Filmmaker Tools
DOC Business Concierge
DOC’s Business Concierge program is a national, bilingual consultancy service providing on-demand, one-on-one support for under-represented documentary creators actively developing, producing, and distributing their content.
For the current edition of this program, “under-represented” is defined as: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and / or racialized creators, those living in remote areas of Canada (remote being defined as one’s primary residence being 150 km from cities of over 500 000 people), creators living with a disability, creators who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ and those who have arrived in Canada within the last 24 months.
DOC Business Concierge provides filmmakers with the opportunity to sign up for a free consultation session with a veteran producing consultant, in order to get project-specific advice telling them exactly what they need to know, precisely when they need it most.
Whether one is preparing to pitch a project for production, trying to think through all the various financing scenarios, or trying to marry the creative story with production realities in Canada, producers receive valuable counsel to ensure that their project is on the right path and to avoid costly mistakes. More broadly, this program seeks to develop documentary filmmakers who have been historically under-represented in our sector by building their capacity and growing their experience.
Participation in this program is open to any DOC member who identifies as one or an intersection of the following communities: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and / or racialized creators, those living in remote areas of Canada (remote being defined as one’s primary residence being 150 km from cities of over 500 000 people), people living with a disability, people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ and those who have arrived in Canada within the last 24 months.
Both the Director and Producer need identify as one of this program’s priority communities in order to participate.
DOC Business Concierge was originally conceived as a pilot program for BIPOC creators funded by Ontario Creates, and then expanded into a National, bilingual program financed by the Canada Media Fund. The first two rounds of this program supported 80 participants with free consultation sessions in 2022 and 2023.
This current edition of DOC Business Concierge is funded by WBD Warner Access Canada and will support 30 participants between June and November 2023. Based on feedback from DOC members across the country, participation in this edition has been opened up to a wider spectrum of DOC members who have faced systemic barriers to their success in the industry.
Please note that DOC Business Concierge program is exclusively available for first-time participants.
WE HAVE 2 GOALS
1
Grow the number of production companies owned by documentary creators who identify as one or more intersections of BIPOC, remote, living with a disability, 2SLGBTQIA+ and new Canadians.
2
Support DOC’s BIPOC, remote, disabled, 2SLGBTQIA+ and new Canadian members in the creation of their creative work
our CONSULTAnts
DOC Business Concierge provides free on-demand, one-on-one sessions with a veteran producer consultant over zoom. Once the consultant has reviewed the project to ensure it is an eligible fit for this program, you will be invited to sign up for a consultation session.
Lisa is an Emmy award winning producer and the Managing Director of the Racial Equity Media Collective. She was most recently acting Industry Programs Director at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
She was previously Head of Operations at Multitude Films, where she co-produced PRAY AWAY (Tribeca 2020), CALL CENTER BLUES (Academy Award Best Short Documentary shortlist 2021), and ALWAYS IN SEASON, which world premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Competition where it won the Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency, and broadcast on the PBS documentary series Independent Lens.
Her previous film CALL HER GANDA, directed by PJ Raval, was supported by the Ford Foundation and Sundance Institute, and world premiered in competition at Tribeca followed by its international premiere at the Hot Docs. It was nominated for the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Documentary and broadcast on the PBS documentary series POV.
Her first feature length documentary, HERMAN’S HOUSE, won an Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award: the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social Political Documentary. Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla, HERMAN’S HOUSE played at True/False, Full Frame and Hot Docs, was broadcast on POV, and on Documentary Channel in Canada. The film was produced in association with the Ford Foundation JustFilms Initiative, was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
MIGRANT DREAMS was directed by award-winning filmmaker Min Sook Lee and was awarded the Canadian Hillman Prize as well as the CAW Canada/ Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting. It world premiered at Hot Docs, where it was a Top Ten Audience Favourite, and was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award: the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/ Political Documentary. It was broadcast on TVO and Al Jazeera Witness, and was picked up for distribution by Cinema Politica.
SHADOW GIRL, directed by Maria Teresa Larrain, was supported by doc channel, SRC (CBC French Canada), YLE, Chicken & Egg, Vision Sudest and the Chilean Audiovisual Fund and won the Best Canadian Pitch Award at the Hot Docs Forum. It played at Docs Barcelona and won awards at several film festivals in Chile.
She co-executive produced LAILA AT THE BRIDGE (CPH:DOX), produced RESILIENCE: STORIES OF SINGLE BLACK MOTHERS (OMNI TV) and associate produced THE WORLD BEFORE HER (PBS POV, TIFF Canada’s Top 10, CSA Best Feature Length Documentary, News and Documentary Emmy nomination), LONE TWIN (IDFA, CSA Best Documentary Program), THE MARKET (IDFA, CSA Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/ Political Documentary) and THE REAL INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (History TV, CSA Best History Documentary).
She has presented at conferences, moderated panels, sat on juries, been an IFP Documentary Lab Fellow, and later the lead facilitator/ mentor for the Hot Docs Shaw Media Diverse Voices Program. In 2019 she became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Documentary Branch.
Her passion is for film projects which explore issues of inequality and social justice, and which encourage audiences to view their world through a constructively critical and creatively unique lens.
Media and content creation enthusiast. I’ve work in the industry for over fifteen years. I started my career in Paris before landing in Montreal in 2011.
That’s where I collaborated on many projects acclaimed locally and internationally. Like-Moi, LOOV (sexual education for young people), Téodore pas de H, a series selected at CANNESERIES, and more recently, while I was at Zone3, the youth project L’effet secondaire. I also must mention my work as project director at Urbania on the webdocumentary Fort McMoney and at Ideacom International on the acclaimed series Apocalypse, la 1ère Guerre mondiale.
Being passionate about digital platforms and new formats, I also enjoy working on linear content. From the initial concept to marketing, through financing, creation of multidisciplinary teams and implementation of customized production strategies, I’m comfortable with every aspect of a project.
I’m a freelance now, collaborating with various production companies, in French or English, either in production or consulting on development of creative concepts, digital art projects or multiplatform strategies.
I provide active support to young talents and since this year I’m a volunteer mentor in media production in schools with Fusion Jeunesse organization. Member of the Committee equity and inclusion of XN Québec, I took part on several occasions in activities to support BIPOC women with FCTNM.
At DOC business Concierge, I would like to offer my assistance in:
- Developing concepts
- Financing demands
- Multiplatform projects production
- Marketing strategies and discoverability plan
how to book
Enter your project here, and DOC will schedule a meeting with your consultant once you have received confirmation of your eligibility.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This program is open to any DOC member who identifies as:
a) Indigenous peoples of Canada:
- First Nations
- Inuit
- Métis
b) Racialized Communities:
- Black people: people who trace their roots to Sub-Saharan Africa including those with origins in the United
States, Caribbean and Latin America - People of colour: people who are not Caucasian or of European descent who are descendant from one or
more of the following communities:- Latin Americans (Latino, Latina, Latinx)
- Middle-Easterns and North Africans
- South Asians
- Southeast Asians
- East Asians
- Indigenous people from outside of Canada (from Oceania, United States, Northern Europe and
Pacific Islands) - Multiracial (a combination of any of the above categories or any of the above categories with
Caucasian or European ancestry)
c) People living in remote areas of Canada
- People whose primary residence is 150 km from cities of over 500 000 people
d) People living with a disability
e) People who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+
You can easily join DOC by selecting the membership category that best suits your needs. If you are an Indigenous, Black or racialized creator, you can join DOC for free!
DOC Staff will review your submission for eligibility. You will then be sent a link to book your Consultation at a time that is convenient to you, via Calendly.
DOC Business Concierge offers one two-hour session with your consultant.
Once you are approved for the program, you will receive a link via email to book your session via Calendly. Don’t worry, you don’t need a Calendly account to make a booking! Simply follow the link and select a date and time that works best for you.
Once you select, you will receive an appointment in your preferred personal calendar. This will include a Zoom link, which is how you will access your consultation on the date you have selected.
On the day of your consultation, click the Zoom link provided in your calendar booking. You do NOT need to have a Zoom account to launch this window. You will have the option to speak with your Consultant via video conference, or just using voice.
SPECIAL THANKS TO
