HEADLINES
 

Documentary Filmmakers Lament Hollywood Cutbacks and Deal Scarcity
Addie Morfoot reports at Variety: “Documentary filmmaking has never been a profession one enters into to get rich — though for a brief period it seemed possible. Cable expanded documentary’s reach to wider audiences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and films like Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins, and An Inconvenient Truth became legitimate box-office breakthroughs, but nonfiction features on the whole remained something of a stepchild within the larger Hollywood ecosystem until 2017, when Netflix acquired Brian Fogel’s Icarus for $5 million. At the time, the deal was one of the biggest ever for a non-fiction film. And it was followed by even bigger deals: In 2019 Netflix shelled out $10 million for Rachel Lears’ Knock Down the House. The following year Apple TV+ and A24 partnered to buy Jesse Moss’ Boys State for $10 million, and in 2021 Searchlight and Hulu bought Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson’s Summer of Soul for $12 million.”

Better Angels Lavine Fellowship Reveals the Doc Projects Selected for 2024 Cohort
Andrew Tracy reports at Realscreen: “The non-profit Better Angels Society has revealed the five recipients of the 2024 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship, which provides support for promising documentary projects from the U.S. that tell stories about underrepresented peoples, communities and subjects from American history. Launched in 2021, the Fellowship selects its recipients from the pool of projects submitted to the annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, which opened the call for its 2024 edition in February. The filmmaking teams from each of the five projects will receive a US$5,000 cash prize, as well as bespoke mentorship sessions across several months to help them advance their project and seek distribution. The Fellowship also includes the opportunity for three interactive group workshops, and an expert review of rough or fine cuts of the projects to provide feedback on storytelling, structure, clarity, script and character development. The five projects selected for the 2024 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship are listed below, with loglines provided by the Better Angels Society.”

Catapult Film Fund Reveals 2024 Research Grant Recipients & Advisors
Announced via press release: “Catapult Film Fund announces its 2024 Research Grant recipients and industry advisors. The Bay Area-based nonprofit organization launched its latest artist-centered program in 2020 to address issues of career sustainability and diversity in the documentary industry. This year’s selected filmmakers are Hazel Gurland-Pooler, Set Hernandez, Arielle Knight, Tracy Heather Strain, and So Yun Um. Catapult’s Research Grant recipients will receive $10,000 in direct support and six months of mentorship to support conceptualization of new nonfiction projects. During the program, grant recipients are also paired with a dedicated advisor based on their specific project needs and goals. This year’s advisors include Oscar®Award-winning director Steven Bognar (American Factory), Oscar® Award-nominated director Yance Ford (Power), Emmy®Award-winning editor and director Geeta Gandhbir (Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power), Emmy® Award-winning executive producer Simon Kilmurry (Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy), and Emmy®Award-nominated director Michèle Stephenson (Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project).”

Bitchitra Collective Announces Inaugural Sriyanka Ray Grant Winner & 2024 Fellows
The editors of IDA Blog shared: “Bitchitra Collective: Indian Women in Documentary announces the second cohort for the Bitchitra Collective Documentary Film & Media Fellowship. Each will receive a $2,000 grant for an ongoing short or feature-length documentary project and a year-long mentorship with an established filmmaker. New this year, in partnership with Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM), Bitchitra Collective established the inaugural Sriyanka Ray Grant, named after a founder of Bitchitra and a beloved community-based artist and organizer within BGDM. The recipient of the Sriyanka Ray Grant will receive $4,000. Awarded filmmakers are based in India or the U.S. and of Indian heritage. A two-year grant from Color Congress (previously covered by Documentary here) and a matching grant from BGDM support the Fellowship and the Sriyanki Ray Grant. According to a press release, Fellowship jurors Sunita Prasad, Bishakha Datta, and Ambarien Alqadar issued the following statement: ‘This was an extremely difficult choice to make given the high number of very strong proposals covering a wide range of interesting subjects and approaches. We were privileged to view proposals from a mix of emerging and established filmmakers. Ultimately, we selected a cohort of grantees based on their relevant, contemporary themes, attentiveness to documentary ethics, and creative approaches that ranged from deeply committed vérité to the sublime.’”

BAVC Media Announces the 2024 MediaMaker Fellows
Announced via press release: “BAVC Media is excited to announce the latest cohort to take part in its longstanding documentary film fellowship program. Participants in the 2024 BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funding, mentorship, industry access, feedback sessions, and workshops during an immersive 9-month experience. This year’s fellows are: Jamal Ademola (Ellas Vinieron de Las Nubes / They Came From the Clouds), Chelsi Bullard (Unfiltered), Caron Creighton (Wood Street), Julia Hunter (This is Me Loving You), Patrick G. Lee (Untitled KQT Project), Ivan MacDonald (When They Were Here), Khai Thu Nguyen (The Full Thao), Pallavi Somusetty (Coach Emily). The program will feature two intensive convenings in San Francisco, a slate of virtual workshops throughout the year, and all-access travel to the International Documentary Association’s biennial Getting Real conference in Los Angeles and the Camden International Film Festival in midcoast Maine.”

DOC NYC PRO

EDITING DAY: SCENE ANALYSIS

Weds., April 10, 10-4pm IFC Center

Join us for an exciting day-long workshop at the IFC Center in New York City where talented editors break down scenes shot by shot, revealing how the arc, pacing, tension, and visuals create revealing moments. Our panelists, editors Francesca Sharper (Stamped from the Beginning), Nira Burstein (Charm Circle), David Teague (Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields and Frida), and Ephraim Kirkwood (High on the Hog), will be scrubbing through scenes, breaking down their elements, and explaining their process. This will be an interactive session with a lively QA throughout.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from the best in the industry and gain insights into the art of editing.

Learn More

ON THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT
 

Doc10 Unveils Its Lineup, Led by Chris Smith’s Devo Movie
Addie Morfoot reports at Variety: “Chris Smith‘s Devo will open the ninth edition of Chicago’s Doc10 documentary film festival on May 2. The film, which premiered at Sundance 2024, charts the life of the art-movement-turned-band Devo from Akron, Ohio, through archival footage of the band and candid sit-down interviews with band members. Smith (American Movie, Tiger King) follows the band on their journey from Dadaist, Kent State radicals to unlikely icons of 1980s MTV. Currently celebrating their 50 years of De-Evolution Tour, Devo band members will join Doc10 in a live, virtual Q&A moderated by WXRT’s Marty Lennartz. Doc10, a four-day fest running May 2-5, features a selection of 10 documentaries making their Chicago premieres along with a package of 10 prestigious documentary shorts. The fest is hosted by Chicago Media Project, a company that has generated more than $8.5 million in funding for documentary projects. CMP has directly supported over 150 films including Icarus, Crip Camp and most recently Gaucho, Gaucho, Eternal You and Union.”

Ji.hlava IDFF Launches New Support Scheme for Documentaries
Announced via press release: “The Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival and Czech entrepreneur Jan Barta joined forces to support outstanding auteur filmmaking from Central and Eastern Europe by launching the Ji.hlava / JB Films support scheme. The financial support will have a form of co-production contributions to film projects. Around 3–4 documentary and hybrid films in production or post-production will be supported. One project can receive up to 40,000 EUR. ‘The aim of this new initiative is to support distinctive auteur projects with distribution potential. The profit that the films will make will be used to support other documentaries in the making,’ explains the idea Marek Hovorka. The deadline for applications is April 30 and the first supported projects will be announced in summer 2024. The list of eligible countries and other details are available at Ji.hlava IDFF website.”

31st New York African Film Festival Lineup Announced
Announced via press release: “Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) will celebrate the 31st edition of the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) from May 8 to May 14. Since its inception in 1993, the festival has been at the forefront of showcasing African and diaspora filmmakers’ unique storytelling through the moving image. This year’s theme, ‘Convergence of Time,’ explores the intersection of historical and contemporary roles played by individuals representing Africa and its diaspora in art. With more than 50 films from more than 25 countries, the festival invites audiences to delve into the convergence of archival and modern experimentalism, transcending both space and time. ‘The 31st New York African Film Festival has so much to offer in terms of honoring the origins of  homegrown, beloved African and diaspora film industry, as well as celebrating their references in modern masterpieces,’ said Mahen Bonetti, NYAFF Founder and AFF Executive Director.”

DC/DOX Early Bird Passes Now on Sale
Announced via press release: “DC/DOX 2024 is fast approaching and we're hard at work behind the scenes to bring you an exceptional second edition, set for June 13-16 in Washington, DC. As we finalize a lineup of over 70 fantastic new documentaries and engaging panels, workshops, masterclasses (and even a hybrid live performance that you won’t want to miss), we invite you to secure your All-Access Pass now at a discounted rate. Early Bird Pass sales run April 1 through May 1. The All-Access Pass offers you unlimited priority access to all festival programs including film screenings, the ‘Reality Check’ industry forum, and social networking events. Don't miss this opportunity to secure your DC/DOX pass with a 10% discount! To learn more about tickets and passes, visit our attend page. The 2024 program will be announced in early May, so stay tuned!”

DOC NYC SELECTS
 

IGUALADA
Date: Tuesday, April 9
Time: 7:00pm ET
Venue: IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave, NYC
TRT: 81 minutes

In the 2022 Colombian presidential campaign, Francia Márquez, a Black woman from a rural background, challenges the status quo by declaring her candidacy. Reappropriating the derogatory term “igualada,” Márquez disrupts more than Colombia’s conservative echelons of power – she interrogates the dynamics of governmental power itself. Directed by DOC NYC’s 2016 Audience Award winning filmmaker Juan Mejía Botero (Death by a Thousand Cuts) and filmed over 15 years, Igualada reveals profound lessons for nations in political upheaval all over the world. 

The screening will be followed by an on-stage conversation with filmmaker Juan Mejía and producers Juan Yepes and Sonia Serna.

Buy Tickets

MISCELLANEOUS
 

Documentary Filmmaker Explores Japan’s Rigorous Education Rituals
Motoko Rich writes in The New York Times: “The defining experience of Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s childhood left her with badly scraped knees and her classmates with broken bones. During sixth grade in Osaka, Japan, Ms. Yamazaki — now a 34-year-old documentary filmmaker — practiced for weeks with classmates to form a human pyramid seven levels high for an annual school sports day. Despite the blood and tears the children shed as they struggled to make the pyramid work, the accomplishment she felt when the group kept it from toppling became ‘a beacon of why I feel like I am resilient and hard-working.’ Now, Ms. Yamazaki, who is half-British, half-Japanese, is using her documentary eye to chronicle such moments that she believes form the essence of Japanese character, for better or worse.”

Open Call for the 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship has Begun!
Announced via press release: “We are thrilled to announce that our open call for the 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship has begun! The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship is a year-long group mentorship program for documentary assistant, associate and emerging editors from historically underrepresented backgrounds and experiences. The fellowship will run from September 2024 to September 2025 and will consist of monthly small group meetings with seasoned documentary editor mentors. Applications will be accepted during our open call period from April 1 to May 12, 2024. Please help us spread the word! Ideal applicants are currently working as documentary assistant, associate or early career editors who are looking to grow and work towards building a sustainable career. Applicants should be curious, open-minded, collaborative, and self-motivated people who are eager to get together with other documentary creatives to talk about the art, craft, ethics and business of editing documentaries.”

Dawn Porter Details How Private Funding In The Documentary Space Could Help
Max Goldbart reports at Deadline: "Storied docs producer Dawn Porter has said private funding in the documentary space could help plug financial gaps that have opened up in today’s challenging market. The Gotham Award-winner’s latest project, revealed by Deadline in February, is a documentary about Nelson and Willie Mandela that is part-funded by the Schultz Family Foundation. Speaking at MIPTV today, Porter said her team at Trilogy Films is ‘reaching out for private funding’ to finance big projects. ‘We will need a broadcaster but are also reaching out [externally],’ she added. ‘I’m looking at how we make films, how budget constraints are changing [the industry] and having honest conversations with partners about how we are going to do this together.’”