Farewell from [old] FourDocs

Sadly, the time has come for FourDocs to draw to a close. Although we’re very proud of the things that FourDocs has achieved, we also feel that it’s time to find other new ways of identifying and championing new documentary talent.

FourDocs was set up in 2005 to provide a platform for new filmmakers to showcase their own short documentaries, receive feedback from leading industry experts and discuss them with each other. The site functioned as an online film school, with video guides covering everything from structure and lighting to editing choices. The archive timeline contextualised 30 or so definitive documentaries, such as Listen to Britain, The Lift and The Boy Who’s Skin Fell Off, and perhaps most inspirational were the interviews with award winning directors like Molly Dineen and Paul Watson.

We’ve had nearly 900 film submissions over the years, and seen 24 of them commissioned to be broadcast as 3 Minute Wonders. We also won a BAFTA for interactive innovation in 2007.

Four years is a long time online and things have changed dramatically. Video sharing enabled by sites like YouTube and Vimeo, and online community sites like Facebook and MySpace have changed what we do online. When Fourdocs launched there weren’t many ways of getting your video seen. There are now hundreds of ways filmmakers can upload, showcase, comment on and create communities around their work.

Although we will no longer be accepting video submissions on FourDocs, the site will stay up so you can still watch the guides, archive films and a curated choice of user films. On the blog roll I have also pointed you in the direction of some documentary blogs to keep you informed.

We’d like to thank everyone who’s participated in Fourdocs over the years, from its founding fathers Peter Dale, Anthony Lilley and Patrick Uden, and its Editors – before me, Charlie Phillips and Emily Renshaw-Smith. Most importantly we’d like to thank you, the people who watch, comment on and submit films. FourDocs would not have become such a fruitful entity without you.

FourDocs was a special project that raised the bar of what was acceptable as a piece of low-fi factual filmmaking. You don’t need loads of money, but you do need a plan and style that compliments the subject. I hope the filmmakers who got theirs reviewed and streamed feel like they gained something from the experience.

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