Last June, visitors to the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at New York’s Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center were presented with a choice: turn left and watch a film projected on the traditional big screen, or turn right into the Furman Gallery and log on at a computer screen and
Advocacy
IDA is at the forefront of protecting and advancing the legal rights of documentary artists, activists and journalists. Recent efforts have focused on promoting net neutrality, fair use and government arts funding, as well as defending filmmakers’ first amendment rights.
DMCA Exemption for Documentary Filmmakers
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it unlawful to rip from DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and many other encrypted technologies to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works. The law blocks filmmakers' ability to make fair use of invaluable footage. While fair use allows us to use copyrighted footage, the DMCA restricts our access to such material. Since 2010, IDA and its Board of Directors members from the University of Irvine (UCI) Intellectual Property, Arts, and Technology Clinic and Donaldson + Callif have represented a coalition of major independent filmmaking organizations in the effort in protecting documentary filmmakers' exemption from the DMCA.
Other work
For the dissident audience the mission of the environmental documentary is to corrode the mantra of “development equals progress, jobs, and a strong economy.” For an apathetic audience, the mission is to open a wedge in the indifference. For younger audiences the mission is to educate and recruit a