Well, I think it’s the best contest. The International Doc Challenge has begun accepting registrations and I highly recommend both established and emerging filmmakers take part. For those of you that don’t know, the Doc Challenge is a sister to the 48-hour film contest. Your team gets a topic, a format (character study, music, 1st person, etc.) and 5 days to completely produce a 4-7 minute short Documentary.

The winners get screened at Hot Docs (The most prestigious documentary festival in North America) and also get picked up on PBS’ POV. More than prizes though, what’s great about this challenge is in 5 days time, you’ll have gotten some great experience and will hopefully have produced a new portfolio project which stands on it’s own.

When I’m looking for freelancers, I’m always more impressed by short non-fiction pieces than narrative shorts, because it shows you’re able to produce in the real world, not on a set, with your film-school buddies helping you out. Registration costs go up soon, so definitely get on board now.