Presented by the California Film Institute during DocLands Documentary Film Festival April 30 - May 3, 2020, DOCPITCH is an invitation for filmmakers to submit their unfinished FEATURE (60 + minutes) documentary projects currently in development.

Up to five filmmakers with feature documentary projects currently in development will be selected to present a three-minute verbal pitch, three- to five-minute trailer and participate in a ten-minute Q&A with the audience, comprised of invited funders, organization representatives, distributors, broadcasters, and the general public.

DocLands is a non-competitive, inclusive festival dedicated to building connections and partnerships and works to invigorate the business and art of nonfiction filmmaking. Through public screenings, engaged conversations and grassroots networking events, DocLands aims to build an active, involved and fully supportive community around documentary film. It showcases documentary film in a variety of genres and with a diversity of content, within three main programming sections (Art of Impact, The Great Outdoors, and WonderLands) while highlighting films that transcend the traditional definition of the documentary.

Awards & Prizes

All members of the audience will be given a ballot so they can vote on their favorite filmmaker pitch. After the presentations, the ballots will be collected and tallied with the winning project announced on site and presented with a $25,000. cash award plus a 2020 CFI Membership.

Rules & Terms

To be eligible, applicants MUST submit the following project elements/information. Please also submit brief key crew member bios (director/ producer) under Credits.

• Title of the project
• Logline
• Synopsis/Proposal
• Final budget amount and fund required to complete the project
• Approximate runtime of finished feature film
• Initial trailer or teaser
• Production stills that can be used for online promotional purposes
• Brief key crew bios (director/producer)
• What stage you expect to be at in May 2020, desired completion date

**If you have unique aspects or access to share or wish to explain in more depth, please include those in a Cover Letter. If you have a website, please also include that.

If your project is chosen to participate in the pitch you will be required to:
• Submit your FINAL 3-5 MINUTE TRAILER by Monday, April 17, 2020.
• Make your own way to DocLands to present your project in person.

***IMPORTANT: If you are unable to make these commitments, you are NOT eligible to enter the DocPitch competition.

The shortlisted filmmakers will be notified by March 30, 2020 with a deadline of April 17 to submit final trailers.

Filmmakers will be DISQUALIFIED if they fail to submit their FINAL 3-5 minute trailer by the deadline or are unable to attend in person.

DocPitch will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA