Getting Real ‘20’s Main Stage programming sought to address some timely issues within the documentary community, and sparked nuanced, thought-provoking discussions among the panelists and the hundreds of viewers tuning in in real time. The “Documentary Funding Ecosystem: Building Values-Based Financial Strategies” session was one especially valuable discussion, among a group of five producers, grantmakers and film professionals. They discussed the key priorities for our community if we are to move towards a more just, equitable and value-based financial ecosystem for filmmakers of all

The digital edition of Getting Real ‘20 has underscored the driving themes—”Access. Power. Possibility.”—by serving up riveting conversations from around the world, enabling filmmakers from, say, the Global South to engage with their counterparts from the American South and map out strategies and paradigms for the future. Day Two featured a Breakout Session headed by Judy Kibinge, executive director of the Nairobi, Kenya-based DocuBox, the East African Documentary Film Fund. Joining her for a discussion of ‘“The Things We Lost—The Role of Documentary Film in the Restitution of Africa’s Erased

On Day 3 of Getting Real ‘20, we joined the breakout session “ Counteracting Extractive Storytelling In The American South And In Global Communities Of Color.” Members of the collective Indie Media Arts South (IMAS) discussed storytelling priorities in the Southern region including regionally specific programming, curating practices, and achieving authenticity and agency in filmmaking. Moderated by Amada Torruella, independent filmmaker and film curator, panelists included Ebony Blanding, writer, filmmaker and co-founder of the Atlanta-based film art house, House of June; Zandashé Brown

Continuing the theme of #DecolonizeDocs that was first initiated at Getting Real ‘18, the 2020 edition’s first focused session on the South Asian region made for a highly dynamic and valuable breakout. Accommodating those joining in from the “motherland” time zone (of which there were plenty, including myself), the session hit the ground running at 7 AM Pacific Time with Anam Abbas, co-founder of Documentary Association of Pakistan, moderating and skillfully navigating the two-hour conversation. The all-too-familiar limitations to the digital realm aside, the excitement for the session was

Getting Real ‘20, our biennial conference on documentary media, happened from September 9 through Oct 3. On the opening day, we joined “ Expanding Expression: Audio Descriptions and Captioning in Film.” The makers and artistic collaborators of Vision Portraits and Crip Camp discussed the creative process behind their use of accessibility features such as audio description (AD) and closed captioning (CC). Moderated by Brenda Coughlin (Director of Producing and Impact Strategy, Sundance Institute), panelists included Crip Camp co-directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht; Vision Portraits

When planning began for Getting Real '20, IDA’s biennial conference on documentary media, Maggie Bowman, the newly hired director of programming, anticipated a three-day, in-person event in Los Angeles. “I got to LA on February 26,” Bowman recalls. “We had a meeting with LA filmmakers the next day. During the course of my two-week stay, we went from being 100% certain it would be in person to starting to consider the possibility that COVID might make it impossible to do in person.” Such circumstances required a quick strategic shift, demanding unprecedented logistical and programmatic agility

While we are missing being with each other in person, we’re looking forward to nurturing our relationships with members of the documentary community online. Here are 10 reasons why you won’t want to miss this year's edition of #DocsGetReal.

With Getting Real '20 quickly approaching, we met with the supporting programming team to see what they have planned for this year’s digital conference. Read more about what changes they’ve made to adapt to this unique moment in time and what exciting events they have in store this year. Stephanie Owens (SO) is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has programmed with Palm Springs ShortFest, Sundance and LA Film Festival. She's also contributed to POV and festival and funding juries. Nat Ruiz Tofano (NRT) is a queer and multiracial documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, California. Nat has

The team behind Getting Real ’18 made a bold statement on commitment to inclusion and representation by programming three #DecolonizeDocs panels—addressing The Industry, The Filmmaker and The Audience. Speaking to Documentary just after the conference, Claire Aguilar, IDA’s director of programming and policy, explained, “I invited the cohort of media organizations that partner with IDA— A-Doc, Brown Girls Doc Mafia and Firelight Media—to collaborate on curating a series of panels about the audience, industry and filmmakers of color.” The intention was to hold a public discussion to share

Editor’s Note: The documentary career is as demanding and taxing as it is rewarding. On the one hand, there are the occasional honors, accolades, fellowships and grants, along with the impetus that your work can make a transformative difference in both moving the art form forward and making substantive social change. But the documentary profession is a long-odds game, one often fraught with disappointment and struggle. Since its launch in 2014, IDA’s biennial Getting Real conference has sparked dialogue and calls for action about such issues as sustainability—the elusive act of making a living