Doc Distro Lit Review: Documentary

Black and white sign with 101 printed on it
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.
Photograph of people standing before a waterfall
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.
A collection of four film stills set behind the Margaret Mead Film Festival logo
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.
A film still depicting a person singing on a stage
Writer Addie Morfoot reports on staff departures and government-funding issues surrounding the 2024 edition of the Hot Docs Film Festival.
Photograph of two people wearing suits
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."
Getting Real 2024 logo
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.
Photograph of five people sitting in front of a Full Frame Documentary Film Festival sign
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.
The Independence Project logo
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.
Color Congress logo
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.
Photograph of a large group of people all looking at the camera
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.