December 9, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
Documentary Filmmakers Fear More Legal Challenges in Trump Era
A few days after Donald Trump was elected president, a respected documentary film director met with a roomful of potential backers and distributors in New York City. The director was making a film about questionable contributions to Republican political campaigns, a hot topic given the election. The men and women in the room were riveted by the stirring trailer that captured the drama and enthused over the unusually close access to the subjects. The cinematography was terrific. One-by-one, they pledged money for production and to get word out to festivals. The filmmaker was thrilled, but also was looking for a bigger commitment.
Read more | Columbia Journalism Review »
Special Fund for Rapid Story Deployment
To that end, Fledgling’s Special Fund for Rapid Story Deployment provides grants ranging from $2,500-$10,000 to support short films and/or other visual stories that can be completed and distributed quickly. Priority will be given to projects that have a plan to distribute the work in ways that deepen the debate around our most critical social issues. We are open to funding at all stages (production, post-production, distribution and outreach) but will give priority to projects and that are well positioned to make an impact quickly.
Read more | Fledgling Fund »
Paul Haggis to Supply Documentary About Flint Water Scandal
Paul Haggis, director of the Oscar-winning drama Crash, is to produce a documentary about the Flint water contamination scandal. According to Deadline, Haggis is working with director William Hart on Lead and Copper, a film that aims to investigate the ongoing crisis, which began in 2014 after the city in Michigan changed its water supply. As a result, untreated water found its way into people’s homes and locals were exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead.
Read more | Guardian »
HBO Sets Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine Documentary for 2017
HBO will debut Allen Hughes documentary The Defiant Ones in 2017, Variety has learned. The four-part doc traces the lives and long partnership of two of music’s legends: Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
Read more | Variety »
The Netflix Documentary Series ‘Captive’ Takes a Gripping Look at Hostage Crises Across the Globe
Captive a documentary series premiering Friday on Netflix, aims to be the fact-based version of one of those taut suspense thrillers starring Liam Neeson. Each of the show’s eight episodes tells the story of a different hostage crisis, dramatizing tense, high-stakes negotiations through a combination of archival recordings, present-day interviews and artful re-creations.
Read more | Los Angeles Times »
Upcoming Festivals and Deadlines
This Week
- Deadline: Artist as Activist Fellowship Dec 7
Next Week
- Deadline: CPH DOX 2017 Submission Dec 15
- Deadline: SXSW 2017 Film Festival Submissions Dec 16
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