Getting Real '26

About

Getting Real is a biennial conference designed for and by documentary practitioners and focused on the business and art of nonfiction storytelling. The seventh edition of Getting Real will celebrate a decade of what is now the largest peer-to-peer gathering of its kind in North America.

This four-day event provides a space for the field to hold constructive conversations, build lasting relationships, and tackle the ethical, creative, sustainability, production, and distribution challenges facing our growing community. The core of the conference programming connects participants who hail from diverse independent filmmaking sectors, geographic regions, and professional statuses, platforming the most exciting new and established voices dialoguing with each other.

Historically, the conference has drawn the most powerful players from the documentary field (major streaming platforms, deep-pocketed funding agencies, among others) and placed them face-to-face with independent documentary filmmakers from across the country and the world. Getting Real has hosted press-embargoed presentations where industry members felt comfortable relaying private data, as well as created intimate spaces for filmmakers to talk candidly about their experiences.

Conference Theme: Terms of Service

Getting Real ’26 will examine the gap between our current industrial reality and an expanding world of documentary practice. We will ask who and what documentary is in service to, and what it will take to collectively honor that commitment now.

Our Program Focuses: Investment, Inspiration, Impact

Investment: In our industry events, who funds the work and what they expect in return usually takes center stage. But the infrastructure built around that transaction has grown so elaborate that its primary beneficiaries are no longer filmmakers or audiences. We will ask what it would mean to rebuild documentary economies around the people who make the work and the communities it is made for.

Inspiration: Some of the most vital documentary-making today is happening far outside traditional circuits—in community screenings, participatory projects, and creator-led formats—without accolades. We will follow documentary into those spaces to glean new artistic and socially engaged practices.

Impact: Filmmakers are often asked, “Did your film change a policy, shift a narrative, or move an audience to act?” Though documentary’s preferred measure of worth is in danger of becoming a mere metric, the initial impulse remains profound. In returning to its roots, we will excavate what documentary—and documentarians—owe to the wider world.

In Case You Missed It

IDA communications and editorial teams cover many conference sessions, as well as videos and transcripts.

Find recordings of GETTING REAL’244 programming on our YouTube.

Testimonials From Past Getting Reals

“My experience was incredible. All of the staff and volunteers were kind and helpful. All of the filmmakers I met were so ready and willing to connect and share knowledge. There were many last-minute changes, but the email communication was clear and consistent, making it easier to navigate all the moving pieces. All in all, it was an incredible experience.” —Thanh Tran

Testimonials From Past Getting Reals

“I loved it. The quality of the curation was absolutely stellar, and attending was a communal event in the best sense: I really appreciate how you welcomed everyone from top-level industry insiders to film students (and all the rest of us in between) on an equal level. It felt democratic, accessible, inclusive. To be clear, I only attended the ‘live’ events, not the virtual ones, since I was there on-site. I really appreciated the variation in the programming, which had a clear theme, but which allowed for every talk to unfold on its own terms. In my experience, the talks felt genuine, honest, and ‘human’ in a way that some industry events do not manage to achieve. There was political commitment and a shared sense of cause, and I appreciate how it was made clear in text and talk that this was a forum in which everyone was encouraged to freely speak their mind and voice their opinion. I also really liked the ones about form and craft/art, as well as the one about using AI for concrete practices. For all those reasons, I find it hard to single out highlights, as Getting Real was so very rewarding as a complete experience. Also, it should be said that it was really great FUN too.”

—Mads K. Mikkelsen

Testimonials From Past Getting Reals

“I loved connecting with the people there. The people were really great. I feel like I made some really organic connections, and it was also nice to reconnect in person with some folks that I had met virtually during the pandemic.”

—Anonymous

“The sense of community I felt in person was invaluable. I also appreciate the discussions fostered among my peers, but the incredible presentations.” —Anonymous