Docs by the Sea, the only international forum focused on Southeast Asian documentary projects, will continue in this year’s fourth edition via its Online Platform. The forum which features a Storytelling and Editing Lab and a Pitching Forum will run for two weeks from August 13 to 28 in which the two programs will run concurrently. During this span, it will be attended by filmmakers, mentors, and industry decision-makers alike with the aims of developing relationships and collaborations within the film community of Southeast Asia. 

Four projects from the Philippines will participate in Docs by the Sea 2020’s storytelling and editing lab. Under the storytelling lab section, A Dying Business (dir. Chona M.) Bantay Bukid (Forest Guards) (dir. Pia Duran), and The Altar Boys (dir. Bryan Kristoffer Brazil). These films will have the opportunity to gain support from mentors with the aim of telling compelling stories, perfecting their pitch, and maximizing the film to its greatest potential. 

Still from A Dying Business. Photo from Docs by the Sea website.

Meanwhile, Wiretapping my Grandparents (dir. Julian Miguel Hernandez) will be among 10 projects to participate in the editing lab section. The mentors for this lab will support Wiretapping my Grandparents by providing it with in-depth consultancy from their world-class backgrounds. 

This will be the fourth year that Filipino filmmaking has been represented in Docs by the Sea. During its first year, the Docs by the Sea film lab featured the acclaimed 2019 documentary, Aswang (dir. Alyx Arumpac). Since its first run in 2017, the film lab has supported over 20 projects from the Philippines.

Still from The Altar Boys. Photo from Docs by the Sea website.

Docs by the Sea is organized by In-Docs, a non-profit organization for documentary filmmaking, alongside the Indonesian governmental department Bekraf. The documentary forum was founded with the aim of supporting Southeast Asian documentary filmmaking and providing the genre a platform for networking, funding, and distribution. 

Still from Bantay Bukid. Photo from Docs by the Sea website.

This year, in addition to the film lab and pitching forum Docs by the Sea 2020 will also provide virtual webinars open to the public. The organization will be releasing more information regarding these public seminars through their social media pages and newsletters.

To learn more about Docs by the Sea, visit www.docsbythesea.org or see their official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/docsbythesea/