Short Film News (SFN) - The 16th World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) will be held from 1 to 4 December, 2008 in Florence, Italy.

More than 500 international broadcasters, producers and distributors from more than 24 countries are expected in Florence, following last year's record-breaking edition in New York, which had 94% of delegates reporting advancement of their projects.

This year's WCSFP features a three-day program of workshops, networking events, pitch sessions, and panels that will reveal emerging content trends and highlight important industry issues.

Last year, 197 broadcast representatives attended from such broadcasters as: ARTE, BBC, CBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel US, National Geographic Int., NDR, NHK, ABC TV, RAI, WGBH and Thirteen/WNET.

The 16th annual Congress is managed by Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on behalf of the WCSFP, and RAI, Italy's public service broadcaster, is the Host Broadcaster of this year event.

Past Congresses have been held in New York (2007), Manchester (2006), Tokyo (2005), Toronto (2004), Paris (2003), Berlin (2002), and Washington, D.C. (2001).

More information and registration form are available on www.wcsfp.com.