Join us for the second event in our special Summer/Fall Conversation Series as host Ben Mankiewicz interviews Rory Kennedy, one of the preeminent documentary filmmakers of our time, and shows a selection of riveting clips from her extraordinary career.
Here's What Really Happened
No tweeting. No press. No industry. Filmmakers-only conversations revealing personal insights into the art and business of documentary filmmaking.
“Here’s What Really Happened” are signature sessions from IDA's biennial Getting Real Conference that began as a filmmaker-led solution to combat the lack of transparency that continues to plague the community. These intimate conversations allow filmmakers to speak openly about what actually happened in the production, sales and distribution life of a film. The rules are, everything said in the room, stays in the room. Our goal is to create a safe space for discussion that allows filmmakers to have frank, meaningful discussions without the influence of industry in the room. We believe that one of the greatest resources for a filmmaker is another filmmaker.
In building a more knowledgeable and transparent community together, IDA tours “Here’s What Really Happened” sessions to various festivals and conferences around the world. These private conversations have focused on security/surveillance, sales agents, festival strategies, fact-finding, ethics, work/family life balance, truth-seeking in production, and other themes.
Learn what really happened behind-the-scenes in an upcoming session. It’s personal, it’s intimate, let’s get into it.
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Our premiere event, featuring an onstage interview and clips program, spotlights the remarkable directing/producing team of Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. Their most recent documentary feature The Hunting Ground, a monumental exposé about sexual assault on college campuses, premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and has focused national attention on this critical issue.
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Free for IDA members on a first come, first served basis. Are you interested in learning more about the Oscar ®-qualifying process for the Documentary Feature and Short Subject categories? Join us for this free information session. Tom Oyer, Awards Manager at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
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Interviewed by Josh Welsh Join us for a special evening with Ondi Timoner, the most dynamic force in documentary today. Recently bestowed with the honor of opening the 2015 SXSW Film Festival with her latest doc, BRAND: A Second Coming, Ondi has put herself in the upper echelon of doc makers through
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Join us for 2 for 2, the riveting new Doc U series, in which we go behind the scenes to explore the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of two documentary filmmakers who have managed to overcome the odds and ultimately prevail with their films. In our premiere event, moderated by Sacha Gervasi (
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Join us for a very special two-day Master Class with Steve James, one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of our time. Director and Producer of Hoop Dreams, widely considered one of the best documentaries ever made, Steve is a filmmaker’s filmmaker, who has not only built a truly substantial body
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Interviewed by Trevor Groth Join us for an evening with one of documentary’s great artists, as we explore the uniquely imaginative world of filmmaker Brett Morgen, the man the New York Times coined the ‘mad scientist’ of documentary film. With a body of work as varied as it is original, Brett is a
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Having a killer trailer or work sample may not guarantee your film’s success in the funding lottery or land you that coveted distribution deal, but it does ensure that your film will cause funders, distributors and other decision makers to stand up and take notice. Putting out a less than stellar
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Taught by critically acclaimed filmmaker and author Jon Reiss, the Distribution & Marketing Master Class is a practical, step-by-step guide that gives you the knowledge and tools to create a successful distribution and marketing strategy for your films. This class is recommended not only for
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Submitting your film to festivals is like walking through a minefield of choices. Make the right decisions and you will launch your film successfully into the world and build a solid foundation upon which to establish your film career; make the wrong ones and you will likely cost yourself precious