AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival, created through a unique alliance between the American Film Institute and Discovery Communications, today announced highlights of its International Documentary Conference taking place June 19-23, 2012 in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The Conference provides five full days of essential discussion, professional development and cutting-edge market intelligence, with over 50 panels and workshops, 20 Silver Sessions (small group meetings with leading media executives and funders), plus one-on-one access to key industry decision-makers. Building on last year’s successful program, the Conference is once again oriented to the mid-career filmmaker, featuring advanced sessions on craft, outreach, funding, pitch sessions and hands-on workshops that employ the latest tools and technology for filmmakers to develop their careers and maximize their film’s success.

“AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, celebrating its 10th edition in 2012, is the only event in the U.S. that combines the experience of a documentary festival with a professional conference, fusing the art and business of nonfiction storytelling,” said Sky Sitney, Festival Director. “This year’s Conference offers an extensive program of advanced sessions that explore today’s leading topics in the context of a relaxed and intimate setting ideal for creative and business connections to be made.

Conference content falls into five thematic strands: (1) Hands-On Storytelling: Craft and Aesthetics, which includes Master Classes and Doc Talks with veteran documentary filmmakers; (2) Audience Engagement and Impact; (3) Dollars and Cents: Funding and Distribution, which includes numerous panels, workshops and pitching forums; (4) Insider’s Guide to Public Broadcasting featuring panels and presentations to navigate the public broadcasting system; and (5) Schooldocs: Cutting-edge practices in visual education for educators and students in the 21st century classroom.

With the support of the conference’s founding sponsor, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Conference will not only again offer a significant public media strand, but new to 2012 will feature focused sessions related to CPB’s American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen initiative – a nationwide public media initiative to help communities across the country identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. These sessions, part of the Schooldocs and Public Media tracks, include: “American Graduate in Action,” “An American Graduate Case Study: D.C. Met Charter School After-School Success,” “Building Community Awareness through Long Form Documentaries” and “Keeping Kids Engaged in Learning.”

The full Conference schedule and participants can be found at Silverdocs.com.

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