PBS has long been an important outlet for independent documentary programming. Through POV and Independent Lens, millions of households gain free access to documentary programming addressing the most important issues of our time.
But the landscape is changing for these programs. PBS announced a change in schedule for Independent Lens and POV, resulting in less favorable and inconsistent time slots. The documentary community responded with the public advocacy campaign PBS Needs Indies, and it received such support from independent producers that PBS announced it would reconsider the schedule move for both series. A steering committee has been formed to chart the next steps in preserving the visibility and accessibility of POV and Independent Lens.
With these shifting realities, as well as significant cuts in funding to PBS' nonfiction programming from the National Endowment for the Arts, what does the future hold for independent documentary films and public broadcasting? What can you do to impact the decisions and changes being made right now?
On Thursday, May 10, 2012, IDA invites you to join Simon Kilmurry, Executive Producer of American Documentary | POV; Lyn Goldfarb, award-winning documentary director and producer; Gordon Quinn, Artistic Director and founding member of Kartemquin Films; Brenda Brkusic, Executive Producer of Program Development and National Productions at PBS SoCaL; and Lois Vossen, founding and Senior Series Producer of Independent Lens, to discuss these issues and participate in the discussion of the changing outlook, and opportunities for growth in independent documentary programming at PBS.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has today confirmed cuts to several PBS-based arts and independent documentary series, including POV, Independent Lens, Art21, Great Performances, and American Masters. 2012 is the first year PBS programming falls under the new "Arts in Media" category (formerly "Arts in Radio and Television"), where it has to vie for funding against interactive websites, mobile phone and tablet apps, multimedia and transmedia (multi-platform storytelling) projects.
Last year, the 64 projects that fell under the Arts in Radio and Television category received over $4 million in funding. In 2012 under the newly coined Arts in Media category, 78 projects were granted just $3.55 million, down $450 thousand from the year prior. That means that less money will be going to 14 more projects in 2012, presenting several PBS documentary series with significant cuts to the funds they expected to receive.
Perhaps the hardest hit were American Masters and Great Performances, which each received $400 thousand in 2011 to support the broadcasting of documentary profiles of major cultural figures and 12 fully-staged operas, respectively. This year, each project will receive only $50 thousand, collectively losing out on $700 thousand of support. Art21, available via telecast and online streaming, will be granted $100K, down from $150K in 2011.
Indepedent Lens, which has been suffering a loss of viewers since its move from PBS’s core schedule on Tuesday nights to Thursdays, took another blow today when the NEA confirmed its grant amount of $50K. This amount is a significant drop from the $170K it received in 2011, further emphasizing the peril in which this program has found itself in recent months. Another PBS program, POV, which also moves to the Thursday night schedule when it airs in June, will receive $100K, down $150K from last year’s $250 thousand received under the Arts in Radio and Television category.
Other organizations seeing major cuts this year include NPR, Washington-based PBS station WETA, and the LA-based Craft in America.
The IDA is very concerned at the level of funding cuts for the most important and most watched nonfiction series on broadcast television.
We invite you to join us to discuss the future of PBS and their independent documentary programming at our upcoming Doc U: The Future of Docs on PBS on Thursday, May 10 at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles. Stay tuned as we announce panelists and provide resources to prepare you for this important conversation.
For most documentary filmmakers, the impetus behind launching a documentary project usually comes from a passion for an issue or a relationship with an intriguing figure. At least in the initial stages, it’s difficult to turn the emphasis away from the story to focus on the desired artistic form for the visual part of the story.
For too long now, far too little importance has been placed on the artistry inherent in documentary filmmaking. This is why we brought together three accomplished documentary filmmakers for a discussion that kicked off with the question "Why talk about art in documentary?"
On Wednesday, April 18, Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival Caroline Libresco moderated a panel that focused on just this question. As the woman who spearheaded Sundance’s Documentary competition program, Libresco is no stranger to recognizing the value of aesthetics in non-fiction cinema. "The choices that artists make cause us to feel things," she stated at the start of the panel. "Documentary is intrinsically aesthetic."
Documentarty filmmakers Ondi Timoner (We Live in Public, DIG!) and Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired) joined Caroline onstage at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles, fielding questions from both their eloquent moderator and members of the audience. One of the inital questions revolved around the best way to honor your subjects in the most honest and righteous way possible. Ondi was asked how she was able to maintain her artistic integrity and reach a mass audience. All she knew, she answered, was that she had to follow her subjects, had to let this story unfold over time. She didn't have to know where it's headed; she just knew that she needed to follow it.
Both filmmakers discussed their main characters in two of each of their major films and how the relationships they fostered evolved and shifted over time. Sometimes, resentment or fatigue set in, especially after spending eight hours in a closed room with just your camera and the thoughts inside their heads. When you have a complicated character that maybe doesn't elicit sympathy or a sense of identification and empathy from the audience, both filmmakers stressed the importance of showing a reason for the audience to care about this character who is worthy of both critique and compassion. "Sometimes," Ondi said, "you have to reach deep to find compassion and love for your characters."
"So Marina," Caroline inquired, "do you love Polanski?"
"I do, but don't tell anyone!" Marina answered with a laugh.
"On some level," Ondi said a bit later, "we have to care about our characters. We don't have to love them, but we have to care."
Both women went on to discuss the aesthetic choices they made in their films. For Marina, she went for straight ahead contemporary interviews for Roman Polanski, incorporating images from his own films to help tell the story of his life. While the film begins and ends with the Rosemary's Baby theme, the rest of the score is original—she didn't want the film to be overly-referential, and music was one place where she had some flexibility.
For her, Roman Polanski was such a hard story to put together, especially because she couldn't get access to him for an interview. "I make movies about dead people or people who are not available," she joked, pointing out that she had flesh some of the creative ideas for these films herself. She went back to Polanski's student films to get the shots of him that she needed, as well as some of the B-roll. She pushed herself because she had no other choice—interviewing her subject just wasn't an option.
Ondi spoke about making the decision to be her own editor. "I shot too much footage for anyone else to do it," she stated. "I tried to hire people and they would give up." For her, deciding to edit her own film was not just an aesthetic choice, but also a practical one.
Per usual at our Doc U event, the members of the audience had a chance to mingle with the panelists and fellow members of the documentary community on the Cinefamily's cozy back patio. The close-knit crowd got some one-on-one time with Ondi, Marina and Caroline, giving them the chance to ask more specific questions of the three women and the art behind their work.
Doc U is the International Documentary Association's series of educational seminars and workshops for aspiring and experienced documentary filmmakers. Taught by artists and industry experts, participants receive vital training and insight on various topics including: fundraising, distribution, licensing, marketing, and business tactics.
Find exclusive video clips from this and past Doc U events on our YouTube channel.
Editor’s Note: Anne Drew, with husband Robert Drew, carried on the pioneering tradition that Robert and his team of cinema vérité legends had begun with the seminal Primary in 1960. Anne joined Drew Associates in 1967 and married Robert in 1970. What follows is an account, by Robert Drew, of Anne’s generous contributions to the documentary form, and of her richly rewarding life.
Anne Drew, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, died April 12 at her home in Sharon, Conn., after a long bout with lung cancer. As a central partner for more than four decades in the documentary film company Drew Associates, Drew edited and produced cinema vérité films on ballet, war, Duke Ellington, Indira Gandhi and President John F. Kennedy, among others. Her work was broadcast on television and celebrated at film festivals worldwide.
Drew was fearless in going after her stories. Filming in mobs in India, or being arrested by Noriega's thugs in Panama, or facing armed militiamen in Montana, she produced films with a human touch that moved and informed.
Anne Drew was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 4, 1941. She grew up in New York, attended Mount Holyoke College, and received her master's degree from New York University's film school. She joined Drew Associates in 1967. The first film she edited was Man Who Dances: Edward Villella (1968), on a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. It won an Emmy Award.
Drew was known for her warm and friendly manner in professional dealings and in "Dialogue," a woman's discussion group, where she was elected president a number of times over the years. In 1970, Anne married Robert Drew.
Anne Drew's Kathy's Dance (1977), about dancer Kathy Posin, won the New York Film Festival Blue Ribbon.
Anne traveled often to India to produce films on two prime ministers, Indira Gandhi and her son, Rajiv Gandhi. Herself, Indira Gandhi (1982), won the Global Village Festival first prize and a Cine Golden Eagle.
Anne later worked with Robert Drew on editing her India films together with a previous Drew Associates film on Jawaharlal Nehru to make Life and Death of Dynasty (1991), the story of India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. The 90-minute special was broadcast by PBS and the BBC.
Anne edited more than a dozen one-hour broadcast specials, including programs on violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin, jazz great Duke Ellington and President John F. Kennedy. She co-produced prize-winning television specials with Robert Drew, including Marshall High Fights Back (Frontline; 1984), Your Flight is Cancelled (Frontline;1988), and For Auction: An American Hero (1986; Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for Best Documentary).
Anne also produced From Two Men and a War (2005), an account of Robert Drew's experiences as a fighter pilot in World War II, and how his friendship with Ernie Pyle contributed to the development of the groundbreaking documentary style cinema vérité.
The most recent film Anne produced was A President to Remember: In The Company of John F. Kennedy, which broadcast on HBO in January 2012.
Anne moved to Sharon, Conn., in 2006. She loved the ballet, gardening and travel, particularly to Finland, where she had many friends. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Robert Drew; her brother, Peter Gilbert; her sister, Dorothy Gilbert Goldstone; and her stepchildren, Thatcher Drew, Lisa Drew and Derek Drew.
Films that Anne edited and produced are being preserved by the archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Services will be held in Sharon, Conn. on April 29 and in New York City on May 6.
Lee Storey, an attorney in the area of water rights and a documentary filmmaker, learned today that her documentary film Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story has been considered a for-profit endeavor in the eyes of the US Tax Court. She is therefore forgiven the outstanding amount owed to the IRS from her 2006-2008 Federal tax returns. This ruling sets a precedent for documentary filmmakers to come, hopefully causing future auditors to uphold a standard for upcoming productions and burgeoning filmmakers who find themselves in similar situations.
Back in March, Storey participated in one of IDA’s Doc U educational panels, entitled The Business Side of Documentary Filmmaking. During the panel, Storey detailed her ongoing legal struggles against the IRS' claim that "attorneys cannot also be filmmakers." After working on her film for five years, the IRS stated that her filmmaking was more a "hobby" than a viable means of income. The IRS claimed that she owed them around $300,000 in back income taxes from the three years that she spent making her film.
But as of today, April 19, the United States Tax Court filed its findings of fact and opinion, which clears Storey on all counts. "The primary issue," the judge stated, "is whether [Storey], a law firm partner and full-time attorney, was involved in the trade or business of film production under section 162 during the years at issue. We hold that she was engaged in the trade or business of film production during each of the years at issue and that she was engaged in this business for profit."
Michael C. Donaldson and Christopher L. Perez, the two attorneys from Donaldson + Callif, LLP who filed an amicus brief on Storey's behalf, were delighted with the outcome of the case. "Even if it takes six years, the making of a documentary, in spite of educational and public good, is also a business," said Donaldson. "The win is particularly important because the issue has rarely been addressed by a court in such a direct fashion."
"It's such an important decision," said Perez after the results of the case were announced. "Yes, documentary filmmakers are beneficial to society because their films educate and expose. But so many documentarians rely on their filmmaking to make a living—and they should be treated as such."
Read more details of the court's findings.
We were extremely happy to have been a part of filing the amicus brief that lead Storey's case into trial. We are proud to say that the outcome of her trail is one that was well-deserved and long-coming. A special thank you to Michael C. Donaldson and Christopher L. Perez for filing this brief on our behalf in conjunction with Film Independent, National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Women Make Movies, National Alliance for Media Art and Culture and University Film and Video Association.
Thought Equity Motion, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based video management and licensing services, recently announced that the company has changed its name to T3Media, Inc.
From T3Media's press release about the rebranding:
"T3Media reflects the evolution of our company as we grow both our Licensing and Platform businesses to serve the needs of leading digital content producers as well as sports, news, and entertainment library owners worldwide," said T3Media's CEO, Kevin Schaff, who founded the company in 2003. "The name T3Media better resonates with our global customers and partners, and expresses the extension of our brand across a range of video technology and services. The 'T' ties back to our original name and the '3' represents the three core tenets of our business: storage, access and licensing."
To learn more about the company and its Licensing and Platform business lines, visit www.t3media.com.
T3Media is a sponsor of our Doc U educational seminar program, as well as Trustee level donors to our organization. They will also be a part of our upcoming Doc U on Archival Footage and Licensing, taking place in Los Angeles in July.
More on T3Media:
T3Media offers cloud-based storage, access, and licensing for enterprise-scale video libraries. Its technology Platform and services enable media owners to generate new value from their content while managing cost and complexity. Through www.t3licensing.com and its global sales force, the company licenses sports, news, and creative footage to producers in advertising, entertainment, publishing, and emerging media.
T3Media works with the world’s leading video libraries, including BBC Motion Gallery, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, National Geographic, The New York Times, and the NCAA®. Connect with T3Media on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.
With the growing popularity of documentary film, many have admirably seized on the power of non-fiction storytelling to affect change around social and political issues. But in all the discussion about content and impact, have we forgotten to explore documentary as cinema, as art? In a lively conversation about how they mobilize aesthetic choices to generate meaning, filmmakers discuss stylistic strategies, creative inspirations, story structure, and the tension between form and content.
On Wednesday, April 18 join Caroline Libresco, Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival, as she moderates a discussion with filmmakers Ondi Timoner (BYOD, We Live In Public) and Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Who is Bernard Tapie?) whose documentary work not only delivers a powerful message, but also storytelling impact through visual imagery.
Since 2001, Caroline Libresco has been Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, where she selects features in all sections, with a special expertise in documentary and international film, and acts as conduit between artists and industry. She spearheaded Sundance’s World Cinema Narrative and Documentary competitions and serves on Sundance’s Women’s Initiative, Creative Producing Initiative, and Film Forward teams. Previously, she was an executive at ITVS (Independent Television Service), the San Francisco Film Festival, and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. She produced the award-winning documentary, Sunset Story; the Academy Award-winning featurette, Barrier Device; associate-produced the HBO documentary Cat Dancers; and was developing producer on The Grace Lee Project. She also co-wrote and produced the independent feature, Fanci's Persuasion. She serves as consultant to Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, Hot Docs, and the Zurich Film Festival, on the board of Women Make Movies and the Advisory Council of IFP New York.
Caroline holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, an M.A. in History of Religion from Harvard, an M.F.A. from UCLA Film School, and teaches documentary at Film Independent in Los Angeles. She has appeared widely on film juries internationally—including the Sarajevo Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Cartagena Film Festival, Istanbul Independent Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Hot Docs.
The National Endowment for the Arts, one of the nation's largest source of monetary assistance to the arts, announced on Monday plans to slash substantial funding for PBS programs, including Independent Lens and POV. These cuts, which take effect April 25, would take away over $1 million in production assistance from not just the aforementioned shows, but also to American Masters, Art21, and Great Performances.
This is not the first hit Independent Lens and POV have suffered this year. Just one month ago, we learned that Independent Lens suffered a major drop in viewership after being switched from their regular night on Tuesdays to a new time on Thursdays. In March, we partnered with Kartemquin Films in an attempt to remind PBS of the importance of independent programming on their station. We await a decision on this issue from PBS after their annual meeting in mid-May.
You can read more about this decision below:
N.E.A. Is Said to Cut Aid to Arts Programs on PBS -New York Times
N.E.A. Will Slash Funding to 'Independent Lens' and 'POV' -Indiewire
CBC, NFB announce major cutbacks -The Gazette
When people ask to see your trailer, what is you usual reaction? Do you jump at the chance with confidence? Or do you stammer and hesitate as you explain why it's not quite where it should be?
Your trailer should be the ultimate pitch, the one thing that sells potential funders on the potential of your project. A fundraising trailer can make or break your film. We want you to stop guessing what works and what doesn't.
IDA has asked internationally renowned author, speaker and story consultant Fernanda Rossi to host a full-day workshop for producers, directors, writers and editors to help make your trailer all that it can be. In this workshop, held on the 3rd floor of The Annex in Santa Monica, you will learn the foundational story structures for fundraising trailers, and hear some of the most common mistakes filmmakers make when crafting their proposals, budgets, and trailers. This workshop will also give you a chance to see Fernanda's work applied to actual trailers, with before and after examples and a few of the successful fundraising trailers.
The event kicks off with registration at 9:30am on Saturday, April 21. Bring your work-in-progress for analysis and discussion!
For more details about Fernanda and the event, and to register, click here.
Story Consultant Fernanda Rossi will answer three questions on fundraising trailers from our members in anticipation of this upcoming Doc U event. Submit your question by posting a comment below. We'll let you know when Fernanda's answered your questions after the workshop. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out!
IDA has stepped up their involvement in a movement to support public television's continued service to the public by backing Kartemquin's efforts to uphold PBS's main goals and mission. This weekend, a committee of filmmakers formed to help steer and streamline all efforts dedicated to supporting independent programming on PBS. Along with IDA Board Member Beth Bird, the members of the committee include Heather Courtney, Marshall Curry, Tim Horsburgh, Byron Hurt, Brad Lichtenstein, Steve Mendelsohn, Paco de Onis, Gordon Quinn, Julia Reichert, Bernardo Ruiz, Carlos Sandoval, Renee Tajima-Pena, Michael Winship, and Pamela Yates. This group is made up of veteran and award-winning filmmakers who have both long supported and been supported by public television, and we are certain that together, their work will help organize community-wide support for independent programming.
In the following new open letter to PBS, the committee states their new level of involvement in this cause, and offers ways you can help. Please submit your comments and signatures to PBSNeedsIndies@kartemquin.com to insure your inclusion and participation.
Second open letter to PBS from PBS Needs Indies:
This steering committee came into being because PBS had moved Independent Lens off the core schedule, to Thursdays, the one night in the week that PBS has pledged not to program. This put it into direct conflict with many stations' local programming. We were alarmed to see, in a recent Current article, the immediate effects on the viewership for Independent Lens, and feared for POV's audience should that series also be moved when its season starts in June. Our "PBS Needs Indies" open letter received high profile support from groups such as the IDA, WGA East, NALIP, and Women Make Movies, as well as a wave of PBS viewer support resulting from a blog by Bill Moyers. Over 1,000 filmmakers and viewers have now pledged their support for these programs.
We are grateful and appreciate PBS' willingness, announced as of March 23, to reconsider that move. We eagerly look forward to PBS giving both of these series a designated slot on the PBS core schedule, where audiences can find it in the same place every week.
We highly value PBS' role in showcasing programs that allow viewers to become more active members of their society. While Independent Lens and POV shows are far from the only examples of such public television programs, they join other such work in showcasing overlooked issues, reaching underserved audiences, connecting with younger and more diverse viewers, engaging viewers far beyond the screen, and enriching the nation’s media landscape.
This incident has renewed our community’s awareness of the critical value of PBS to the national media ecology. We know that public broadcasting, uniquely funded by taxpayers, reaches people at every level of society, in virtually every locality in the country. And we will continue to foster dialogue among the community of independent filmmakers about the significance of public broadcasting, and their own role in it.
If you want to participate in the movement to support the public purpose of public TV, among other ways by supporting the visibility of Independent Lens and POV, consider:
- Adding your name to the signatories of the open letter, by commenting on it or emailing us at PBSNeedsIndies@kartemquin.com.
- Explaining why you value such programming in a comment below or an email to PBSNeedsIndies@kartemquin.com.
- Contacting your local station to ask them when they are programming Independent Lens and POV, and asking how you can help support and promote them.
- Tweet using the hashtag #PBSNeedsIndies