With the continued support of NATPE (due to the effort of IDA Trustee Bram Roos), IDA is proud to be a sponsor of the "Documentary Pavilion," along with Real Screen Magazine, for its' second year. Considering the success of the "Documentary Pavilion" at NATPE '99, IDA is very excited about NATPE 2000!! This year IDA's booth will be bigger and better, serving as an information center and home base for independent producers, buyers and distributors working in nonfiction. In its 37th year, NATPE is one of the largest television markets in the world and is also the most affordable for U.S. constituents working in the nonfiction arena. With some 18,000 participants and hundreds of booths, NATPE can be intimidating for those not used to the market scene, and difficult to navigate unless you've spent hours looking through the guide and directory. And although the "Documentary Pavilion" was created to specifically address nonfiction programming, there are booths spread throughout the convention floor housing a number of companies with fiction and nonfiction agendas.
To assist the individual interested in nonfiction television production/programming and companies interested in increasing their profile at NATPE, IDA has created "Value Added Packages" for its members at a nominal fee. Some benefits of the Packages include a listing on IDA's website (NAIPE 2000 page) and in IDA s "Nonfiction Guide to NATPE." Display and meeting space in IDA's booth, hotel marketing prior to the conference, and messaging service are also benefits. Some of the members who have already signed up to take advantage of this offer are George A. Colburn of Starbright Media (Arlington, VA), Bill MacDonald of Bill MacDonald Productions (Venice, CA), and Greg Reitman of Blue Water Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA). Updated listings of participants can be found on our website www.documentary.org.
IDA is also presenting a seminar entitled "A Digital Docs Primer" on the last day (Thursday, January 21).The panel will be moderated by IDA's own Executive Director, Betsy A. Mclane, and is designed to bring producers unfamiliar with digital television up to speed on the current state of the field. Although it is not a technical seminar, its purpose is to provide a basic familiarity with the terms and concepts that a documentary producer needs to survive the digital age. Competing for visibility at NATPE is tough, but IDA is in a position to help make the experience of being at NATPE fruitful and gratifying for all those who are committed to the documentary. It should also be noted that in 2001, NATPE will move to Las Vegas, so any penchant that one may have for Cajun/Creole food, jazz, zydeco, and documentaries can all be fulfilled in New Orleans in January 2000. We look forward to seeing you there.