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Big changes are happening at Discovery Channel. As a place on the dial initially associated with nonfiction, science-centric programming, Discovery has in the last decade shaken off this niche designation and gone on to produce Emmy Award-winning shows like Deadliest Catch, Planet Earth and MythBusters. Last year marked another sea change when the channel announced that HBO's John Hoffman and Tribeca Film Institute's Ryan Harrington would come onboard the good ship Discovery to steer it toward yet another, bolder direction. With Hoffman appointed Executive VP of Documentaries and Specials, and

In his rich and impactful career, Haskell Wexler inspired, mentored and befriended scores of filmmakers, who, spurred by not only his artistic verve but also his unwavering commitment to social issues and his singular wit and wisdom, went on to make a difference in their own careers. We reached out to various friends and colleagues of Haskell Wexler to share their thoughts about the late filmmaker. Although Joan Churchill (my wife) and Chris Burrill (a dear friend) knew Haskell for much longer, I finally met him around 20 years ago when asked to do sound for an interview he was shooting for a

Haskell Wexler, who passed away Sunday morning at 93, earned the 2006 IDA Career Achievement Award not only for his exemplary artistry as a cinematographer and director, but, just as important, for his unwavering commitment to social justice. He saw the power of documentary as a dynamic tool for change early on in his career. He made a film in the 1950s about the civil rights movement in Tennessee, and his 1965 film The Bus documents the cross-country journey of a San Francisco delegation bound for the epochal March on Washington in August 1963. Wexler enlisted the services of two other late

Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! From Screen Daily, docmakers in Europe struggle for funding, while in the US, players like Netflix and Amazon have kept the documentary form thriving: With Netflix and Amazon Studios acquiring and commissioning feature-length documentaries too, the opportunities for factual film-makers to put their work in front

On the first day of the 2015 IDFA Forum (November 23 – 25) one of Europe's most important international co-financing and co-production markets for documentaries, an article appeared on the front page of IDFA's "Industry Special" newspaper entitled "Mind the (funding) gap." If filmmakers and industry had taken time out from the endless parade of Forum pitches, meetings and parties to read the piece, they might have packed their bags and headed home. In the piece, both Nick Fraser, editor of BBC Storyville, and Paul Pauwels, European Documentary Network (EDN) Director, express deep concern about

Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! The Huffington Post assesses the PR campaigns of universities like Harvard and Florida State against The Hunting Ground: If you haven't seen The Hunting Ground, but have only read about it, then you "know" that it is an "inaccurate", "misleading," "supposed documentary" forwarding the filmmakers' agenda. And you

For documentary filmmakers, strategists, funders, broadcasters, buyers—and of course, fans— November means the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the premier international festival celebrating the best of the form from around the world. Along with more than 350 films and virtual reality projects on display, conversations about documentary’s societal impact were front and center. On the opening day of the festival and forum, Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) founder and senior research fellow Pat Aufderheide moderated a panel titled, "Evaluating Impact: Challenges and

The holidays are a time for bingeing on turkey and trimmings and — if Netflix gets its way —a new true-crime documentary series. The 10-part Making a Murderer, which premieres this Friday, December 18, on the streaming service, recalls In Cold Blood and, of course, HBO's The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos directed the series, which focuses on a small-town Wisconsin man, Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He got out, only to be later accused of an even more heinous crime—killing a woman at the family auto junkyard

It's the most wonderful time of the year: the time for publishing year-end lists! But we're not so interested in doing a "Best of 2015" list -- our own IDA Awards has that terrain well-covered. So instead, we turned to our colleagues here at IDA to weigh in on their most memorable moments of 2015. After much reflection and rumination, we've compiled the highlights from screenings, festivals, our own IDA programs, and community events to share with you, our community. While we couldn't include everything -- we would have a dissertation on our hands! -- we're happy to present the IDA staff's

Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! Wired previews the virtual reality projects at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: It’s a long way away from the New Frontier program that launched a decade ago, back when the programming was a mix of experimental standard films and pieces that were more like art installations. Chris Milk, who has since become one of