Leaders of documentary groups from around the world are banding together in an international advocacy alliance. Earlier this week, representatives from key advocacy groups convened in a panel at Sheffield DocFest in the U.K. to discuss shared concerns. The Documentary Organization of Canada’s new executive director Julian Carrington joined Abby Sun of the International Documentary Association (IDA), and joint acting CEO Steve Presence of the U.K.’s Documentary Film Council as they pledged to share research and promote cross-border strategies.
The alliance comes at a moment in which the documentary field faces considerable challenges worldwide. Filmmakers and industry peers note declining deals with distributors, streamers, and broadcasters as buyers and commissioners display increased risk-aversion, particularly when it comes to documentaries with controversial subject matter or politically sensitive topics. Meanwhile, theatrical windows for docs are increasingly sparse. (Although Screen recently reported encouraging returns in the U.K., with attendance largely driven by built-in audiences.)
“DOC’s 40-year history shows that robust advocacy has been essential to sustaining Canada’s independent documentary community,” said Carrington. “Our members regularly undertake production partnerships with international colleagues, and an international advocacy alliance is a natural extension. This partnership can only empower us in confronting the challenges that face our industry globally.”
These concerns arrive as distributors and, particularly, streamers and broadcasters favour easygoing celebrity profile docs and formulaic works that draw heavily from non-fiction lifestyle programming. Moreover, works with Canadian broadcasters increasingly rely on international co-production. The alliance also coincides with looming policy changes to potential revisions to the definition of Canadian Content from the CRTC, as well as an existential threat to feature documentary production in Canada if docs are removed from the list of Programs of National Interest ensuring space on Canadian airwaves for specialty content.
In the USA, public funding for documentary has faced serious setbacks in an astonishingly brief window as Donald Trump nixed a reported 85% of funding for National Endowment for the Humanities and left filmmakers shortchanged after they had previously received notification of funding. Trump also barrelled through an attack on PBS and National Public Radio with a request to rescind $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in an effort to reduce “woke propaganda.” Add to that Trump’s 100% tariff on films produced outside the USA—a decision that has industry leaders worldwide both cautiously confused and dumbfounded—and documentary filmmakers have a dizzying array of hurdles in an already challenging field.
Last year, doc powerhouse Participant announced its closure, while hip US-based distributor A24, which won an Oscar for Amy while setting box office records for a British doc, recently said it was clipping its doc wing altogether. A24’s doc André Is an Idiot won an audience award at Sundance earlier this year.
In the U.K., the spend on broadcast commissions dropped by 10% in 2024, while public broadcasters BBC and ITV, among others, are reducing productions spends as streamers move into their territory.
“We can all see the present and coming challenges to the sector on a political, financial and technological level. I know that together we are stronger, both in the US and internationally,” said Sun. “Doc makers are some of the most resourceful, committed and agile people in the industry and right now we all need to pull together.”
“Despite the different contexts we’re working in, it’s really striking how similar the challenges are. There is so much work to do to improve the outlook for documentary filmmakers in the UK,” added Presence. “The more we can co-ordinate with international bodies working on the same fundamental issues, the better – whether that’s on funding, regulation, advocacy, inclusivity or the value of public service media.”
The international alliance announcement followed a documentary advocacy panel in which Carrington, Sun, and Presence joined Natalia Imaz of the Documentary Association of Europe and moderator Krishan Arora to discuss the state of affairs. The panel was produced by the DFC’s Joint Acting CEO Emily Copley, who also serves as Senior Producer of Talks & Sessions at Sheffield DocFest.
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