Upcoming documentary film festivals, in Canada and abroad:

CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
October 4-18, 2007 - Chicago (USA)

Since its inception, the Chicago International Film Festival has celebrated the best that the world of film has to offer with the belief that movies can involve an audience by challenging, entertaining and inspiring them. They've remained true to the spirit of discovery for over four decades. It is North America's oldest competitive international film festival.
Deadline for submissions: July 25, 2007

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
October 4-11, 2007 — Yamagata (Japan)

By bringing together documentary films and valuable visual media from around the world, YIDFF offers all festival participants a space for sharing a rich visual culture and facilitating international exchange, and also provides support to filmmakers. Moreover, YIDFF conducts activities to promote visual culture throughout the year, aiming to contribute to local development. It holds two competitions: The “International Competition”, for feature documentaries from around the world, and “New Asian Currents”, for documentaries, all lengths, made by filmmakers from or living in Asia.

INTERNATIONAL LEIPZIG FESTIVAL FOR DOCUMENTARY AND ANIMATED FILMS
October 29-November 4, 2007 - Leipzig (Germany)

DOK Leipzig is an annual festival for documentary and animated films. Alongside its four competition sections (International Documentaries, International Animated Film, German Documentaries, International Young Talent Competition for Documentaries "Generation DOK"), the Festival presents a number of sidebars. The Festival is a well-attended festival with a programme selection at a crossroad between East and West. It is increasingly being portrayed as a first-rate address for the genre on the circuit. Leipzig has established itself as an industry meeting place with platforms for professionals to sell films (DOK Market), pitch ideas (DOK Ideas), create networking opportunities (DOK Co-production Market) and discuss current trends and developments (DOK Summits). For its 50th anniversary this year, DOK Leipzig will further expand the festival's industry offers with DOK Market Digital, offering additional viewing seats to industry professionals and international buyers.
Deadline for submissions: July 28, 2007

PUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
October 4-12, 2007 - Pusan (South Korea)

This FIAPF-recognized festival offers a competition for first and second features by Asian directors. It also offers a strong, non-competitive review of the current world production. The event programs fiction features, documentaries, short and animated films.
Deadline for submissions: July 31, 2007

KASSEL DOCUMENTARY AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
November13-18, 2007 - Kassel (Germany)

This documentary film and video/Art Video/Multimedia Art festival has three distinct sections: A contemporary documentary film & video competition which is the main body of the event; a competitive exhibition called "MONITORING": for media installations and sculptures; a symposium called "interfiction", presenting conferences, presentations and workshops. The festival accepts proposals for symposium presentations. The festival shows about 240 international documentary films and videos per year, which are seen by more then 60,000 guests and professionals.
Deadline for submissions: August 1, 2007

VIENNALE 2007
October 19-31, 2007 - Vienna (Austria)

The VIENNALE has set itself the target to make cinema approachable in all its variety, its affluence of languages, history, and forms of narration, as well as its aesthetic and political perspectives. The VIENNALE's intention is - in sharp contrast and opposition to the prevailing hegemonic and narrowing tendencies of a profit-orientated cinema - to spread the fan of this world's images and sounds as far, freely and openly as possible. The VIENNALE, as well as every single one of the works shown in its context are supposed to be an offer, an invitation, a proposition. It is the individual work of art that constitutes both the smallest and the largest entity of the festival. The VIENNALE does not seek orientation along the business, the daily fashions and fortuities, but along the inherent matter itself. Most ideally, the festival - just as any good film - is but the idea of one such matter.
Deadline for submissions: August 1, 2007

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL - IDFA 2007
November 22-December 2, 2007 - Amsterdam (Netherlands)

IDFA screens some 200 documentaries divided into more than ten festival programmes. The festival has four competitive programmes. Apart from these competitions, IDFA presents regular programme sections that recur annually, complemented by special sections. These special programmes focus on specific countries, directors and/or themes. Docs for Sale, which happens during IDFA, is a marketplace where producers and sales agents offer creative documentaries to buyers. Entry is possible by means of a separate, Docs for Sale entry form. The FORUM, for the co-financing of international documentaries, takes place from November 26-28, 2007.
Deadline for submissions: August 10, 2007

WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL
November 29-December 7, 2007 - Whistler

The 7th annual Whistler Film Festival kicks off on November 29 for a week of inspiring films, dynamic industry sessions, cool parties and invaluable networking opportunities on and off the slopes at North America's number one ski resort. Don't miss this year's action-packed event, which promises to be one of the most talked-about festivals on the circuit! In particular, check out DOC TALK, which is co-presented by the Whistler Film Festival and DOC BC. DOC TALK is a conference and pitch forum that showcases the Western Canadian documentary production community to broadcasters from around the world and provides producers the opportunity to pitch projects to leading Canadian and International commissioning editors, broadcasters and distributors for feedback, current market advice and potential partnership.
Deadline for submissions: August 10, 2007

KOLKATA FILM FESTIVAL
November 10-17, 2007 - Kolkata (India)

This non-competitive, IFPA-recognized festival of feature-length and short fiction and non-fiction films showed films from 44 countries, in 2005, to an audience of 125,000 to 130,000 film enthusiasts.
Deadline for submissions: August 31, 2007

STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
November 15-25, 2007 - Stockholm (Sweden)

Working as an active business-to-business service towards attending key international and Nordic buyers and foreign sales executives, the Stockholm Industry Office provides screening and meeting facilities. With an extensive library of film, the Stockholm Industry Office offers you the opportunity to see the latest contemporary film releases produced in Sweden.
Deadline for submissions: September 7, 2007

INTERNATIONALE HOFER FILMTAGE (INTERNATIONAL HOF FILM DAYS)
October 23-28, 2007 - Hof (Germany)

This non-competitive festival is a review of the best features and shorts produced in Germany and around the world. A heaven for author films.
Deadline for submissions: September 10, 2007

TBILISI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
December 3-9, 2007 - Tbilisi (Georgia)

The International Competition of this festival specializes in films dealing with the problems of the young generation. The other, non-competitive sections accept feature films, all genres and themes.
Deadline for submissions: September 21, 2007

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
January 3-14, 2008 - Palm Springs (USA)

This festival offers a competition for feature films, fiction or documentary, as well as for short documentaries.
Deadline for submissions: October 15, 2007

BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF NEW CINEMA
February 7-17, 2008 - Berlin (Germany)

The International Forum of New Cinema - or Forum - is the most daring section of the Berlinale programme. Avant-garde, experimental, essays, lengthy observations, political reportages and yet-to-be-discovered cinematographers: in the Forum everything new or unconventional comes together and finds an audience known for its enthusiasm and discerning cinematic eye. The Forum places emphasis on young filmmakers and works that push the limits of the medium and perception itself. Appropriately, all formats are welcome. Documentaries and feature films are treated equally. The Forum programme reflects a desire for a radical, impartial exploration of the grey area between genres. The Forum also shows unusually long films that would have little chance of being screened elsewhere.
Deadline for submissions: November 2, 2007

BERLINALE TALENT CAMPUS #6
February 9-14, 2008 - Berlin (Germany)

This is a program for young, talented cinema artisans from around the world, to meet established industry talents, and to review, with their help, "the latest technical developments, creative tools, stylistic trends, future markets and philosophical perspectives". The programme is designed for "emerging screenwriters, producers, directors, cinematographers, actors, editors, sound engineers and composers with some experience".
Deadline for submissions: November 2, 2007

BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - CO-PRODUCTION MARKET
February 10-12, 2008 - Berlin (Germany)

Berlinale Co-Production Market is a three-day forum for producers to introduce new projects to potential investors, distributors, and production partners. It is an opportunity to present a project in development work to leading international companies. Each year, over 40 projects from 24 countries are presented. Four hundred participants from around the world met in over 1,000 pre-arranged one-on-one sessions with the representatives of the selected film projects.
Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2007

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
February 28-March 9, 2008 - Miami (USA)

This festival has "Documentary Features" competition for World and Ibero-American documentaries which are their filmmaker's first or second feature?as well as the non-competitive sections:?Short films, "International Panorama"?, "Gusman Galas", "On the Edge" for edgy, surprising, shocking stories.
Deadline for submissions: November 7, 2007

MAR DEL PLATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
March 8 to 18, 2008 - Mar del Plata (Argentina)

This festival offers two competitions: "The Official Competition of recent feature films" and the "Women and Film" Section, of feature films directed by women, as well as several non-competitive sections, each programmed by different personalities, critics and specialists. One of these sections presents documentaries.
Deadline for submissions: December 1, 2007