Doc Distro Lit Review: International

Photograph of people standing in a room talking with one another
Writer Rachael Healy details recent findings from Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre's quarterly Labour Force Survey, showing underrepresentation of working-class people in all areas of arts and culture.
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.
Image of Prime Video and Disney+ logos alongside a map with pushpins in various locations
Writers Jesse Whittock and Sara Merican delve into the competitive landscape of the streaming industry in Southeast Asia, where Prime Video and Disney+ are retracting much of their presence in original productions, leaving Netflix as the main American streamer commissioning projects there.
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.
Photograph of people holding a sign that says "Cine Argentino Unido por la democracia"
Writer Anna Marie De La Fuente reports that Argentina's President Javier Milei is moving forward with his plan to defund INCAA, threatening the local film community, as well as national film festivals like Mar del Plata and film and TV market Ventana Sur, and prompting protests from the coalition Cine Argentino Unido.
Photograph of person wearing a blue Superman costume with a red cape pointing up to the sky
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.
Compilation of photographs featuring a person speaking into a megaphone and a person looking to the side wearing sunglasses
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.
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.”
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.
Photograph of two people smiling into the camera and wearing sunglasses
Evaluating the landscape of the documentary field in 2023, Anthony Kaufman reports on the types of stories that are gaining prominence and filmmakers' attitudes toward a seemingly contracting industry.
Illustration featuring Netflix and Amazon logos
Netflix and Amazon in India grapple with government censorship, resorting to self-censorship and opting for safer content, raising concerns about artistic freedom and a potential cultural homogenization.
BBC logo
BBC Film announces two initiatives to support budding UK producers and address under-representation in the industry: the Associate Producer Programme and the opening of applications for the Small Indie Fund.
Photograph of silhouettes of film crew
Writer Fionnuala Halligan presents a series of Screen International articles that convey a state of devaluing independent producers in the United Kingdom and calls for change.