Let’s face it: documentaries are no longer "niche." Since 2020, documentaries have been the fastest-growing genre on streaming platforms. Data compiled by Parrot Analytics showed that between January 2018 and March 2021, the number of documentary series soared by 63%, while demand for them skyrocketed by 142%. This explosion in demand has resulted in many distribution outlets turning to reality TV production companies to steer projects to completion. But the culture clash between reality TV and documentary is having unintended, negative consequences in the edit room, as producers are pressured
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Sahar Driver and Sonya Childress recently announced their co-directorship of a new initiative to support the sustainability and strengthening of independent people of color (POC)- led documentary film institutions and POC documentary filmmakers. This initiative, called Color Congress, is a national collective of majority POC and POC-led organizations that aims to center and strengthen nonfiction storytelling by, for and about people of color in the US. As longtime field-building and impact cultural strategists, and advocates in the independent documentary film space, Driver and Childress bring
"My name is Ayudh Chatterjee, and I’m slightly unwell, sorry," coughs a little boy bundled up in a sweater and scarf. "But in this movie, the teacher insists that two and two equals five. Is this right?" "No!" shouts the indignant audience. "Then the cruel teacher forces the student to agree, brings three bullies to force him, but he refuses, he keeps rebelling. They kill him! Despite this, that other boy, even though he says 'five' out loud, he writes '4' in his notebook. That is right!" He hands the mic back. He gets a round of wild applause. In Ariadaha, in the northern suburbs of Kolkata
Since early 2020, the COVID pandemic has taken a merciless toll on film institutions and festivals around the world. But for Cinemateca Brasileira, aka the Brazilian Cinematheque, founded in 1940 and located in São Paulo, the crisis that ended with it shutting its doors in August 2020 had been nearly a decade in the making. The slow, agonizing burnout left the revered, beleaguered institution—including its workers—not only at the mercy of the faltering government’s response to longstanding economic downturn and the pandemic fallout, but also in the maelstrom of a highly politicized cultural
Few media arts centers last 50 years, let alone in Manhattan, where sky-high rents drive most out of business. But DCTV has survived for half a century. However, no celebration can be planned as long as Omicron is raging in the city. Co-founder Jon Alpert takes the long view, saying, “We want to survive, adapt, and be as relevant going forward as we have been for the last 50 years. That’s the best way to celebrate.” The reasons behind DCTV’s success are many. But foremost among them are owning the property where they’re housed, the revenue stream from DCTV productions, and the dedication of
Thomas Allen Harris is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and artist whose acclaimed works include VINTAGE—Families of Value, Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, Family Pictures USA―a documentary-style television program that uses shared family photos to bring communities together―and Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, a cross-country transmedia project that incorporates community organizing, performance, and virtual happenings to create an interactive form of storytelling. Harris has been teaching at Yale University for the past five years, and thanks
Gerardo del Valle is a video journalist from Guatemala currently based in New York City. His work explores the people behind the headlines and the repercussions of policy decisions on communities. He studied Communications and Media at Universidad Rafael Landívar in Guatemala and has a Master’s degree in Journalism from the City University of New York. He is a Firelight Documentary Lab Fellow and an SFFilm Foundation New American Fellow. His latest project The Past Is Waiting Up Ahead is supported by IDA’s Enterprise Documentary Fund and the Sundance Institute. Starting his career working as a
The Imposter is an important film for a number of reasons: (1) It is a stand-alone, deeply compelling piece of storytelling; (2) in classic hybrid fashion, the film places an emphasis on the aesthetics and plays comfortably in the terrain of unmediated truths; and (3) it leaves me questioning Hollywood dramatic narratives that mine doc elements to enhance the authenticity of the story—a genre I’m calling "infictional cinema." The Imposter, the 2012 hybrid doc and psychological thriller directed by Bart Layton, displays a stunning series of high-stakes events captured by performing the archives
The Durham, North Carolina-based Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is noted for its homey atmosphere, easy access to filmmakers, and the kind of programming that, by and large, asks viewers to pay attention. The wise, pandemic-driven choice to go virtual for 2022 left attendees with only one of the three reasons to show up. "The spirit of Full Frame is still felt by prioritizing the filmmakers and ensuring the online platform is as accessible as possible for audiences to engage with their films," says Artistic Director/Interim Festival Director Sadie Tillery. The stripped-down experience
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Black Maternal Health Week, which takes place between April 11–17, was officially recognized by the White House on April 13, 2021. Within a world where every social system is plagued by racism and misogyny, the USA alone reports a maternal mortality rate in Black women that is two to three times higher than that of white women. The BMHW 2022 theme this year is “Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families and Black Systems of Care.” Our Screen Time this week