Can a documentary really change the world? Learn more about the ways and means of producing documentary films with the potential to effect real change.
Panels & Workshops
Our year-round series of topical seminars led by experts in the documentary field.
Go inside the minds and behind the scenes of five top documentary industry grantors. Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at grant review committees from Tribeca to Sundance? This panel will take you there! Collectively our panelists give away millions of dollars each year. Find out from the source what really gets your film noticed and funded.
Sun. September 25, 2011 @ 9:30am
Can't find funding? No one wants to invest? Perhaps it's the idea or some aspect of the project/package? Get a doc proposal check up, and tuneup. This daylong workshop is intended to help you decide if that dream doc is worth pursuing and if it's not selling, how to fix it.
Sat. September 24, 2011 @ 9:30am
Learn to design and get funding to make your documentary. Explore the ins and outs of both for-profit and not-for profit fundraising, distribution, and marketing opportunities. Learn how to best package your work to attract funding, get rights, putting together the strongest package, do presales, structure the right business form, and more.
We invite you to join moderator Sara Hutchison (writer/producer and IDA Board Executive Member) and a panel of experts, including writer/producer and IDA Board Member Steven Reich (Avalanche: The White Death), writer/producer Sharon Wood (The Celluloid Closet), writer/producer P.G. Morgan (Revenge of the Electric Car), and writer/director/producer Freida Lee Mock (Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision) as we look at the role of writing in nonfiction storytelling.
Join producer/director Robert Kenner (Two Days in October; Food, Inc.), as he moderates a discussion with Kate Amend, ACE (Into the Arms of Strangers: The Long Way Home), Kim Roberts (Food, Inc.; Waiting for Superman) and Victor Livingston (Shakespeare Behind Bars; Crumb) of the rewards, and challenges, inherent in the director/editor collaboration, and other pearls of wisdom from the editing room.
Join Joan Churchill, James Longley, Haskell Wexler and moderator Richard Pearce in a rich conversation about the unique POV of the documentary shooter.
2010 saw some encouraging advances and even a few outright victories in this struggle in the areas of net neutrality, a federal shield law that protects documentary filmmakers, and a landmark exemption for documentary filmmakers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The exemption provides documentary filmmakers with access to previously "locked" DVD content for fair use in their productions. Find out at IDA’s February 21 edition of Doc U, where those who have been fighting these battles and filmmakers who have felt their impact first hand will discuss the current state of the struggle, let you know what your legal rights are right now, and show you how to protect yourself when taking on powerful corporations in a documentary.
In the home stretch of this year’s awards season, IDA brings together a group of doc insiders with a variety of perspectives on the process to ask and answer this question and many more. What are the chances you’ll win? What does it take and how much does it cost? And what does an award really mean for the future of your film and your career?
Can a documentary really change the world? These days it seems as though more and more doc-makers are giving it a try. But if you're hoping to use the power of film to advocate for solutions to complex social issues and to urge people to take action, how can you make sure that your documentary has the greatest possible impact? What kinds of outreach and marketing campaigns are the most effective? How can you best partner with non-profits to get your message out? What do funders and broadcasters expect from documentary filmmakers? And what's the best way to build a successful social action campaign? The panel of filmmakers, funders and communication experts we've assembled for the December 2010 Doc U will address all of these questions and many more. What they have to say could change the way you think about changing the world.