Getting Real '14 Schedule

8:00 - 9:30am

Registration

9:30 - 9:45am

Welcome to Getting Real

9:45am - 10:15am

Opening Keynote: Morgan Spurlock

Morgan Spurlock is an award winning New York based writer, director and producer. His first film, Super Size Me, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, winning Best Directing honors. The film went on to win the inaugural Writers Guild of America Best Documentary Screenplay award as well as garner an Academy Award nomination for Best Feature Documentary. Since then, he has directed, produced and distributed multiple film, TV and digital projects, including the critically acclaimed CNN television series Morgan Spurlock Inside Man, the FX series 30 Days and the films Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, Confessions of a Superhero, Czech Dream, Chalk, The Future of Food, What Would Jesus Buy?, the WGA Award-winning and Emmy nominated The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!, Freakonomics, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope, Mansome, and One Direction: This Is Us. Morgan is currently working on season three of Morgan Spurlock Inside Man for CNN and 7 Deadly Sins for Showtime. His upcoming digital projects include “Connected,” the first long-form series for AOL and “Smartish,” a new premium branded content channel for Maker Studios.

10:30am - 12:00pm

Getting Real About The Doc Career

We all know how difficult it is to build a career as a documentary filmmaker. So, how can filmmakers sustain a career over the long haul? A probing discussion with filmmakers at various stages in their careers reveals the hard-earned lessons that come from overcoming obstacles, taking advantage of opportunities, and pursuing different strategies for carving out a career. Moderator: Thom Powers

12:00 - 1:00pm

Tuesday Lunch

1:15 - 2:30pm

Let's Make This Perfectly Clear

For too long, getting an accurate accounting of digital distribution numbers has been as illusory for filmmakers as the Holy Grail. Learn more about the critical issues at stake in the transparency debate and clarify what steps you, the filmmaker, can take so that you aren’t making and distributing your films in the dark. Moderator: Thom Powers

John Battsek in Conversation with Molly Thompson

John Battsek runs Passion Pictures’ film department and is one of the most successful and prolific feature documentary producers in the industry. In 1999, Battsek conceived and produced the Academy Award-winning One Day in September and he has since been responsible for over thirty high profile feature documentaries, many of which have achieved international distribution. These include: Sergio; Academy Award nominated Restrepo; and The Tillman Story. More recently, Bart Layton’s 2013 BAFTA Outstanding Debut Winner, The Imposter, and Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man which won the 2013 BAFTA for Best Documentary and the 2013 Best Documentary Academy Award.

1:15 - 2:15pm

Here's What Really Happened– Dirty Wars

Bonni Cohen talks with Dirty Wars Producer Brenda Coughlin about making a high risk film for several years and then shepherding it from obscurity through a traditional theatrical release and an Academy Awards campaign. Get the numbers behind this story.

“Here’s What Really Happened” is a series of intimate filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversations, in which a documentary director and/or producer will focus on a key aspect of one of their films.

1:45 - 2:45pm

Indie Doc Sustainability Part 1: A Guided Discussion

Participate in the formation of the Independent Documentary Sustainability Task Force by sharing your thoughts during an informal guided dialogue on how the evolution of our field, and the economic forces behind it, impact our professional and personal lives. The information gathered during this discussion will inform the foundation of the Task Force’s quantitative research study and analysis of our field. Identify challenges, explore unintended consequences and be prepared to speak constructively, bravely, honestly…in the spirit of discovery and change.
Moderated by Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning filmmaker Tina DiFeliciantonio, founder of the Task Force, and Casey Rae, V.P. for Policy and Education at Future of Music Coalition, who speaks on creator issues and new business models for artists.

3:00 - 4:15pm

From Sundance to Oscar: A '20 Feet from Stardom' Case Study

Morgan Neville’s 20 Feet From Stardom began its meteoric release by opening the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Over the following year the film garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, earned nearly $5 million at the box office and took home the Oscar®. This in-depth and frank discussion looks at what—and who—it took to sell and release one of the most successful independent docs of 2013. Moderator: Sacha Gervasi

The Story of Impact: How We Got Here, Where We Are Going

Surveys soliciting filmmaker input on the hot button issue of impact are becoming commonplace. But in most cases, the issues around impact are framed by film organizations rather than by filmmakers themselves. Reframing the discussion through their own lens, filmmakers Pam Yates and Paco de Onis, who have been making films that make a difference for decades, present their own personal odyssey through social issue filmmaking and lead an inquiry into impact through a series of interviews with funders, impact players, and a key NGO partner. This session will provide both an overview of the impact world and an opportunity for filmmakers and others to discuss the critical issues bubbling beneath the surface.

3:00 - 4:00pm

Indie Doc Sustainability Part 2: Reflections and Q&A

Informed economic thinking helps filmmakers navigate an increasingly fluid media environment. To thrive we must adapt, and to adapt we need to understand the way our world is changing. Jump start your personal sustainability quest with this fresh perspective on the financial realities of our field. Building off the real life issues raised in part 1, and with an eye towards helping the individual make sense of the madness, Peabody-winning economics/business journalist Adam Davidson, and filmmaker/producer Esther Robinson, reflect on the issues raised and connect them to the challenges and the opportunities at the front lines of the new economy.
Presenters Tina DiFeliciantonio, Casey Rae, Esther Robinson and Adam Davidson cap-off the two Indie Doc Sustainability sessions with an audience Q&A.

4:30 - 5:15pm

Keynote: Joe Bini

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a film that he cut and co-wrote, won the Documentary Film Editing Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Writing. He was awarded the Prix Vulcain De L’Artiste-Technicien at the 2010 Cannes film festival for the editing of the narrative film, We Need to Talk About Kevin, directed by Lynne Ramsay. He recently had the pleasure of working with Nick Broomfield on his documentary feature, Tales of the Grim Sleeper.

5:15 - 6:30pm

Celebrate Getting Real with Sundance

Celebrate the Opening Day of GETTING REAL! Join IDA and Sundance immediately following the keynote by Tabitha Jackson for drinks, hors d’oeuvres and some serious doc networking. Hosted by Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Alumni Relations Department.

7:30 - 9:30pm

Screening and Q&A: The Times of Harvey Milk

Join us for a special 30th anniversary screening of Rob Epstein’s Academy Award®-winning masterpiece. A rare opportunity to see this deeply moving and highly inspirational film in a pristine 35mm print. Following the screening, Academy-award® winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock sits down with Rob for a Q&A about the behind-the-scenes making of the film and its ongoing legacy.

8:45 - 9:45am

Registration

9:45 - 10:30am

Keynote: Cara Mertes

Cara Mertes is director of Ford Foundation’s JustFilms initiative, a global effort that supports emerging and established filmmakers whose work addresses the most urgent social issues of our time. The initiative seeks to expand networks and resources for the community of independent filmmakers around the world and to increase the artistry and impact of their stories. Throughout her two-decade career, Cara has championed the artist’s role in society and embodied the power of independent filmmaking to raise awareness on issues of critical importance. Before joining the foundation in 2013, she was director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund.

10:45am - 12:00pm

When Impact Meets Art

In one corner, we have the social issue documentary — determined to change the world; in another, the art doc, equally committed to moving audiences on the strength of its aesthetic vision. Are these films natural enemies — competing against each other for funding, audiences, and recognition —or simply the sign of a vibrant and diverse documentary culture? Filmmakers and other keen observers of the doc scene untangle the issues of impact vs. art in this lively discussion. Moderator: Senain Kheshgi

Facing Reality

For some doc makers “reality” is a dirty word. For others it means bread on the table and money to do personal work. But is the crossover to reality TV having an impact on their work? Are their doc values influencing their reality work? And does spending time with Honey Boo Boo, the Kardashians and RuPaul change how they look at the world? Five top producers who swing both ways help seek the answers. Moderator: Stacey Wilson

Haskell Wexler in Conversation with Kenneth Turan

Two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler was adjudged one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history, according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey of its membership. He won his Oscars in both black & white and color, for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Bound for Glory (1976). He also shot much of Days of Heaven (1978), for which credited director of photography Nestor Almendros — who was losing his eye-sight, won a Best Cinematography Oscar that Wexler feels should have been jointly shared by both. In 1993, Wexler was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the cinematographer’s guild, the American Society of Cinematographers.

He received five Oscar nominations for his cinematography, in total, plus one Emmy Award in a career that has spanned six decades. Now 86 years old, Wexler was active as recently as 2007.

In addition to his masterful cinematography, Wexler directed the seminal late Sixties film Medium Cool (1969) and has directed and/or shot many documentaries that display his progressive political views. He was the subject of a 2004 documentary shot by his son Mark Wexler, Tell Them Who You Are (2004).

Kenneth Turan is film critic for the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio’s Morning Edition as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and the Times’ book review editor. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, he is the coauthor of “Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke.” He teaches film reviewing and non-fiction writing at USC. His newest book is “Not To Be Missed: 54 Favorites From A Lifetime of Film.” Other recent include “Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public and The Greatest Theater Story Ever Told” as well as “Never Coming To A Theater Near You” and “Now In Theaters Everywhere.”

10:45 - 11:45am

Here's What Really Happened – The Square

Thom Powers and The Square Producer Karim Amer discuss the process of securing distribution for The Square, weighing options of theatrical, TV and digital platforms to help realize both the film’s social mission and financial goals.
“Here’s What Really Happened” is a series of intimate filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversations, in which a documentary director and/or producer will focus on a key aspect of one of their films.

12:00 - 1:00pm

Wednesday Lunch

1:15 - 2:30pm

When Impact Meets Distribution

In the beginning, there was just distribution. But now it seems, almost every film comes with an impact/outreach/engagement strategy, too. But are the two worlds in sync… or colliding? Distributors, filmmakers, impact producers and others describe the current state of affairs and point the path toward greater coordination and effectiveness. Moderator: Jennifer MacArthur

Doing the Right Thing

Are you an ethical filmmaker? This session confronts the issue of ethics and documentary filmmaking by grappling with several challenging ethical scenarios and then asking whether it’s possible — or even desirable — for the documentary community to agree upon a set of common ethical standards. Moderator: Patricia Aufderheide

Behind the Festival Curtain

Duck behind the festival curtain as filmmaker Doug Block leads a lively and candid discussion on the current role of festivals in the documentary landscape. What can doc filmmakers do to get the most out of a festival run? And how can festivals play their part in building a vibrant documentary community that will better sustain both audiences and artists?

1:15 - 2:15pm

Here's What Really Happened – Inequality for All

Julie Goldman and Inequality For All Producer Jen Chaiken run through the film’s hard numbers and sales figures to discuss the bigger picture pros and cons of equity financing and donated funds used to make the film a financial success for both the investors and the filmmakers.
“Here’s What Really Happened” is a series of intimate filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversations, in which a documentary director and/or producer will focus on a key aspect of one of their films.

3:00 - 4:15pm

Money Talks (And Listens)

How can funders better support a thriving documentary culture? A candid discussion between Debra Zimmerman (Women Make Movies) and Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute) on the state of institutional documentary funding kicks off a frank and much needed discussion with the audience, including many of the field’s most prominent funders and the filmmakers they support. Moderator: Bonni Cohen

We Come As Filmmakers

Documentary makers have been descending on unfamiliar cultures and communities in search of stories to tell since the days of Nanook of the North. But critics have been raising questions about their motives and methods – and the difference between empathetic exploration and prurient exploitation, between transnational solidarity and outright appropriation – for just as long. How can filmmakers responsibly negotiate entrance into communities that are not their own, and how do we ensure that marginalized communities have the opportunity to tell their own stories? Moderator: B. Ruby Rich

When Impact Meets Broadcast

Television broadcasts — be they network or cable — have the potential to reach significantly larger audiences than any other forms of distribution. But does reach always lead to impact? Can the quest for ratings boost the quest for social change? How does a filmmaker know whether Nielsen numbers equal impact? How can impact this broad even be rated or judged? Broadcasters, filmmakers and impact professionals discuss the opportunities and limitations of creating change through mass media. Moderator: Justine Nagan

3:00 - 4:00pm

Here's What Really Happened - Crude

Thom Powers and Director/Producer Joe Berlinger discuss the challenges and lessons learned from the making of Crude and the legal battle that engulfed it.
“Here’s What Really Happened” is a series of intimate filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversations, in which a documentary director and/or producer will focus on a key aspect of one of their films.

4:30 - 5:15pm

Keynote: Dawn Porter

Dawn Porter is the founder of Trilogy Films. She is an alumni of the Tribeca All Access program, where she won the 2011 juried Creative Promise Award for Gideon’s Army. Realscreen named Porter one of their 2012 Doc Hot Shots 15 emerging directors to watch. Other Trilogy projects include Spies of Mississippi for ARTE Germany and PBS, and a documentary about celebrity Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli for the Cooking Channel. Before becoming a filmmaker she was the Director of News Standards and Practices at ABC News, and Vice President of Standards and Practices at A&E Networks.

5:30 - 7:30pm

ITVS and IDA Celebrate Documentary Filmmakers

Come celebrate with [ITVS] and IDA as we salute Independent Lens, winner of the 2013 IDA Award for Best Continuing Series. Join us for a cocktail party at the W HOTEL in Hollywood to celebrate the work of all our documentary filmmakers and the incredible contribution that Independents bring to public media. Must be a registered attendee of GETTING REAL Documentary Film Conference. RSVP by September 29th to itvsida@gmail.com