What's the connection between documentaries and reality TV?
You might want to make your opinion known and learn what others have to say in response to that question at WESTDOC's West Coast Documentary and Reality Conference, taking place in Santa Monica from September 14-16.
The conference is designed to connect those who make documentaries and reality programs with those who finance and buy them. "The documentary village meets the reality village" is the way they put it.
The program has two days of panels and presentations featuring a roster of nonfiction heavyweights, including:
- Thom Beers - President and CEO of Original Productions - Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men
- R.J. Cutler - Filmmaker and President of Actual Reality Pictures - The War Room, A Perfect Candidate, American High
- Susan Lacey, Executive Producer, American Masters, PBS
- David Goldberg, Chairman, Endemol North America - Deal or No Deal, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wipeout
- Steve Cheskin – Senior Vice President of Programming, TLC
- Gena McCarthy – Senior Vice President of Programming, Discovery
- John Saade - Senior Vice President of Alternative Programming,
ABC - Charles Foley - Vice President of Programming, Animal Planet
- Steve Burns – Executive Vice President of Programming, National Geographic Network
- Beth Greenwald - Vice President of Programming, E! Entertainment
- Charles Norlander - Vice President of Programming, History Channel
- Cynthia Kane - Program Manager, ITVS
- Tony Disanto - Executive Vice President of Programming, MTV
- Sharon Levy - Vice President of Programming, Spike TV
- Robyn Hutt – Senior Vice President Current Programming, Tru TV
And on the third day, the conference turns into an intensive pitch fest where nonfiction villagers can present creative ideas for realmentaries or docuality programming that may eventually find it's way into our global living room.
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