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- December 20, 2023
Writer Addie Morfoot reports on Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and film distributor 1091 Pictures facing legal disputes centered on missing revenue-sharing payments to filmmakers, who are also trying to reclaim their distribution rights should 1091 Pictures' parent company go bankrupt.
- December 15, 2023
Journalist Anthony Kaufman provides case studies and insights into various films from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, shedding light on the festival's notable occurrences and trends in the industry.
- December 7, 2023
An account from the 2023 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), featuring discussions of documentaries "Beyond Utopia," "A Golden Life," and "The Last Year of Darkness," alongside a discussion of the film industry's contradictions.
- December 7, 2023
Firelight Media's Marcia Smith spoke with documentary veterans Brian Newman and Geralyn Dreyfous about the state of the documentary industry, discussing market shifts, positive developments, and the need for audience advocacy.
- December 6, 2023
Writer Anthony D'Alessandro details the new arrangement between HBO, Max, and A24, in their exclusive multiyear pay-one output agreement, which grants HBO, Max, and Cinemax rights to A24's film releases after their theatrical run.
- December 5, 2023
Hosts of Deadline and Nō Studios's Doc Talk podcast, writer-director John Ridley and Deadline’s documentary editor Matt Carey, speak with Diane Becker (producer, "King Coal"), Joe Peeler (co-director, "Bad Press"), and Keith Wilson (producer, "Joonam") on their innovative approach to Oscar awards campaigning, with their DIY FYC (Do It Yourself For Your Consideration) strategy.
- November 30, 2023
While Lily Gladstone receives accolades for her role in Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," her other film, "Fancy Dance," from Indigenous women filmmakers Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise, has struggled to secure a distribution deal despite the filmmakers claims of meeting industry criteria for success—inspiring calls for change in industry support of Native American-led storytelling.
- November 15, 2023
Writers Jonathan Mahler, James B. Stewart, and Benjamin Mullin detail David Zaslav's impact as CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery, including his strategies to cut costs following the merger and controversial decisions in programming and focusing funds.
- October 31, 2023
At Color Congress's National Convening, Karin Chien from Distribution Advocates, presents plans to address the documentary distribution crisis, by fostering collaboration for a more equitable filmmaking ecosystem.
- October 13, 2023
Writer Todd Spangler reports that Best Buy will stop selling DVDs and Blu-ray discs in early 2024, aligning with a broader decline in physical media sales.
- September 2023
Filmmaker Magazine's Scott Macaulay reflects on Richard Linklater's statements regarding his worries about the declining significance of cinema in modern culture due to technology and advertising dominance, underscoring the need for perseverance and efforts to improve the industry's future.
- August 17, 2023
A detailed report from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) highlights how three major companies' anticompetitive actions harm consumer prices, writer wages, and media diversity, urging swift antitrust action and policy reforms.
- May 14, 2023
Writer Matt Stoller argues that streaming giants and industry consolidation are steering Hollywood toward limited content and unfair working conditions, leading to tense negotiations and solidarity over union strikes.
- April 11, 2023
Bookshop.org, founded by Andy Hunter, offers a successful alternative to Amazon by supporting independent bookstores through a portion of online sales, providing a community-driven choice against larger competitors.
- January 19, 2023
Reporting on the presentation of Distribution Advocates' data on film festival sales at the International Documentary Association's 2022 Getting Real Conference, film writer Anthony Kaufman describes the challenges independent documentary filmmakers face finding financing, festival acceptance, exposure, and distribution deals that make sense for them.
- September 27, 2022
Distribution Advocates' slideshow explores the link between film festivals and documentary distribution, featuring visuals on acceptance rates, director demographics, funding, and retained rights.
- Spring 2022
Writer Will Tavlin chronicles the transition from celluloid filmmaking and exhibition to digital, highlighting the proposed benefits and the eventual pitfalls—offering a critical exploration of the difficulties in safeguarding cultural records in this digital era.
- April 1, 2022
Freemantle's global head of documenaries, Mandy Chang, spoke at at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH: DOX), about how streaming platforms stick with true crime, sport, and celebrity-driven stories so that they become mainstream and popular, essentially locking out opportunities for other, perhaps viewed as "challenging," documentaries.
- September 29, 2020
Six members of Distribution Advocates participated in discussions and presented at the International Documentary Association's 2020 Getting Real conference, offering insights on the challenges filmmakers face in understanding distribution processes and negotiating fair deals, proposing solutions such as free distribution advisors and a basic cheat sheet to empower filmmakers in navigating distribution offers effectively.
- June 15, 2020
Calling for a reimagining of the documentary film industry, cultural strategist Sonya Childress details inequities and issues found throughout the system, focusing on the areas of authorship, accountability, and ownership.
