but more importantly, to make films that will have sustained impact...I try to tell the stories we’d rather not tell. - Marco Williamshttps://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on InstagramThanks Handale Hsu for mixing this episode.

The Film Festival Alliance is a community of more than 180 film festivals around the globe. It's Executive Director, Lela Meadow-Conner, and Director of Membership, Barbara Twist, come on the podcast to discuss the role of festivals in a filmmaker's career and the future of festivals amid COVID-19.https://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on Instagram

Claire Gordon, executive producer of 'Explained' on Netflix and former senior producer for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,' discusses how Vox and Last Week Tonight simplify complex topics through video. She also explores the challenges and skills required to communicate clearly, as well as the quick production of the first episode of Explained: Coronavirus. The podcast covers topics such as transforming scripts, conducting interviews, and the success of Vox Media in explaining complex ideas.

Joe Coscarelli is the host of NYTimes’, Diary of a Song, a video series that breaks down how pop songs get made. The series relies entirely on FaceTime interviews, cellphone footage, and in-house production, giving it a unique, pared-down feel. The show has featured artists like Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X, and Billie Eilish.https://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Joe Coscarelli on InstagramFind Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on Instagram

Rachel Mason is an artist, musician and filmmaker from Los Angeles. Her film, Circus of Books, is an intimate portrait of her parents, who owned and operated one of the largest distributors of gay porn in the U.S. Rachel discusses the challenges of making a film about her family, her decision to include herself in the film, and how she was able to get Ryan Murphy on board as Executive Producer.https://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Rachel Mason on InstagramFind Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on Instagram

Erin Lee Carr is a New York-based director, producer and writer. Her true crime documentaries for HBO include Mommy Dead and Dearest, At the Heart of Gold, and I Love You, Now Die. Her latest work, the four-part docuseries How to Fix a Drug Scandal, premiered on Netflix on April 1, 2020.Find Erin on InstagramEric Arthur Fernandez is a producer and cinematographer that specializes in documentary filmmaking about contemporary social-issues and current affairs. His work has appeared in the New York Times, PBS, VICE News, and The Guardian, and he regularly works as a documentary cinematographer at places like National Geographic, VICE News Tonight on HBO, PBS Newshour, Al Jazeera, the BBC, as well as for various streaming outlets. When he's not working, he likes surfing, climbing, watching Seinfeld, reading, and hanging out with his cat Ingie.Find Eric on InstagramBen C. Solomon is a documentary filmmaker, photographer and journalist. He is the inaugural Filmmaker-in-residence at Frontline on PBS. Prior to Frontline, Ben spent 9 years as a foreign multimedia correspondent for the New York Times, and was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Ebola Crisis in West Africa.Find Ben on InstagramElise Coker is a documentary filmmaker, video journalist, and artist based in New York City. She has created work for media outlets including VICE, NBC News, Topic, Al Jazeera, National Geographic, and PBS, and is currently working on documentary projects in Taiwan and in the Arctic.Find Elise on InstagramElettra Fiumi is a Florentine-American director, producer and editor based in Lugano, Switzerland. She heads Fiumi Studios and has worked on documentaries for Netflix, Tribeca Studios, The New Yorker, Whatsapp, Airbnb and others. She founded and heads VCItalia, the Video Consortium's Italian chapter in Milan, Italy.Find Elettra on Instagramhttps://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on Instagram

Wendy Cohen is the president of Picture Motion, an agency that creates social impact marketing campaigns for films. Wendy and her team work to maximize a film's impact—whether it's changing laws, bringing awareness to a social issue, or changing hearts and minds. This episode answers the question: How do you start a social movement around your film? https://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on InstagramThis episode is brought to you by Musicbed, which has made it easier than ever for you to find the song you're looking for with intuitive and easy-to-use browse and search, amazing indie artists and bands, incredible composers, and thousands of songs to choose from. To create your free account, go to musicbed.com. Plus, as a Rough Cut listener, you’ll get one month of subscription for free — or 20% off of a single-song license. Just enter promo code ROUGHCUT, all one word, when you check out. 

Chloe Gbai is the director of If/Then, a Tribeca Film Institute initiative that gives grants and provides mentorship to filmmakers creating short documentaries. She was previously a programmer at PBS POV Shorts. In this episode, Chloe gives advice on how to put together a strong grant application, and shares her insight on what makes a good shot doc. She is based in NYC.Mentioned in the episode:The Balloonfest That Went Horribly WrongFor more info visit https://www.roughcutpodcast.com/Find Chloe on InstagramFind Rough Cut on InstagramFind Host Jennie Butler on InstagramFind Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins on Instagram