Now, while there may be greater attention to filmmakers’ proximity to their subjects and a push for more diverse directors, co-directors, producers, and crew members, there’s also a rise in what some call “cover-your-ass” hires over meaningful collaborations. If the U.S. industry, then, has accepted that documentary projects benefit from having creatives from similar races, genders, sexualities, or nationalities as their subjects, they might be included—but are they actual partners?
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IDA’s tips for navigating your first Cine Gear Expo—IDA staff Zaf and Janki give advice on making the most of a large commercial event.
In these first couple of months as IDA’s executive director, a few lines by the cultural thinker Paul Gilroy have been on my mind. They indicate, for me, something of the purpose of documentary filmmaking.
Discover the transformative power of images and documentary films in Documentary's latest issue. From the vibrant summer of global conferences, conventions, and the Paris Olympics to the resurgence of interest in avant-garde filmmakers like Bill Morrison and Narcisa Hirsch, explore how events are captured and reinterpreted. Delve into Kirsten Johnson’s insights on the enduring relationships between creators and viewers, the making of the docuseries “God Save Texas,” and the innovative practices of the NoCut Film Collective. Plus, learn about new legislation protecting documentary filmmakers and get capsule reviews of upcoming releases.
A film forged through traumatic reckoning, Sugarcane investigates the discovery of 50 unmarked graves on the property of St. Joseph’s, a now-defunct residential school in British Columbia located near the titular Sugarcane Reservation of Williams Lake. The bodies unceremoniously buried here are Native children that were forced to attend this institution, one of 139 in Canada that were predominantly affiliated with the Catholic Church, in an attempt to assimilate them to Western cultural values by way of rejecting their Indigenous roots. Abused at the hands of clergy and staff—with accounts of
Though veteran director-producer Amy Nicholson has crafted feature-length films (2012’s Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride , 2005’s Muskrat Lovely ), she first appeared on my radar in 2016 with her memorable short Pickle , which was nominated for an IDA Documentary Award and the Cinema Eye Honors, and went on to be featured in the New York Times ’ Op-Docs as well as on the Criterion Channel (alongside Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven no less). And while Nicholson’s latest work of cinematic nonfiction does include her trademark approach of “chuckling along with” (never at) her sometimes offbeat
“I don’t think of myself as a documentary filmmaker”: Documentary spoke with Kienitz Wilkins to discuss his methodology, his thoughts on documentary’s relationship to his work, and the festival landscape at large.
At IDA, we honor July as Disability Pride Month with deep respect for the invaluable contributions of disabled nonfiction filmmakers.
At this moment in our industry, when everyone is trying to find a solution to the distribution crisis, BAVC Media continues to adapt in order to support filmmakers’ visions through radical access and strong community-building, as it has been doing since 1991. The long-running MediaMaker Fellowship , co-led by BAVC Media Director of Youth and Artistic Development Programs Dawn Valadez, MediaMaker Fellowship Co-Director Jin Yoo-Kim, and Associate Director of Artist Development Brittney Réaume, focuses on supporting documentary filmmakers that have bold cinematic language and innovative impact
With a flurry of announcements in the last six months, the Doris Duke Foundation’s Building Bridges program has stepped squarely into the film funding space in a concerted effort to broaden the pipeline of Muslim-American filmmakers in media and entertainment. The program is partnering with a handful of film institutions, most notably the Islamic Scholarship Fund, the Center for Asian American Media, Sundance Institute, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Hollywood Bureau, on a series of public activations, funds, and fellowships. The programs have taken place in a variety of spaces, from Sundance festival to IDA’s own Getting Real. The activities caught our attention.