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- January 24, 2024
Producers Megan Gilbride and Rebecca Green suggest transforming the Sundance Film Festival into a year-round, multi-city roadshow called "Sundance Reinvented" to address financial, accessibility, and relevance issues in the independent film ecosystem.
- January 11, 2024
Exploring the potential impact of the Sundance Film Festival on the documentary genre, journalist Anthony Kaufman delves into the festival's lineup, industry trends, and the challenges and opportunities faced by documentary filmmakers in the evolving landscape.
- December 29, 2023
Considered the largest US documentary film festival, DOC NYC offers filmmakers opportunities for exposure and networking, though industry insiders offer mixed sentiments, conveying concerns over the festival's breadth and money-making initiatives.
- 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.
- 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.
- October 12, 2023
Matt Grobar reports that LGBTQIA+ organization Outfest has postponed its Legacy Awards ceremony to 2024, paused other programming, and initiated leaves for most staff due to financial challenges.
- September 20, 2023
Filmmaker nonprofits, including Tribeca and Sundance, face challenges like cutbacks and program eliminations, raising concerns about the future of artist support in the independent film community.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
