The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) announced Monday it will launch a new documentary production initiative designed specifically for YouTube on Thursday, May 7.
Called On Filme, the initiative aims to spark meaningful dialogue around timely social and political issues and engage audiences on platforms they use every day, the NFB said in a press release. The works will also be available on nfb.ca and all NFB apps at a later date, the NFB said.
For the first edition of the program, On Filme invited three influential personalities from Quebec’s digital landscape — Mounir Kaddouri (a.k.a. Maire de Laval) Anne-Lovely Etienne and Simon Coutu — to find a new perspective on a contemporary issue close to their hearts. Each has created a YouTube work comprising four pieces of content in distinct but complementary formats, including a coup d’œil short summary film, a moyen métrage medium-length documentary, an au foyer video podcast and a gros plan commentary film.
“The idea is to build a space for sharing and experimenting in which each artist can contribute their creativity and unique viewpoint to current public discourse,” the NFB said in its press release.
The first work, by Mounir Kaddouri, will launch in its four formats on May 7.
“Born out of a creative lab, On Filme allows the NFB to test and adapt new forms of documentary storytelling for digital platforms, drawing on its production studio’s unique mix of expertise,” said Stéphanie L’Écuyer, director general of programming and production at the NFB, in a statement. “By bringing together creators with complementary profiles and embracing rapid experimentation, the project seeks to reach new audiences and position the NFB as a fully engaged participant in today’s conversations.”
As part of the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma industry program next week, filmmakers Kaddouri, Etienne and Coutu, along with producer Pierre-Mathieu Fortin from the NFB’s French Documentary Unit and producer Laurence Dolbec from the NFB’s Innovation Lab, will participate in the event “Documentaire et YouTube: Conversation autour des formats, du storytelling et des auditoires” (“Documentary and YouTube: A Conversation on Formats, Storytelling and Audiences”) on Wednesday, April 29 at 1 p.m. ET at the NFB Space.
Image provided by the NFB
