The 1999 Vancouver International Film Festival’s Trade Forum will feature a new and (some might suggest) improved version of the annual New Filmmakers Day.

The first New Filmmakers’ Day was introduced at the ’94 festival and was spearheaded by Melanie Friesen, producer of the viff Trade Forum. This year, the event concludes the Trade Forum on Oct. 2.

According to Friesen, the day was added to the Trade Forum to benefit young, up-and-coming filmmakers, offering ‘speakers and panels who are more people who are just starting out in the industry as opposed to those in the Trade Forum, who are pretty much people who have already made a career for themselves.’

When the Trade Forum introduced the New Filmmakers Day five years ago, it was directed more towards film students than anyone else. However, Friesen says organizers are always pleasantly surprised by the audience for the event, which is usually an even split between new and established filmmakers.

‘I am always surprised by how many established people show up,’ says Friesen. ‘It’s always half and half, because there are usually topics that [established filmmakers] want to hear about – or usually a lot of established people just want to come and meet the new filmmakers.’

Organizers expect 200 people to attend the event, which costs $60 per ticket and includes a reception afterwards for a bit of post-session schmoozing.

This year, says Friesen, the New Filmmakers Day will feature three panel sessions on topics relevant to film folks, as opposed to the ‘pitching sessions’ included in years past. Friesen admits that the pitching sessions were fun and interesting, but she wanted to try something new this year.

The first session, ‘Anatomy of an Independent,’ moderated by Lisa Purdy, program development executive for cbc television in b.c., will feature a screening of two independently made films – one feature and one documentary.

‘[The session] takes these two low-budget films and talks about the problems that [the filmmakers] had with financing, production and the completion process, and so on,’ says Friesen.

Sitting on the panel are the filmmakers whose work is being shown. From the feature A Girl is a Girl will be director Reg Harkema, exec producer Christine Haebler and first-time producer Christina Margellos. Harkema served as editor on such films as Last Night and Hard Core Logo, with A Girl is a Girl marking his directorial debut.

The featured documentary, In the Company of Fear, will be represented by Jill Sharpe, the film’s producer, writer, researcher and sound recordist.

‘In the Company of Fear is about the international volunteers who protect the political activists in Colombia,’ says Friesen. ‘It’s a very interesting piece, and unlike so many other documentaries where it is [just a case of] putting it together, Jill’s efforts in making this film in South America are hugely commendable.’

The first of two afternoon sessions, ‘The Short Film: Launching Your Creative Career,’ will be devoted to showing new filmmakers how to use their shorts to get their careers off the ground.

Moderated by Michele Paris, program manager for the Knowledge Network, the session will demonstrate how short filmmakers can get their projects out into the marketplace.

The panelists for this session include Kellie Benz, director of The Second Coming; David Russell, president of Big Film Shorts; and Larry Greenberg, manager of acquisitions for the Sundance Channel.

‘So many people make a short film and then that is kind of the end of it,’ says Friesen. ‘This session will describe how you can really put a short film to work and get bigger jobs because of it.’

Capping the day is ‘Making Features Digitally,’ a presentation of sorts on the appeals and advantages of using digital filmmaking tools. Included in the presentation will be a number of clips from projects filmed digitally, including Todd Verow’s Shucking the Curve and Thomas Vinterberg’s The Celebration.

Host Peter Broderick, Next Wave Films president and a well-known advocate of digital filmmaking, will demonstrate the affordability of digital film. Friesen adds that Broderick will also speak about digital filmmaking for the pros in the audience, ‘and how veteran filmmakers are using these tools to make higher budget films with greater creative freedom.’

The New Filmmakers Day is sponsored by the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture.