The CBC announced last week the launch of CBC Docs: Short Docs, a new digital platform dedicated to showcasing work by emerging filmmakers, and the execs in charge of the platform want the doc community to know that the CBC is “open for business.”

“People are [now] creating their own films at very young ages and creating fantastic films and we want to know who those people are. We want to be connected with them and we want to help bring their stories to life,” said Jennifer Dettman, executive director, unscripted content at CBC, in an interview with Playback Daily.

She added that the CBC is currently accepting pitches for one-off doc concepts that are character-driven. “We really want filmmakers to think about what types of content might resonate best in the online space – stories and characters that will stand out, be relevant to a digital audience, and be relevant to Canadians,” said Dettman.

The new platform, which will feature 18 films in its 2016/17 season, is part of the Ceeb’s “A Space For Us All” strategic plan. A major goal of the plan is to double the CBCs digital reach by 2020 so that 18 million Canadians use its digital services each month.

Dettman believes the short docs digital platform will not only help CBC Docs reach more people, it will help it reach younger audiences too.

“We know that there are younger audiences that like documentary content, who are creating and consuming that content [online]. We want to be in that space,” said Dettman (pictured left).

Dettman stressed that the docs will also be distributed across the CBC’s many channels and platforms. She gave the example of Wally’s World, a series following Walter Gretzky, which was released on the short docs platform as well as on CBC Sports. “What’s really important is that we ensure that these documentary films reach audiences in as many different ways as we possibly can,” she said. “I think that’s really key.”

For Sandra Kleinfeld, the newly appointed senior director of documentary at CBC, the new platform is a means of bringing more varied stories to audiences.

“There are some really fantastic stories and characters [that] perhaps don’t merit the full hour treatment or feature-length treatment, but they are strong in the short form,” she noted.

Dettman said the bonus of the Short Docs digital program is how it may help the CBC shape its overall docs program, functioning as an informal online focus group.

“We can be very nimble there and very audience-focused,” she explained. “We commission these shorts, we put them out on a myriad of platforms and we hear what’s resonating with our audiences,” she said.

Both execs stress, this is just the beginning. “Our plan is to continue to grow and to iterate,” said Dettman. “This was a start and we’ll announce a second round of these digital shorts coming up soon.”