World Congress of Science & Factual Producers

December 1-4
Melbourne, Australia

Following a string of sold-out successes in Manchester (2006), New York (2007) and Florence (2008), the annual World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) kicked off yesterday in its 17th year, in Melbourne, Australia. The event began as a science-television festival for a group of public broadcasters in the 1980s. The World Congress of Science Producers was officially established in 1993 in Italy, opening its doors to producers and commercial broadcasters. Ever since, it has been a member-run, not-for-profit organization.

"We have evolved like all good survivor species," says Alison Leigh, the editorial director for WCSFP. "The members voted on broadening the remit to embrace history and factual programs in 2003. In 2004 we became the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers."

The three-day event, which brings together industry professionals working in specialist-factual TV, is host to workshops, networking events, pitch sessions and panels that spotlight emerging trends and highlight important industry issues. Aside from these content-oriented opportunities, Leigh says that WCSFP provides a great opportunity to gather a group of like-minded people for a few days of socializing. "We see it more as the annual bash of a wide group of colleagues and friends who work hard and play hard. They come to be inspired and entertained by each other’s programs and occasionally by guest speakers, to forge business partnerships and to get commissions. In fact, the Congress brings together the crème de la crème of producers and broadcasters, top executives and filmmakers in science television from all over the world, and that is no exaggeration." Leigh also says that every year the delegates report a high success rate of making and maintaining effective business partnerships.

And the attendees are quite the eclectic mix, she points out. "Twenty-two countries are represented by attending delegates. We always have strong representation from the U.K., the U.S., Germany, France and Japan, and this year is no exception." The roster for the 2009 event includes BBC, Channel 4, Discovery U.S., Discovery Emerging Networks, National Geographic Channels International (NGCI), France Télévisions and ARTE France, ARD and ZDF of Germany, NHK of Japan and ABC and SBS from Australia. "We usually have an incredible ratio of about 1 broadcaster to 2 producers," Leigh notes.

Some highlights of this year’s event include "What’s the Buzz?," which discusses hits and trends in science and factual programming; "We are Family! The Genographic Project," where National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence Dr. Spencer Wells shares the latest findings from The Genographic Project, in which DNA from more than 350,000 people from around the world are being analyzed to better understand our genetic roots and migratory history; and "Sydney’s View from Melbourne," featuring Sydney Suissa, the executive VP of content for NGCI, presenting natural-history and environmental programs that are either creatively or technically pushing the genre.

"Throughout the Congress, a number of broadcast executives will present overviews of their network, and this year we are offering "Close Encounters of a Funding Kind," which are small group meetings with individual commissioning editors and media executives who either commission science and history programs from independent producers outside their own territories or who provide significant funding." Leigh says these sessions are designed to be "intimate and interactive."

With a slew of other highlights set to take place over the next few days, WCSFP is supporting the science and factual programming industry by providing relevant information and opportunities to those navigating the current economic landscape. "Budgets are tighter, so even the bigger broadcasters are looking to co-produce, and seeking more innovative ways of doing it," Leigh notes. "Science is especially good material for co-production, since the subject matter is international. The trick is to plan for re-versioning in advance, since programs are stylistically so different in different territories. WCSFP is a great place to find suitable partners."