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- April 17, 2024
Writers Dominic Patten and Anthony D'Alessandro report that the Sundance Film Festival will now consider bids from potential new locations, and from the incumbent location, for the festival after its contract with Park City expires following the 2026 program.
- April 16, 2024
Writer Brooks Barnes reports on the closure of Participant Media, a production company that focused on social issue dramas and successful documentaries like "An Inconvenient Truth," "The Cove," and "RBG."
- April 15, 2024
Jacobin contributing editor Daniel Bessner reports on the current risk-averse state of the screenwriting business in Hollywood—discussing compensation trends and tracing the history of its value in the film and television industries through company consolidations, labor movements, streamers' strategies, executives' predisposition toward intellectual property-driven content, and more.
- April 9, 2024
Writers Jesse Whittock and Sara Merican delve into the competitive landscape of the streaming industry in Southeast Asia, where Prime Video and Disney+ are retracting much of their presence in original productions, leaving Netflix as the main American streamer commissioning projects there.
- April 5, 2024
Writer Addie Morfoot summarizes points made from a panel discussion called "Documentary Dealmaking" at the 2024 Full Frame Film Festival, highlighting the financial challenges faced by documentary filmmakers and the need for fair compensation, stronger alliances with industry organizations, and collective action to address systemic issues in the industry.
- March 18, 2024
Writer Anthony Kaufman reflects on the state of independent film distribution following several events fostering exploration on the subject at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, reporting on the challenges independent film exhibitors face in reaching audiences and potential solutions like varying programming, theatrical distributor P&A subsidies, and blockchain-backed distribution models.
- March 2024
The DISCO network (Ambulante, AFLAMUNA, DocsMX, Doc Society, DocSP, Docubox, and In-Docs) launched the Independence Project to articulate the unique importance of independent documentaries to culture, society, and democracy.
- March 13, 2024
Writer Anna Marie De La Fuente reports that Argentina's President Javier Milei is moving forward with his plan to defund INCAA, threatening the local film community, as well as national film festivals like Mar del Plata and film and TV market Ventana Sur, and prompting protests from the coalition Cine Argentino Unido.
- March 13, 2024
Human Rights Watch closes its longstanding film festival due to financial constraints, while praising its three-decade legacy of promoting independent films on human rights issues and advocating for increased accessibility standards in the film industry.
- March 7, 2024
Color Congress released a report in March 2024, detailing their findings from the first two years of collaborating with member organizations, shedding light on their network of documentary film organizations led by people of color and their ideas for helping to diversify the types of stories reaching audiences.
- March 7, 2024
The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Sun describes the March 2024 release of Color of Congress's report on the state of support for people of color working in the documentary field.
- March 4, 2024
Deadline's Dade Hayes interviews Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon, delving into the success of "Sound of Freedom," Angel's faith-based content, and the company's community-driven models for content creation and modification, as well as for theater ticket support—revealing a company working outside the Hollywood's system's approach to reaching audiences.
- March 1, 2024
Hollywood faces challenges in 2024 with disruptions from strikes and pandemic-related issues, prompting a shift to producing quick, self-contained films and a call for the industry to reconnect with an entrepreneurial spirit amid uncertainties about streaming services and declining movie genres.
- February 21, 2024
Hosted by producer, filmmaker, and Distribution Advocates co-founder Avril Speaks, this episode of the Distribution Advocates Presents podcast features conversations with industry leaders Amy Hobby, Kaila Sarah Hier, Abby Sun, and Jemma Desai, on the film festival system's efficacy in promoting discovery, dealmaking, and filmmaker connection, as well as the language and meaning evoked by this environment.
- February 21, 2024
Hosted by producer, filmmaker, and Distribution Advocates co-founder Avril Speaks, this episode of the Distribution Advocates Presents podcast features conversations with industry leaders Barbara Twist, Matt Stoller, Kaila Sarah Hier, Abby Sun, Efuru Flowers, Carlos Gutiérrez, and Jemma Desai, on the film exhibition landscape and new exhibition frameworks that prioritize audience engagement, emphasizing the pivotal role of reaching audiences in filmmaking.
- February 15, 2024
Strategic brand consultant and independent film producer Brian Newman assesses the state of censorship in independent filmmaking—at film festivals, as well as with funding, streaming distribution, online promotional opportunities, and more.
- February 9, 2024
Independent filmmakers and distributors report content restrictions and algorithmic filtering of online marketing material interfering in film campaigns and streaming releases.
- February 8, 2024
The British Film Institute (BFI) has awarded new grants through its UK Global Screen Fund, endowed by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), to nine UK independent screen projects for international distribution, targeting Film Sales, Prints & Advertising (P&A), and Festival Launch tracks to boost the global visibility of UK feature films, with further funding opportunities available in different categories.
- February 8, 2024
Strategic brand consultant and independent film producer Brian Newman critiques the prevailing trend in the film market that favors commercially viable projects over smaller, more artistic ones, suggesting that filmmakers seeking success will prioritize larger, more accessible endeavors to align with market demands despite potential compromise to artistic integrity.
- February 8, 2024
Slate Senior Editor and Writer Sam Adams discusses the controversy surrounding the 2024 Oscar nominations for Best Documentary, citing disgruntlement from some industry insiders over the lack of American nominees.
