You've run a fundraising campaign, used every favor, worked long hours, and now you're ready to get your film out into the world. Film festivals are an important and productive outlet for getting your film seen, building buzz, and hopefully locking distribution. But with ever more festivals crowding the calendar, how do you decide which festival is best for your film?
Educational Seminars
Our year-round series of seminars, panels and workshops focusing on the art, craft and business of documentary filmmaking. Become an IDA member to access previous seminars online.
From original concept, fundraising, and production to festivals, distribution, PR and outreach, one can't argue that the documentary producer’s job description is varied. At every level from executive down to assistant, a good producer knows how to anticipate the needs of a director and crew--all usually on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget. Whether you’re bringing your own concept to life or jumping in mid-stream to save a doc in trouble, a good producer must bring a vast array of talent and expertise to the project.
Join moderator Karin Stellwagen (The Brooks Institute) for a discussion with Sarah Burns (The Central Park Five), Michael Donaldson (Partner, Donaldson + Callif) and David France (How to Survive a Plague) on the intricate balance between video journalism and documentary filmmaking.
Join moderator Milton Tabbot (IFP) for a discussion with Rachel Gandin Mark (Program Administrator for the American Film Showcase at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts), Carlos Islam (United Nations Creative Community Outreach Initiative), and Anne Makepeace (writer, producer, and director) and learn how docs serve as delegates in the global community.
Moderated by IDA Board Member Stephen Nemeth of Rhino Films, our panel of veteran non-fiction producers will discuss what to expect when producing a doc and how a successful producer gets the entire production team to deliver their best.
Join producer Eddie Schmidt (Beauty is Embarrassing, Troubadours) for a discussion with Randy and Fenton on the challenges of running a transatlantic production company, crossing genre boundaries, and managing the famous and infamous, while also hosting a cutting edge culture blog with over 300,000 hits per month.
What does it mean to document change? From violent revolution and the fight for basic human rights, to single projects that change a community in multiple ways, more and more documentary filmmakers are finding themselves at the epicenters of a rapidly evolving world.
IDA invites you for a discussion about the benefits and challenges in researching, procuring, and licensing archival footage for your film.
Join doc filmmakers who have traveled the globe and film commissioners whose job it is to make filming in their countries as straightforward as possible, as they discuss the logistics of overseas doc filmmaking.
With these shifting realities, as well as significant cuts in funding to PBS' nonfiction programming from the National Endowment for the Arts, what does the future hold for independent documentary films and public broadcasting? What can you do to impact the decisions and changes being made right now?