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EMERGING PRODUCERS 2018

David Evans • Producer

“The act of story-telling itself is what interests me”

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- An interview with Welsh producer David Evans, one of the participants of the 2018 Emerging Producers

David Evans • Producer

An interview with Welsh producer David Evans, one of the participants of Jihlava IDFF's 2018 Emerging Producers.

Why do you produce documentaries? Do you believe that they have the power to change the world?
David Evans: I never approach a project thinking how I can produce this documentary. When a project comes to me, my first thought is how I can tell this story; is this story a film, a TV programme, a series, a book, a play an interactive game, VR or even radio? Let me throw the question back – what attracts me to certain stories rather than others? I like stories about “ordinary” people overcome by extraordinary circumstances and seeing how this has changed them, stories with story-telling at their heart, the central place that narrative and story-telling takes in forming identity. In essence, the act of story-telling itself is what interests me first and foremost and then, only then the form. I hope the stories I tell can nudge people to see the world around them a little differently. Maybe, if just enough people are nudged then a documentary can move people to action. But I'm dubious about claims for documentary's ability to change the world when the stories I tell tend to be all about nuance and ambiguity.

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What do you think is the future of distribution of documentary films?
There'll always be a place for watching documentary films in a darkened cinema with a bunch of strangers but clearly there's a big shift to alternative distribution through pay per view and online. There's so much content out there that curated spaces, whether online or at festivals, are more important than ever in guiding audiences to all the amazing films out there that struggle to get heard above the din.

What projects do you have under way?
I'm completing a very personal documentary movie about the investigation into the disappearance of my grandfather called My Grandfather the Spy.
I'm in development on The Librarians of Timbuktu – a documentary thriller about the race to save thousands of ancient manuscripts from the hands of Jihadis in Mali – and another, Roma Brexit about the impact of Brexit on a Czech family in the UK. To name but two.

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Emerging Producers is a promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the Emerging Producers 2019 edition is 31 March, 2018. Click here.

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