Reports & Papers
Documentary at Risk: Strategies for Ethics, Sustainability, and Innovation in a Time of Disruption
Research Initiatives
Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative
Inspiring a documentary film practice and infrastructure that can contribute to strong societies.
The goal of the Shorenstein Center’s Documentary Film in the Public Interest (DFPI) initiative is to inspire documentary film practices and infrastructure that contribute to strong, informed societies. The program bridges thought and action by bringing together practitioners and researchers, journalists and documentary filmmakers, policy leaders and technologists in a shared project to build a resilient, ethical documentary field focused on serving the public good.
In a time of profound change in media, politics, and the public sphere, documentary’s power to illuminate urgent questions and strengthen public trust has never been more essential. The DFPI champions the editorial and ethical foundations of public interest documentaries demonstrating how nonfiction storytelling, rooted in the principles of journalism, can empower citizens and fortify civil society.
Guided by the Shorenstein Center’s mission to address the challenge of information integrity in a time of division and distrust, the DFPI’s focus is on nonfiction filmmaking that employs excellence in investigative work, robust editorial standards, thorough fact-checking, and public accountability along with compelling visual storytelling driven by a mission to increase the public’s understanding of our world’s most pressing issues.
Scroll down to learn more about the initiative’s research, people, and programming.
Publications & Resources
Commentary
Independents, PBS, and the Fight for Free Speech
Commentary
What’s at Risk in the Streaming Media Age
News
Announcing the Fall 2025 Cohort of Documentary Film Fellows
Inaugural Winners of Henry Awards Shine Light on Importance of Freedom of Expression
Center News
Announcing the semifinalists for the Henry Awards for Public Interest Documentary
Related People
Sara Archambault
Program Director, Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative
Enrique Pedráza-Botero
Program Manager, Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative
Sydney Tanigawa
Project Coordinator, Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative
Rebecca Richman Cohen
DFPI Faculty Affiliate
Nancy Gibbs
Lombard Director of the Shorenstein Center Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy
Visit DFPI.ShorensteinCenter.org
to learn more about DFPI research, current and past fellows, convenings, and other programming.
The DFPI is a non-partisan, research-informed initiative dedicated to examining and advancing the trustworthy, ethical, and impactful practice of documentary film. Through our fellowships, awards, and convenings, we strengthen the role of documentary as a vital source of public knowledge and civic engagement.
Learn more about the DFPI Fellowship
Fellowship Program
The DFPI’s Fellowship Program supports a select cohort of filmmakers, journalists, and scholars whose research probes the boundaries, opportunities, and dilemmas at the heart of public interest documentary practice and purpose. Fellows generate research and public knowledge and explore questions related to themes such as:
- Editorial standards and accountability in nonfiction storytelling.
- Ethical practice in documentary.
- The synergies and rifts between documentary and journalism.
- Issues pertaining to current challenges and future opportunities for the documentary field.
Generated research is designed to inform practitioners, policy makers, funders, and academics invested in the health of our information ecosystem. The fellowship period ranges from a semester to a full academic year. Fellowships are unpaid, but selected fellows have the opportunity to hire a Research Assistant from the Harvard community to enrich their work.
Learn more about the DFPI Fellowship
Read the report from the first annual Doc Ideas Symposium: Documentary at Risk
Doc Ideas Symposium
Each year, the DFPI hosts the Doc Ideas Symposium at Harvard Kennedy School. The symposium is a research-oriented convening that brings together fellows, scholars, filmmakers, industry leaders and invited guests to examine the ethical, editorial, and structural challenges shaping the documentary film ecosystem today. The Symposium fosters frank debate, surfaces emerging answers to questions old and new, and builds connections that strengthen the documentary field’s civic mission.
Read the report from the first annual Doc Ideas Symposium: Documentary at Risk
Visit HenryAwards.org to learn more
Henry Awards for Public Interest Documentary
The Henry Awards honor documentaries that advance public understanding of urgent civic issues through rigorous journalism, ethical integrity, and courageous storytelling. Guided by editorial independence, factual accuracy, and public accountability, these awards recognize nonfiction films and series that illuminate complex realities and empower audiences as citizens.
A grand prize of $100,000 is awarded annually, with additional prizes for finalists—supported by Linda and John Henry and the John W. Henry Family Foundation.
Visit HenryAwards.org to learn more
Browse the Lit Review
Doc Distro Lit Review
In recent years, the global landscape for the distribution of independent documentary films has undergone seismic changes. In response to this crisis, support organizations, industry leaders, journalists, and filmmakers have been organizing convenings, collaborating on fresh solutions, and writing in-depth examinations about how we got here and what comes next. We have compiled the Documentary Distribution Literature Review to capture the quickly evolving landscape through a curated collection of annotated articles, webinars, talks, and convening summaries for an audience of experts and lay people alike.
Browse the Lit Review
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Shorenstein Center Programs
Explore more Shorenstein Center research programs.