Menu
- May 23, 2024
Strategic brand consultant and independent film producer Brian Newman conveys his current rules for distribution, including details about the decreasing role of streamers in acquiring documentaries and in output deals with distributors, declining transactional revenue and theatrical engagement with documentaries (aside from event screenings), and more ideas for reaching a targeted audience.
- May 18, 2024
Writer Matthew Carey reports that the documentary film industry is thriving in Denmark, where filmmakers find support from the Danish Film School, government-funded Danish Film Institute, and the documentary film festival CPH: DOX.
- May 3, 2024
Writer Matthew Carey reports on the return of New York's Margaret Mead Film Festival, which celebrates documentary film from around the world—amid a landscape of struggling festivals.
- April 24, 2024
Writer Addie Morfoot reports on staff departures and government-funding issues surrounding the 2024 edition of the Hot Docs Film Festival.
- April 22, 2024
Following the news of Participant Media shutting down, filmmaker and producer Davis Guggenheim discusses the company's focus on social impact—starting with a look at the origin of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
- April 18, 2024
Strategic brand consultant and independent film producer Brian Newman provides his thoughts on the atmosphere surrounding the International Documentary Association's 2024 Getting Real conference in Los Angeles, and proposes the need for large-scale systemic change in the independent film industry as whole, not only for documentaries.
- 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 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 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.
- 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
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.
- February 4, 2024
Writer Anthony Kaufman reflects on Netflix's unprecedented acquisitions of documentaries at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, raising questions about the impact on theatrical distribution, the role of celebrity endorsements, and the evolving dynamics of the documentary market.
- February 3, 2024
The 2024 Oscar documentary nominations, dominated by international filmmakers and with little major streamer-backed films, have sparked discourse on potential resentment in the documentary branch, a preference for social-issue documentaries, and considerations for altering the voting system.
- February 1, 2024
Writer Anthony Kaufman reports on the optimism felt for documentary film sales at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
- January 31, 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 Pat Murphy, Orly Ravid, Alece Oxendine, Set Hernandez, Abby Sun, Efuru Flowers, and Kaila Sarah Hier, on the role of sales agents in rights deals.
- January 31, 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 Abby Sun, Matt Stoller, Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh, and Kaila Sarah Hier, on the issues surrounding documentary awards, including what it takes to campaign and questioning the purpose of awards in the field.
- January 26, 2024
Writer Addie Morfoot details reports of strong interest in independently-made documentaries at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, which offered hope to sales agents about the trajectory of distribution for these projects.
- January 18, 2024
Walter Shorenstein fellow Keri Putnam explores the risks and challenges associated with the streaming media age, discussing implications for content creators, platforms, and consumers in an evolving digital landscape.
