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It was reported last week by the Joint United Nations Programme on Aids (UNAids)  that the HIV pandemic which started 28 years ago is officially in decline. According to the annual update the number of new HIV infections peaked in the mid-1990s and has declined by almost a third.

Recent news will mean further emphasis upon tomorrow’s World AIDS Day, a day that is dedicated to raising awarness of the AIDS pandemic. Acting in global coalition - around the world forums and conferences will work in alliance with global constituency-based networks such as Human Rights Watch.

As part of World AIDS Day The Sundance Channel have scheduled the U.S. television premiere of  Where the Water Meets the Sky. The film is directed by David Eberts, written by Jordan Roberts: scribe for The March of the Penguins, and narrated by Morgan Freeman. Where the Water Meets the Sky follows a group of Northern Zambian women who learn how to use filmmaking as a way to speak out about their lives and the staggering number of young women orphaned by AIDS in their country. More celebrities have contributed by film to mark World AIDS Day 2009, I Am Because We Are : is a call to action on behalf of the orphans of Malawi, from writer-producer Madonna and director Nathan Risswma. All these films will  be part of Sundance’s strand dedicated to World AIDS Day 2009.

We also recomend watching joiningthedocs.tv title Big Brother Aids. Big Brother has been a cultural phenomenon causing controversy in many countries across the world, but many were outraged when the show broadcast live love stories and relationships, in a continent where an entire generation had been crippled by this deadly virus. Big Brother Aids explores how it is the attitudes of everyday people towards the virus that can be one of the most detrimental factors in the war against AIDS.

Lost in film in 'where the Water Meets the Sky'.

The film follows Henry Hudson Luyomba, an exuburant 23 year- old who has learnt to accept his HIV status, for him part of beating the epidemic is talking about it openly.  We watch as Henry appears on a national radio station to openly talk of his illness. This film has sparked passionate debates both in Africa and overseas about the role of the media in fight against aids. Whatever this debate, the film is undeniably an honest and frank portrayal of an HIV positive person living in Africa today watch here.

It’s been a little over a week since the closure of another eventful Sheffield Doc/Fest In offical partnership with joiningthedocs.tv this year’s festival played host to a collection of new trophies. Perhaps one of the most useful new categories was the festival’s green award. The award is for achievement in environmentalism and climate change challeges and went to The Blood of the Rose. A title by director Harry Singer that retells the life and death of filmmaker and conversationalist Joan Root.

Steel and cinema : Sheffield produces great things.

The Sheffield innovation award was presented to the widely mentioned LoopLoop. Director and producer Patrick Bergeron’s film was shot on a series of train journeys around Vietnam. Colourful and exciting this mixed-media feature was praised for applying fresh and innovative techniques to feature -length documentary.

One of the most publicised awards at the festival is the special jury award, noted for excellence in style, substance and approach. This was awarded to the title Videocracy a startling expose of Berlusconi and his tight grip over the Italian media. Moreover, the film looks at a country’s obsession with fame, sexuality and greed, my bet is that it won’t be broadcast in Italy any time soon.

The 14th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest was a highly impressive one and It seems the festival is getting greater recognition each year.  Doc/Fest ticket sales went up a total of 30% on last year. Additionally, over 250 producers and buyers turned up to discuss opportunities in over a thousand meetings and conferences. All at joiningthedocs.tv are proud to partner with Sheffield Doc/Fest and are looking forward to next year already.

It was announced yesterday that the UK Film Council is to make cuts by a whopping £25million  over the next three years; with government plans to redirect this bulk to the Olympics 2012.

At present, the council has three pots of money for film-makers to use, which comprises of; a development fund; a new cinema fund; and a premiere fund. In total these funds each hold £17million. New plans mean that these three funds will be consolidated into one fund consisting of £15million to support developments in UK filmmaking.

Current events are symptomatic of the real problems in the filmmaking industry. A hefty economic downturn, coupled with the digital revolution, many citing DVD sales being the vessel of film production for the past 20 years.

It’s not all been bad news for the UK film industry over the past few months, and £45million has recently been confirmed for a new film centre on London’s Southbank. Additionally, the council have gained an extra three million to find and fund films for the upcoming Olympics 2012.

These recent events have stressed the changing times for the British filmmaking industry, and even more so with a prospective merger of culture, sport and film councils. Charles Dickens aptly said “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, and this is exactly true of the current UK film industry.

Over the last ten years tweets, blog posts, virals and minifeeds have satisfied our information appetite more and more. For many, this has overidden the need to read a book cover to cover. Despite our information rich culture, paradoxically there is less depth to help us understand an increasingly complex world.

For this reason, documentary filmmaking is more important than ever in addressing the problems of information overload combined with lack of depth. A film that possess the capacity to construct an informative argument and yet short enough that it doesn’t require too much commitment. The idea that the documentary film offers a window onto the world is more prevelant than ever.

Too many french fries or too much 'Super Size Me'?

As Christmas fast approaches and the end of another decade is in sight, top tens and top twenties dominate our papers, supplements and blogs. Some love and some hate, and as a self confessed fan, I find most of the enjoyment lies within compiling the list itself, rather than the actual end of the task

My most recent top twenty indulgence is from The Documentary Blog who have just released their top 25 critically acclaimed feature documentaries over the last ten years. The final list isn’t without controversy and questions asked such as should Spurlock’s Super Size Me be considered the inspired choice? Is Bowling for Columbine worthy of top five? Should An Inconvenient Truth take the crown for best eco-doc?.

I am pleased that joiningthedocs.tv title Born into Brothels had made it to the top ten. Kicking it in Calcutta, India, Born into Brothels follows Zana Briski – producer, photographer and development worker as she meets the children of prostitutes. Briski gives these children cameras, providing them an with outlet to express their plight. The film is devastating in its depiction of India’s dark underbelly, but it’s the children’s optimism that ultimately shines through this film.

Life through a lens in 'Born into Brothels'.

Also featured amongst the big beasts was another joiningthedocs.tv title – Waco: The Rules of Engagement, A bit of a controversial choice, this is an amazing investigative film that uncovers FBI’s brutal tactics during the 1993 siege of David Koresh’s, Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.

Man on Wire seems to have gonged the gold in most noughties documentary top tens and twenties. The film chronicles Frenchman Phillipe Petit’s 1974 attempt to walk on a wire illegally rigged between New York’s Twin Towers.

A possible omission might be Loose Change: Final Cut which was the first internet blockbuster; a film which takes an alternative view of the events of 9/11, when the same Twin Towers were destroyed.

Sundance Film Festival is to launch a section solely dedicated to the work of hard-up filmmakers and innovations in finding new and dynamic ways to tells stories.

Festival selectors will choose eight innovative films to represent the ‘NEXT’ category, which Sundance staff felt would address the need to support a emerging talent in filmmaking. Previous attempts to address this have been in Sundance’s Documentary and New Frontier sections.

Sundance king Robert Redford seems happy about the new low-budget category.

Festival director John Copper stated that films had been “selected for their original and innovative work in low and no-budget filmmaking”.  Staff are now referring to the new section simply with the symbol that literally translates to “less than equals greater than”.

Sundance 2010 is scheduled to run from January 21–31. As of September 1 2009 staff had received more than 4,000 applications.

Twenty years ago today saw the euphoric toppling of the Berlin Wall. This seminal moment in German history marked the end of the  Cold War and the process of German reunification began.

The Twentieth Anniversary has been celebrated by a ‘Festival of Freedom‘ throughout Germany, in addition to Twitter pages life-to-scale virtual sections have marked the end of separation. All artists who had painted murals on the section have been asked to come back and repaint it.

Also, included in this festival will be the fall of a thousand eight-foot high dominos , startlingly reminiscent of footage of those first East Berliners chipping away at the wall two decades ago.

Somone get me bigger pickaxe!

An array of film, art and literature created around the city and its history will be showcased over this week. We suggest watching joiningthedocs.tv title A City Named Desire. A less conventional portrayel of Berlin, the film is a personal and divergent account. Shot in fragaments A city named Desire represents the city’s tultumous history whilst depicting a breath of personal relationships with the city - those who have passed through, those who have come - recounting stories from the forty-plus years of post-war history, from the days of the Cold War to the arrival of a new Berliner after the fall of the Wall. The film interweaves the lives and stories of internationally renowned artists into a patchwork image of Berlin, A City Named Desire celebrates a city rich in progression and history.

The  2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa is to have lasting economic effects upon the country, which its neighboring countries will seek to capitalise on. Whilst growth from 2010 Fifa World Cup will have lasting positive effects, this will also inevitably foster concerns for social and cultural preservation.

joiningthedocs.tv title Milking the Rhino gives an insightful look into human-wildlife existence in modern day Africa. The Maasi tribe of Kenya and Namibia’s Himba tribe – two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures – are emerging from a century of  imperial conservation which turned their lands into tourist traps and game reserves. Now the Massaai community are vying for a slice of the tourist pie.

It appears 02 have universal annoyance.

Milking The Rhino examines a new structure set out by NGO workers, that tries to balance the needs of tourism, wildlife and people. This new paradigm has been touted by social entrepreneurs as a solution to the conflicts between those who share the tourist-wildlife circle. While the host of a community eco-lodge in Kenya contends  “we never used to benefit from these animals but now we milk them like cattle “  his neighbor disagrees, ” a rhino means nothing to me!,  I can’t kill it for meat like a cow!“.

Milking The Rhino charts the collision of ancient lifestyles within modern western frameworks, unveiling intimate, harrowing and hopeful stories about rural Africans in the midst of deep cultural and social change.

Ever decreasing funding for new documentaries means that filmmakers often have to look beyond the limited opportunities at home and seek support from outside of the UK.

Things have changed dramatically in broadcast over the last few years, attitudes have shifted and it seems that the documentary is seen as a cheap investment. However efficient your budgeting is, the cash needs to be in tow and documentary is relying on UK broadcasting more than ever. The idea that docs go far with little money seems to be fading in the bright lights of reality television and instead investment is spent on more ‘dependable’ genres.

Sheffield is currently hosting its annual Doc/Fest a place to meet for all the movers and shakers in the industry. The festival also hosts to MeetMarket created to give producers a chance to reach outside the confines of UK industry and pitch to international investors.

Platforms such as joiningthedocs.tv with a commitment to promoting high quality, informative filmmaking, offers an opportunity for high-end documentaries to be seen more widely.

It’s that time of year again in Sheffield…underneath grey skies and amongst the steel works , bright exchanges light up the international documentary community!

Sheffield Doc/Fest is here, well… seven hurried days away in fact. As an official partner of the festival the team here at joiningthedocs.tv are having a few kittens…

One of the biggest events in the British documentary calender, Doc/Fest remains to be the upstart. With its range of insightful programming, diverse panelists, masterclasses, seminars and events like MeetMarket which matches filmmakers with commissioning editors in short sessions.

Screens + steel = Sheffield

We love Doc/Fest because it is a non-premiere festival, with a strong emphasis on quality and the importance of bringing the documentary filmmaking community together.

Doc/Fest is running for the 4th - 8th of November, see you there.