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! Indiewire rounds up a group of new documentaries that reflect upon the 1992 L.A. Uprising. It's 25 years later, and Los Angeles – and the LAPD – have changed. But has the rest of the country? Regular reports of police brutality, now well-documented in an age of phone cameras, make it clear that we haven't come all
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By Michael Bracy & Cynthia Lopez By Michael Bracy and Cynthia Lopez In a time when public funding and media are in jeopardy, distribution outlets are multiplying, reality programming is increasingly attracting audiences, technology is ever-evolving, and philanthropic institutions are reassessing how much and how they support the documentary genre, nonfiction filmmakers are facing a hostile environment in which to create their work—and maintain a livelihood. Despite these circumstances, documentarians are making films that are cinematically breathtaking, politically brave and powerful enough to
Editor's Note: This article comes to us courtesy of the Center for Asian American Media ( CAAM). Filmmaker Grace Lee uses the medium of documentary to paint a picture of Asian American lives with insight and honesty. Her films include The Grace Lee Project, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and Off the Menu: Asian America. Her newest project, K-TOWN ’92, is an interactive documentary of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. It comes 25 years after Los Angeles erupted in flames and anger after Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of savagely beating motorist Rodney King - the
I was sitting at an IDA-produced summit on sustainability in February in Washington, DC. Dozens of seasoned filmmakers shared personal struggles about how they have survived in their careers as documentary filmmakers. I listened to people I deeply admire and respect candidly discuss potential action items to fix a financial model that many in the room agreed is broken. As a young filmmaker, I wondered what kind of contribution I could make to a big goal as elusive and abstract as sustainability. Then the topic of transparency came up repeatedly in conversation. It was striking to hear how many
Last December, the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter announced the promotion of Liz Cook to Director of Documentary Film. Though Cook has been with Kickstarter since 2013, and had already been serving as an Outreach Lead for documentary filmmakers, the promotion signaled a more robust commitment to advancing docs through the crowdfunding process. To doc filmmakers, the news won't come as a surprise. Documentary is the most popular subcategory of the film community on Kickstarter, and this year, 42 Kickstarter alumni brought their films to Sundance. Speaking by phone from the rooftop of
At the IDA's first Getting Real Conference in fall 2014, a group of prominent grant organizations got together to discuss the state of grant funding for documentary films, and they decided to keep the conversation going. In the two years between then and Getting Real '16, the funders convened to discuss ways they could improve the rigorous process of applying for grants, support filmmakers beyond just funding, and incorporate feedback they received from the community. The themes of Getting Real '16—Art, Diversity and Sustainability—were a natural reflection of the conversations among the
As a documentary filmmaker, I see film as a powerful tool for viscerally connecting audiences with subjects, empowering the voiceless, and immersing the viewer in worlds previously unseen—and in the process, inspiring dialogue and spurring social change. If there's one thing I have learned throughout my career, it is that this form of storytelling is enough to bring about transformation. I deeply admire James Longley's Iraq in Fragments. Shot, directed and edited beautifully, this film tells the story of the US-instigated Iraq War in a unique and awe-inspiring manner. It humanizes the conflict
Dear IDA Community, At the IDA Awards last December, legendary producer Norman Lear said, "As we enter a very dangerous time in our country, with a president-elect who does not seem to understand, much less cherish, the Constitution, I am happier than I am able to express that there is an International Documentary Association to fight for the First Amendment…If he or his administration in any way threatens the free speech rights of our documentary filmmakers, the IDA and every supporter in this room must—will, I am sure—hunker down together and fight our asses off." We face an immediate crisis
Dear Editor: I just read Alan Barker's article " Documentary Sound: Some Minimal Audiokits" (Winter 2017) with some interest. However, there are a few details not mentioned that should influence purchase decisions and subsequent use. The use of wireless microphones in the field is controversial and not necessarily recommended. In the United States, wireless mics are subject to the rules of FCC Part 90, and may require licensing, registration and frequency coordination—particularly in high-density urban areas where the risk of interference is high. If you are using a wireless mic in a rural
Dear Readers, As we go to press, Americans are facing the possibility of losing some of our most cherished and vital federal agencies—namely, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences. Add to the mix the National Science Foundation, which has supported so many documentary projects over the years. America has never been quick to embrace a full-bodied cultural policy or infrastructure, despite the trove of traditions and innovations that Americans have unleashed on