Stepdoc

In the opening of the 4th Romanian Film Festival in London (April 2007), the Ratiu Foundation announced the launch of its new programme, STEPdoc. The programme aims to improve the ‘minor’ status attached to documentary practice in Romania, and to reinvest documentary film with both a public function and with potential for aesthetic innovation.

STEPdoc consists of two mobility grants per year (worth £1,500 each) which will allow two Romanian film makers, at an early stage of their career, one month of immersion in the UK documentary culture, towards the development of adocumentary project with international potential.

The mobility grant is to be used for the individual research of a specific project set in the UK and / or for networking with a UK-based company in view of the development of a common film project. On a broader level, STEPdoc would provide an opportunity to gain inspiration and to take part in the vibrant British documentary culture.

The first round of applications for STEPdoc was open between May and October 2007. The applications received were considered by the Foundation, advised by film journalist and documentary film expert Adina Bradeanu. The Foundation decided to support two applicants with one mobility grant each, which are to be used at any time between November 2007 and November 2008.

The first two STEPdoc recipients are Adina Pintilie and Corina Radu.

In both cases, the board was impressed both by the film-makers’ recently completed documentaries (Don’t Get Me Wrong by Adina Pintilie, and Bar de Zi and Other Stories by Corina Radu), and by their projects in development: namely, a project on metropolitan loneliness by Adina Pintilie, and respectively a biographical documentary on Queen Mary of Romania by Corina Radu.

The two film-makers will decide on the best time to make use of their STEPdoc grants. We are happy to see that Adina Pintilie was re-confirmed as a documentary film talent through the Golden Dove recently awarded by the International Documentary Festival in Leipzig (29 October - 4 November) and the Best Woman Director Award at the International Film Festival of Contemporary Cinema, Mexico.

The new funding session for STEPdoc will start in May 2008, with applications being accepted until 1 September 2008.

For information about STEPdoc 2008 send an e-mail to mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com or go to www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com