Documentary Resilience in a Turbulent Era: My Takeaways from DOC NYC

My experience attending this Fall’s DOC NYC Pro conference and the DOC NYC FEST was nothing short of motivational. In a year where documentary filmmakers have been confronted with financial and distribution challenges (i.e. the gutting of Federal funding, platform mergers etc.), as well as uncertainty around the evolving market for non-fiction work (diminishing audience attention spans, changes in taste), it’s the creators who band together in this community, stay the course, and make things happen.  I’m proud APM is a small part of this community, having provided 12 of this year’s docs at the festival affordable music for their esteemed productions (Arrest the Midwife, Apocalypse in the Tropics, The Dating Game, Santacon, and more).

The gathering itself, helmed by the incomparable Malikkah Rollins, is an inspirational hive mind for sharing and mapping pathways to realizing one’s vision. In this light, DOC NYC has become both the safe haven and megaphone for the enduring genre of documentary film.

Friday’s schedule of panels centered around “Crisis & Opportunity; Making Docs in a Turbulent Era” and topics ranged from “Defending Documentaries/Defending Democracy” to “Artful Resistance; Creative Ways to Tell Political Stories”. With partners Victoria Cook & Lisa E. Davis (Frankfurt Kurnit) to Melissa Georges (Chair Content and Clearance Group) to James West (CID) and Keith Brown (Firelight Films) raising important questions such as:

“With contraction in the marketplace, mergers and acquisitions, viewership primarily via streaming, what’s the buyer appetite when the algorithm ultimately decides what gets funded?”

or

“In an age where legacy media companies are scared of bad faith litigation, where truth telling puts a target on your back, how can filmmakers continue to hold truth to power through storytelling?”

The answers can be found by utilizing dedicated resources such as the Center for Investigative Reporting, Center of Independent Documentary, Field of Vision’s legal clinic, and Firelight Films, in continuing to take risks and find funding from audiences where the subject matter bears importance, through cleaning the hygiene of people’s feeds by making good work, re-telling and archiving the evidence of our lived experiences, and teaching the importance of visual media literacy to the next generation through responsible source based output.

During the Artful Resistance panel, Emmy winning filmmaker Violet Du Feng (The Dating Game) spoke about the “dissolution of truth catalyzed by social media” and how that impacts our society and can be examined through filmmaking. In terms of landing with audiences, Peabody award winning filmmaker Petra Costa (The Edge of Democracy) remarked, “It’s not about how people move, but what moves people that makes a film timeless.” Documentary can still enact real change, hold global officials and bad actors accountable, spur the implementation of policy change, and continue to work toward bettering the lives of humankind.

While exploring fundraising options in today’s climate, director Byron Hurt (Lee & Liza’s Family Tree) spoke of utilizing Gathr, GoFundMe, online stores via Shopify, as well as the implementation of figuring out where the fans are and how to best engage them to support your project. He said, “find those who are one degree away from helping”. David Alvarado (We Are as Gods) shared, “the most important question is ‘how does my film want to be funded?’ not ‘where is the money’?”

In terms of allocating your budget for music while navigating what music clearance rights are going to be needed, (as reminded to audiences in the Editing panels; Fair Use is a defense not a right), it’s important to know how much to set aside for music. Whether this is through hiring a composer, attempting to navigate licensing major artist tracks, or utilizing a dedicated resource like APM as either a supplemental need or under a blanket for unlimited music, having the right and knowledgeable partner makes a world of difference in terms of legal protections, cost effectiveness, and saving time.

Addressing hidden costs, producer Elijah Steven’s said, “you will always have another shoot, another week of editing”. His remark resonated with me, as I recall one of the directors I worked with in the past, told me that having APM as a line item in their budget allowed them an extra shoot day they hadn’t anticipated.

An overall incredible experience, my last takeaway came from Elaisha Stokes (Chicken & Egg Films) when she called upon attendees to “believe in the art of cinema…learn to make something… and don’t lose what makes us human, our ability to think critically.”

As we suddenly find ourselves collectively in an age plagued by AI slop, morally ambiguous implementations of generative uses, corner cutting and audience assumptions, lean into authenticity. She calls upon the filmmaking community, “how do you want your art to participate?” and I say I want to help.