Five Docs Selected for Catapult Film Fund and True/False Film Festival’s Rough Cut Retreat (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor Five documentary filmmaking teams haven been selected to participate in the Catapult Film Fund and True/False Film Festival‘s ninth annual Rough Cut Retreat.

The immersive mentorship is designed for documentary feature filmmakers who lack strong feedback networks. This year’s retreat will take place at the Whispertree retreat in Boonville, Calif., over four days beginning on July 21.

The 2024 RCR selected doc projects and the attending film teams are: “The Inventory” (director Ilana Coleman and producer Ivonne Villalón), “The Last Nomads” (directors Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić), “Natchez” (director Suzannah Herbert and editor Pablo Proenza), “The Nile Splits” (director Zuff Shoya and sound designer Khaleel Lee), and “Seeds” (director Brittany Shyne and editor Malika Zouhali-Worrall). “This year, the selected projects represent some of the boldest new voices in nonfiction cinema,” says True/False artistic director Chloé Trayner. “Each of the films has a distinct approach to storytelling, taking risks and expanding how we think about the worlds that we are invited into.” During RCR, the five selected filmmaking teams will be matched with mentors that have been hand-picked for their editorial insights and ability to aid filmmakers in realizing their vision.

This year’s group of mentors are: director Ramona Diaz (“And So It Begins”), editor Amy Foote (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”), director Peter Nicks (“Homeroom”), editor David Teague (“Frida”) and film executive Noland Walker (ITVS). “Rough Cut Retreat plays a special role in the nonfiction landscape,” says Megan Gelstein, Catapult Film Fund co-director and chief program officer.