The 3rd annual Filmmaker Forum at Hot Springs was at its best when its attendees got candid about the industry’s unsettling present and uncertain
Festivals
At its 50th anniversary, Toronto’s flagship festival maintains steady documentary commitments while expanding commercial programming and contracting
In this interview, Elise McCave discusses the challenges of running a U.S. film festival and filmmaker programs amid industry consolidation and
Amid the U.S. festival’s commercial wrappings, three docs from rising filmmakers plumb the depths of American inequity
Philadelphia’s beloved festival for Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers explores themes of inheritance and artistic lineage
A five-day film seminar in Portugal attempts to center listening as documentary practice
The venerable Swiss festival featured its usual boundary-pushing works alongside industry activities that showcased documentary’s capacity to adapt
Venice’s robust nonfiction selection revealed filmmakers grappling with inheritance—of land, literature, trauma, and the weight of documenting lives
Diving deep into the Danish doc mainstay’s standout titles Always, The Helsinki Effect, and Nordic competition winner Walls – Akinni Inuk
“Always balance, everything in balance,” intones Raul Niño Zambrano, all smiles and relaxed on the last morning of his fourth year as creative director of Sheffield DocFest. It’s an aspirational mantra for a festival that seeks to elevate the documentary art of drawing meaning from chaos; in a capsizing world that needs independent media more than ever but would rather attack it, a confident and constructive place to rally is vital. Brexit cut off Creative Europe and Creative Media funding and visa-free visits from Europe, the pandemic hammered revenue and audience habits, and the UK remains in a deep industry recession with more than half its freelance workforce out of work and its once-mighty broadcasters on the back foot. And yet the festival has steadied.