Human Behavioural research agency The Mix announces brand new pitch opportunity for filmmakers to create works that dispel the myths associated with British Baby Boomer Generation.
Today, human behavioural research agency, The Mix, announces its partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest as it launches its Boomer Pitch competition; the first-ever partnership between a research agency and Doc/Fest.
Five filmmakers will have the chance to pitch at the Festival and two winners will walk away with a £5,000 commission to produce a short film that will help to dispel myths about, and look afresh at, what it means to be a Baby Boomer.
Having identified that Baby Boomers (people age 55 to 70 years old) are often labelled as out of touch, set in their ways and adverse to change – The Mix is seeking to invest in ideas that will harness the power of documentary film-making to challenge these stereotypes and present fresh insights through bold, distinctive, character-driven stories.
Tash Walker, Founder of The Mix, comments: “We set up The Mix with a simple purpose: human behaviour is fascinating, research isn’t. Typical research turns people into statistics and demographics and perpetuates stereotypes. We work with people in a highly innovative way to uncover intimate details that make everyday people of all ages and walks of life fascinating.
“We are really looking forward to working with filmmakers at Doc/Fest who share our passion for the normal, everyday, irrational idiosyncrasies of people.
Too often in the world of marketing we are stuck in a London centric bubble – creating campaigns that don’t resonate at all with the very widest range of real people. Through our competition we want to show how this generation is redefining what it means to reach this life stage today and how we need to engage with them.”
Patrick Hurley, Head of Marketplace at Sheffield Doc/Fest comments: “We are thrilled about the introduction of this brand new pitch from The Mix at Doc/Fest. This is the first-time that we have worked with a human behavioural research agency and I look forward to seeing how filmmakers respond to the pitch challenge during the festival in June, and to see the end results next January”. The five Boomer Pitch finalists will have a five minute slot to pitch their film concept live at the Festival in front of the audience, a panel of makers, industry professionals, and the Founder and the Creative Head of The Mix. The panel will decide which filmmakers have the idea for the most promising short films and two winners will be awarded funding at the conclusion of the pitch session. An entry form for interested filmmakers to submit their ideas is available here. The shortlist of five projects to be pitched at Doc/Fest will be selected from the applicants.
Filmmaker’s pitches can be supported by any medium, e.g. film, photography, posters, book, handouts etc. and the winning films will premier in Central London as part of lively evening of debate and creative content in January 2018.