Doc Distro Lit Review: Film Festivals

Man with glasses smiling in front of a blue background

Todd Haynes Says How Trump’s Presidency Will Affect Movie Business Is a ‘Real Question Hanging Over All American Filmmakers’: ‘We’re in a Particular Crisis Right Now’

  • February 13, 2025
At the Berlinale’s kickoff, Todd Haynes called for creative resistance amid rising political tensions, emphasizing cinema’s role in confronting destabilization under Trump.
Evening sky featuring a movie theatre lit up with the text Sundance Film Festival

Sundance May Now Be the World’s Most Important Documentary Launchpad

  • February 4, 2025
Sundance is increasingly becoming one of the most vital global launchpads for documentaries, with films transcending national borders to secure international distribution.
Individuals outdoors on a street captured through a photograph

Sundance 2025: Don’t Look Away

  • February 3, 2025
Sundance 2025 showcased several standout documentaries exploring the ethics of image-making, confronting uncomfortable questions about who has the right to tell stories of trauma and violence across global contexts.
A lively group of individuals in a crowd releasing colorful smoke bombs.

Sundance Programmers Say Political Documentaries Are Still Crucial, Despite Challenging Market and Right-Wing Hits

  • January 23, 2025
While streaming platforms have grown wary of political documentaries, Sundance Film Festival continues to spotlight politically engaged documentaries like “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” and “Khartoum,” prioritizing their cultural significance over commercial appeal.
A collection of four film stills set behind the Margaret Mead Film Festival logo

Margaret Mead Film Festival Returns after Pandemic Hiatus, Countering Worrisome Trend in Festival Space

  • 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.
A film still depicting a person singing on a stage

Could the 31st Edition of Hot Docs Be the Last for the Ailing Toronto Fest? Organizers Warn It Might Be

  • April 24, 2024
Writer Addie Morfoot reports on staff departures and government-funding issues surrounding the 2024 edition of the Hot Docs Film Festival.
Image of a stop sign with the message "Exit?" on it, next to a "Welcome to Park City" sign

End of an Indie Era? Sundance Could Leave Park City as Festival Opens Bids for New Location in 2027; Utah Resort Town Vows Fight to Keep It

  • 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.
Photograph of two people wearing sweatshirts looking upward

Solutions Based: Who Should Save Independent Film?

  • 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.
Photograph of four people sitting on chairs on a stage in front of an audience

Human Rights Watch to End Its Celebrated Film Festival

  • 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.
Distribution Advocates Presents logo with the message, Episode 3: Film Festivals

The Truth about Film Festivals

  • 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.
Photograph showing the backs of two people walking in the cold wearing jackets

A Distinct Chill in the Air

  • 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.
Photograph of person wearing a blue Superman costume with a red cape pointing up to the sky

UK Global Screen Fund Announces Latest Awards for International Promotion of Independent UK Feature Films

  • 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.
Photograph of two people standing on top of a crane in a city, a scene from "Skywalkers: A Love Story"

Go Big

  • 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.
Photograph of an adult and a child hugging

Are Indie Docs Hot Again? At Least for Netflix

  • 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.
A compilation of five images, from the films: “Four Daughters,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “To Kill a Tiger,” “The Eternal Memory,” and “20 Days in Mariupol.”

Doc World Is Reeling from Oscar Nominations and What They Might Mean for the Struggling Sector: “There Is This Resentment Towards Certain Kinds of Success”

  • 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.
Documentary Magazine logo

With Sundance Boost, Even Original Documentaries Could Make a Comeback in 2024

  • February 1, 2024
Writer Anthony Kaufman reports on the optimism felt for documentary film sales at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Distribution Advocates Presents logo with the message, Episode 1: Sales Agents

The Truth about Sales Agents

  • 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.
Image of person wearing a Superman costume and flying in the sky

Sundance Offers a Glimmer of Hope for the Struggling Documentary Market: “We’re No Longer in a DOA Situation”

  • 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.

Filmmaker Magazine Editor’s Letter – Sundance and Saving Indie Film

  • January 2024
Filmmaker Magazine's editor-in-chief, Scott Macaulay, reports on the industry climate surrounding the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, discussing an episode of Matthew Beloni's The Town podcast, where Beloni interviews Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, discussing the role of the festival in "saving" independent film.
Photograph of people dancing in the street in front of the Egyptian Theatre at the Sundance Film Festival

At Sundance, Indie Film Struggles to Find a Working Business Model

  • January 24, 2024
Founder, CEO, and Editor in Chief of TheWrap, Sharon Waxman reports on perceptions of the faltering independent film business model at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. *Please note: This article is behind a paywall.
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The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center dedicated to exploring and illuminating the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center strives to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public.

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