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 (
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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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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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
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Join master editor Doug Blush ( 20 Feet From Stardom, The Hunting Ground) on a virtual, insider’s tour of his editing suite as he focuses on several key aspects of the editing process: how to make great openings and endings for your films and how to plan for a detailed post production process that
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Presented by the IDA and DOC NYC Tues, 03/31/15 7:30pm-8:45pm and Wed, 04/01/15 10:30am-5:00pm IFC Center - 323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd Street, New York, NY 10014 Can't make it to New York? Follow #savedocs and watch the discussion as it unfolds. Tuesday, March 31 at IFC Center 7:30pm-9:00pm
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Get any group of documentary filmmakers together and, no doubt, a big topic of conversation will be money: how to get it, how to make it, and how to keep getting and making it. Why? Because making docs is hard enough, but figuring out how to make a living making docs can be downright maddening
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Interviewed by Marjan Safinia Join us for the first in a new series of “Conversations With…” as maverick documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield looks back on his incomparable body of work that spans more than 40 years. IDA Board President Marjan Safinia is our guide for this on-stage interview and
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Join us for a special Master Class seeking to demystify the scoring process and give directors the tools they need to ensure that when the final mix is done, their films will become music to their — and their audiences’ — ears.