August 15, 2021 marked the Taliban’s capture of the Afghan capital of Kabul, culminating a shockingly swift offensive that began in May. The Taliban surged back to power following a nearly two-decade-long insurgency against allied NATO and Afghan armed forces, just weeks before Washington was set to complete its troop withdrawal. As the country fell into Taliban control and the Afghan government collapsed, scenes of chaos unfolded at the Kabul airport. Within days, harrowing images of Afghans running along the tarmac and clinging to departing US military planes became emblematic of panic and
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Founded in 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Prismatic Ground is a glimmer of hope for experimental nonfiction cinema in a tumultuous period. Inney Prakash, a programmer at the Maysles Documentary Center in New York, launched the film festival, creating a series, as Prakash says, “centering on experimental documentary that seeks to break down various hierarchies.” Shorts and feature films appear alongside each other; movies made by veteran and first-time directors are in conversation with one another. This goal of eliminating boundaries even reaches to the very notion of “documentary” and
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. At IDA, we believe in championing stories that are about protecting people’s freedoms—be it someone’s sexuality, their decision to give birth (or not), or their decision to marry their partner of choice. The last 24 hours have been harrowing for us, as they should’ve been for anyone who believes in human rights. With the leaked draft of a Supreme Court majority opinion calling for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, this week’s Screen Time is dedicated to the organizations and
In this 40th anniversary year of the International Documentary Association, and on the eve of the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund 2022 open call, it seems an apt moment to reflect upon the fund’s history. Launched at Sundance in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund was the realization of extensive research, ideation, and collaboration between IDA’s then Director of Funds, Carrie Lozano; former Executive Director Simon Kilmurry; and our liaisons at the John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation. The intentional collaboration and rigorous research that brought the Fund to life set a
Unfolding over three informative afternoons at the 2022 hybrid CPH:DOX (March 23-April 3), CPH:CONFERENCE’s “Business as Unusual” was the catchily titled. The Catalysts-curated program, moderated by friend-of-the-fest AC Coppens—who also founded the aforementioned consultancy “for innovative and creative players working at the crossing of Digital Tech and Film/XR, Music/Sound, Design & Culture, to turn conferences into sites of knowledge exchange and co-creation”. “Follow the Money!” was the equally catchy theme of the day that featured longtime change-maker Derren Lawford, founder and CEO of
In many ways, 2022 has been the Year of the Worker. Unionized workers in the US at Amazon and Starbucks recently celebrated massive victories, reenergizing the call for more equitable workplaces. This is also true in the film industry as worker-led movements and unions continue to challenge the exploitative practices of production companies, theaters and nonprofit arts institutions. We explored labor movements, within the nonfiction sphere, in the Spring 2022 issue of Documentary magazine. As we approach May Day, or International Workers' Day, it’s an important time to listen to and uplift the
Dear Readers, Last fall, when the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) averted a strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), it wasn’t just Hollywood that took notice. In the weeks leading up to the IATSE denouement, the New York Film Festival staff made it clear to the ticket-buying public, through words they projected on the side of Alice Tully Hall, that "NyFilmFest Runs on Union Labor." While the growth of the documentary form in all its permutations might, on the surface, bode well for our community, the concurrent demands from
“I’ve watched every single one of us struggle financially and physically from the pay and the hours. Many, including myself, have huge debts from travel and lodging costs that our seasonal salaries wouldn’t cover. I’ve seen friends fall asleep at the wheel, or be scared to drive home after an 18-hour day…” Stories like these are all too common on anonymous Instagram accounts such as OfftheFestCircuit and FestStafferStories, which chronicle the inequities experienced by film exhibition workers from across the nation. Hundreds of posts recount incidents of exploitation, abuse, sexism and racism
The last few years have been deemed by many as the Golden Age of Documentaries, but for the majority working in the nonfiction landscape, it’s a paycheck-to-paycheck existence that does not include health care, let alone benefits like a 401(k) and paid vacations. While Hollywood lives and dies by its labor unions, for the nonfiction community, being unionized is a privilege that few can afford. For example, for a doc director to become a Directors Guild of America (DGA) member, they must be hired by a signatory company to direct a project or develop a feature-length project. For that to happen
Joining the Directors Guild of America nearly 10 years ago ranks as one of the proudest moments in my entire career. There was something about belonging to this prominent legacy organization that made my title of Director feel that much more authentic. As a child of two labor organizers, this accomplishment had a more profound significance than just moving up in the world of film and television. Mom was a shop steward for the Houston APWU (American Postal Workers Union) and Dad’s hard work and dedication took him from a local APWU President to being former Secretary-General Richard Trumka’s