In 2018, journalism is a dangerous career. Professionals and citizen journalists find themselves attacked on social media, on the phone or in person, despite acting in the public interest. Perilous situations persist, from jeering and intimidation to jail or death threats. Such circumstances demand that journalists develop a targeted skill-set to promote the safety of themselves, their team and their work. Mitigating risk is more than protecting one's physical safety. Journalists must also advance and refine their sleuthing skills to discern truth from lie, a once-basic tenet of journalism now

The ArcLight Cinema and its surroundings are not typically crowded at 9:00 a.m. on a weekday morning. But over the past three days, the area was swarming with credential-wearing, tote-carrying documentary filmmakers and smiling, helpful, eager volunteers clad in bright orange T-shirts. Nonfiction had descended on Hollywood. What were my takeaways from Getting Real? Fifty-two pages of furiously scribbled notes, two large handfuls of precious business cards, a long list of documentary films to catch up on, reconnections with old friends I had not seen in years, and many new acquaintances made

As the conference is named Getting Real and this dispatch is of a more personal nature, my job here is to, yes, keep it real. That’s why I must confess: when I'm really enthused about something, I use rhyming expressions. My response to my Wednesday Getting Real experience? It rocks my socks. In fact, it's the bee's knees. All day, I felt the enormity and depth of the wisdom, talent, experience, passion, creativity and intelligence surrounding me, during every panel and presentation, in every gathered audience. Whether or not we find our way in this world depends on people like the attendees

I'm Tracie Lewis. I'm a film lover, adjunct film instructor, filmmaker, storyteller and three-time Getting Real attendee. Getting Real '18 is bigger and better! This conference has grown in several ways since the first one four years ago. This year there are thoughtful panels, fresh ideas, new faces, expanded venues, a younger demographic of attendees and a large group of very helpful volunteers wearing easily identifiable orange tees. There is so much more this year: Carefully curated panels, topics, case studies, funding initiatives and discussions with interesting and engaging facilitators

Tuesday morning, the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood buzzed with introductions, reconnections and reunions as Getting Real 2018 attendees settled into their three-day conference journey. IDA Executive Director Simon Kilmurry offered opening remarks, encouraging everyone to "talk, engage, listen and debate," perfectly setting the stage for Molly Thompson's keynote, which centered around one question: What is a documentary filmmaker? As Senior Vice President of Feature Films at A+E Networks, Thompson has overseen such Academy Award-nominated docs as Life, Animated; Cartel Land; Jesus Camp and

Getting Real ‘18 is almost here! Whether you’ll be joining us in LA or in spirit, you might want to study up on the stellar slate of filmmakers who will be discussing both their work and the issues that matter most to the community. Here are some docs to get real to: American Promise Directed by Getting Real ‘18 keynote Michèle Stephenson, American Promise provides a rare look into black middle-class life while exploring the common hopes and hurdles of parents navigating their children's educational journey. Watch It: Vudu (free with ads), iTunes, YouTube Movies, Google Play, Amazon Call Her

Just a few scrolls through the Ford Foundation's JustFilms initiative's collection of funded films since its founding in 2011 reveals some of the most interesting social-justice documentaries of the past decade: Laura Poitras' Citizenfour, Shola Lynch's Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, Connie Field's series Have You Heard From Johannesburg?, Yance Ford's Strong Island, David France's How to Survive a Plague, and the films of Frederick Wiseman and Stanley Nelson, to name only a few. This year's Getting Real conference features JustFilms' program officer Chi-hui Yang as one of its

The majority of American documentary filmmakers do not live in New York or Los Angeles. That may seem difficult to believe, given the large communities in those film centers. However, documentaries can be made anywhere, and there are thriving communities outside of the coastal film capitals. One is right here in our nation's capital, Washington, DC. As a near lifelong Washingtonian and executive director of Docs In Progress—a nonprofit dedicated to supporting documentary filmmakers in the region—I have a special interest in this community, but I also see it in the context of regional film

In 2018, the world needs documentaries more than ever, yet doc-makers frequently find themselves under-resourced and isolated. Space for the larger documentary community to convene is scarce, but its community members need a place to connect, investigate, learn, brainstorm, problem-solve and recharge. Getting Real is that place. A unique three-day conference on documentary media, and one of the premiere documentary gatherings in the world, Getting Real 2018 features four inspiring keynote speakers (IDFA Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia; filmmaker Michèle Stephenson; A&E IndieFilms Senior Vice

Perhaps it is not surprising that in a community so deeply rooted in social issue activism and environmental concerns, the word "sustainability" would eventually become such a common-place term in the documentary field. Nor is it surprising, given the widespread disruptions in the marketplace wrought by digital platforms and other changes, that sustainability—both for filmmakers and for the broader documentary ecosystem—would become a critical issue for documentary practitioners and industry players. Filmmaker Maggie Bowman describes the conversations around sustainability "as a kind of