There are many reasons filmmakers might choose to self-distribute their documentaries: they may want residuals to come in throughout their careers, as opposed to what might be just a single upfront payment in an all-rights deal; they may feel a responsibility to their audience or subject matter to shepherd the project and not sell it off to a distributor focused on the bottom line; or maybe no one is knocking down their doors to buy your movie. At the recent DOC NYC PRO Distribution Book Camp, four filmmakers who have self-distributed projects (which can mean they are still self-distributing those […]

The past year has proven to be a uniquely rewarding time for David Lynch obsessives, with the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks being the obvious highlight, but also marked by recent Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD special editions of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and the new documentary, David Lynch: the Art Life, focused on Lynch’s painting roots. However, one of the most fascinating Lynch-related features in recent memory has yet to receive the widespread U.S. exposure it richly deserves, and it reflects back to a more traditionally structured Lynch favorite (indeed, still the film that some cite as his key work) that those […]

Opening this edition’s DOC NYC on November 9th is Greg Barker’s The Final Year, a truly up-close-and-personal, behind-the-scenes look at the Obama administration and its foreign policy team during its last 12 months. To say that Barker gained unprecedented access to the president’s men (and one woman) during that period is an understatement. The veteran documentarian (Homegrown: The Counter-Terror Dilemma, Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden, etc.) managed to shadow three heavyweight insiders — Secretary of State John Kerry, Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, and “Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor […]

This is the third and final part of coverage of DOC NYC’s Marketing Boot Camp. (Read parts one and two here at the links.) Christie Marchese of Picture Motion, a marketing and advocacy firm for issue-driven films (Leonardo DiCaprio’s Before the Flood, Ava DuVernay’s 13TH, and Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next), gave a presentation on developing social action and grassroots marketing campaigns. She made the point that grassroots marketing and impact campaigns are two different things: grassroots marketing targets audiences who are pre-disposed to be interested in your film. Impact campaigns are geared toward those who aren’t organically interested. […]

At a DOC NYC panel titled “Out of the Box Funding,” moderator Julia Labassiere (Chief Executive of BAFTA NY) defined the prhase as “anything besides getting a commission (for example, from HBO or National Geographic, etc.).” Marilyn Ness, producer of Cameraperson and Trapped, started the panel off by noting that there are no shortcuts to obtaining so-called “out of the box” money: “It’s a lot of work.” Here are ten tips for how to successfully bring in this type of funding. First Money: Friends, Family and Affinity Groups When you begin a new film, you have to figure out your […]

DOC NYC has announced the full lineup for its seventh edition, which runs from November 10-17 in Manhattan. The 2016 festival, held at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Cinepolis Chelsea, includes 110 feature-length documentaries (44% directed/co-directed by women) and over 250 films and events overall. World premieres at the festival include City of Joy, about a women’s leadership community in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; the new Netflix series Captive, about stories of hostage-taking; HBO’s Every Brilliant Thing, directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, capturing the poignant and funny one-man show by Jonny Donahoe; and Rikers, a searing indictment of the New York […]

DOC NYC has announced its 2016 Short List, which has a track record of successfully predicting other awards, including the Oscars. All of the DOC NYC Short List titles will screen during the festival with the director or other special guests present for their first screening. Additionally, all the directors or other collaborators will participate on Friday, November 11 in the DOC NYC Short List Day of panel conversations. Last year, the DOC NYC Short List had ten titles overlapping the subsequent Oscar Documentary Short List, and all five titles that were Oscar nominated. For the last five years, DOC NYC screened […]

DOC NYC, billed as America’s largest documentary film festival, will expand its industry-focused programs for the seventh edition of the film festival. The New York-based festival will run from November 10-17, with the Visionaries Tribute luncheon taking place on November 10. “For six years, we’ve carefully nurtured our industry offerings to establish a must-attend gathering,” said DOC NYC artistic director Thom Powers in a statement. “Last year saw major growth under the new banner of DOC NYC PRO, the new conference location at Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas and its new lounge. This is a vital networking hub for doc makers to get their future films […]

With more than 200 films and events, DOC NYC has become the largest documentary film festival in the United States. It has also become a must-stop for emerging and established filmmakers who want to deepen their craft through DOC NYC PRO, a series of panels and master classes with industry leaders. I attended the festival this week and my colleague Cheree Dillon and I live-blogged every panel for The D-Word, the worldwide online community for documentary filmmakers. What I came away with were four important things emerging documentary filmmaker should learn (and every veteran should remind themselves of as well!) in […]

An added feature of the 2015 DOC NYC festival was the DOC NYC PRO Conference, which included a weekend of masterclasses dedicated to the work process in cinematography, animation, editing, and building your film’s sound with the composer. Over 20 professionals touched upon the nuts and bolts of each craft while dialing into the importance of building the relationship with their director as a key element in serving the story. Below are some of the highlights the professionals shared with the audience. Use Your Camera with Intention. Mira Chang of Half The Sky said she always has a checklist of […]