The Documentary Organization of Canada
Launches
WE LOVE DOCUMENTARY: For Real
A Public Campaign to Support and Celebrate Docs
March 31st, 2011 –Today the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) announces the launch of a nation wide grassroots campaign to celebrate the popularity, appetite for and long tradition of documentary in this country. The campaignʼs goal is: To
significantly raise the profile of documentary films and filmmakers by publicly promoting awareness, support and viewership of Canadian and international documentary films across Canada and the world.
The launch of WE LOVE DOCUMENTARY: For Real follows in response to the release of Getting Real 4: an Economic Profile of the Canadian Documentary Production Industry in Toronto on March 31st and will swing into full action during the 2011 edition of Hot Docs International Film Festival. As the Getting Real 4 research illustrates, documentary production has dropped to its lowest level in over six years. Added to that is the impact of a continuing decline in funding in Canada for all forms of documentary and the lack of viable new distribution models. Thousands of filmmakers are being forced to change careers or are unemployed in what used to be a thriving and productive sector. The Getting Real series of industry profiles is produced and published by DOC.
The good news is the publicʼs engagement with Canadian documentary, both in Canada and abroad, has never been stronger. Over the last decade Hot Docs, North Americaʼs highest profile documentary festival, has seen a 750% increase in attendance. The number of theatrical screenings and box office returns for feature documentaries are steadily increasing. Grassroots community screenings like Open Cinema in Victoria are sprouting up across the country in response to the demand for socially relevant documentaries.
Visit the campaignʼs website www.WeLoveDocumentary.com which officially launches today to discover more about the campaign as it rolls out, download official campaign web banners, find out hot news about upcoming documentary events in communities across Canada and – coming soon – testimonials from film fans, notable filmmakers and arts and culture advocates about why they love documentaries.
WE LOVE DOCUMENTARY (WeLD) is organized by a group of volunteer documentary filmmakers passionately committed to the survival of documentary in the 21st century. Contact us at WeLoveDocumentary@gmail.com with your questions and suggestions. You can also visit our Facebook page or tweet us @WeLoveDoc.
