Virtual documentary festivals and markets are here to stay! Online offerings won’t replace LIVE events after Covid. But virtual formats and features will enrich live programs and can dramatically extend their reach. Two Different Documentary Events: Distribution consultant Peter Broderick has written the definitive special report on CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen-based documentary festival. I helped with …
Dr John Morse likens the consumer’s COVID experience to living thru an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. He analyzes U.S. lifestyle and media usage trends during the pandemic in a PACT (UK Producers) webinar/podcast hosted by Dawn McCarthy-Simpson. John takes us on a deep dive into the data, highlighting the Big Trends: Viewing has become …
Here is the audio / podcast of the webinar moderated by PACT‘s Dawn McCarthy-Simpson with veterans — programming exec Dan Salerno and prolific producer Michael Hoff. We explored the COVID-disrupted condition of the production and programming pipeline for U.S. Factual networks. The big question: Are we heading into a “Content Desert?” Listen to the May …
SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC is France’s great international documentary market. My guest is MATHIEU BÉJOT, Sunny Side’s strategy director, who is locked down and safe in Paris. Sunny Side 2020 is branded “The Connected Edition” to capture the many layers of digital Content, Trend-spotting and Networking that delegates will experience from June 22-25. Podcast …
What program or genre will be a blazing success when we make the inevitable economic recovery from these dark weeks? Well, History can teach us a lesson. I’m talking about two meanings of ‘History’: ‘The study of the past’ And A+E Networks’ History Channel. Pawn Stars While the 2008 Recession tore through consumers’ wallets and …
The 2020 PGA Awards broadcast the industry’s acceptance of the booming documentary category as a peer with even the most popular, binge-worthy scripted series. There was a surprise winner in the PGA’s prestigious Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures category It was 1895 Films for Apollo: Missions to the Moon. APOLLO’s competitors were four …
Greg Boustead is director of Science Sandbox, a portfolio of strategic grantmaking at the Simons Foundation, focused on outreach and engaging new audiences with science. He shared his strategy and grant-making process at Sunny Side of the Doc’s Science-themed Meet The Executive session. We are publishing Greg’s very informative session as a podcast, though without …
Netflix senior programming exec Diego Buñuel presented to two standing-room-only audiences last Tuesday at Sunny Side of the Doc in beautiful La Rochelle. It was the ‘event with the event.’ Delegates lined up for an hour beforehand to secure their seats. Netflix is that hot! The generous Diego is a former producer who comes from that …