Came across this release on a Documentary Festival. The concept is very innovative and its true that watching few and selected films at a forum like this can have more impact on the audience than forever being a rush to 'catch' as many as possible, but not able to retain anything. Few days of pure watching amid a scenic landscape seems very attractive. Here is information about the festival...its from a release and i havn't seen anything myself.
If someone attends it, you are most welcome to send feedback on it.
Festival of International Documentaries – March 16 – 19, 2018
(www.formedia.org.in/lake-festival-2018)
The Lakeside Doc Festival is a space for intensive viewing of benchmark international documentaries. Here, it is not just three or four documentaries as part of a market event or side-line screenings beside mainstream cinema, like it usually is in India. The festival focuses on serious, creative documentaries on wide-ranging themes of human interest, and does not emphasize on thematic or deliberate controversy-slanted films. The weightage is on films that reflect a high professional level of the art and craft of the documentary.
The setting is a non-metropolitan central Himalayan forest and lakeside. It is conducive to rumination and informal small-group discussions around the films. There are no parallel events, no commercial /market elements like awards and pitching.Guests just enjoy the sheer, unadulterated experience of viewing documentaries. The bonfire evenings with special guests is an informal but warm, intensive and cherished interaction.
The festival began in co-operation with DOK Leipzig of Germany in 2013. Over the years, the partnerships have extended to Film Festival Locarno-The Semaine (Switzerland), Cinema du Reel (France), Krakow Film Festival (Poland). Each year, over three days, about 12-14 short and long creative documentaries are screened, representing nearly as many countries.
The Lakeside Doc Festival is presented by formedia in association with and at The Lake Resort, Naukuchiatal, District Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. It is mainly supported by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, apart from some kind donations by individual patrons. Other supporters provide substantial indirect costs to cover the travel and stay of international film-makers or screening fees. They include Embassy of Switzerland, Alliance Francaise, Embassy of France, French Institut, Polish Institute. Together, all contributions make the festival a rich experience.
It is expected that these co-operations will now also lead to a series of Documentary Appreciation Workshops targeted for general audiences and media / film students.
