Letters From Baghdad is a beautiful documentary that uncovers the story of British adventurer, diplomat and Arabist, Gertrude Bell. (Republished December 11, 2018 to mark the PBS premiere. Original publication: 6/6/2017) Filmmakers Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl reveal the struggles of a brilliant, lone woman in an all-male world. Their research uncovered a largely forgotten but mesmerizing film …
I have been tracking the rightwing documentary economy and its leading personalities for several years. I saw it as a lucrative sub-niche that had the potential to disrupt the largely “progressive” character of the American documentary community. Then, several of the key characters, notably Stephen K Bannon and David Bossie, emerged as significant players in …
Parrot Analytics is an industry leader in tracking audience demand for television content in the new age of online video. Until recently, our industry relied on a well-established solution to rate and value the audience for a specific program or channel. Nielsen, BARB and others record program viewing decisions in a panel of homes. The panelists …
A letter from Christian Beetz: Dear Peter, Thank you very much for your Case Study and your moderation at Sunny Side. Before you go into the well deserved summer break, I would like to give you a brief update on THE CLEANERS. Christian Beetz with ARD/WDR’s Christiane Hinz. Credit : Jean-François Augé / studio-ouest.com Oscar …
THE CLEANERS ticked all the boxes. Despite Sundance selection and sales to prestigious broadcasters worldwide, the producers are digging out from a deep deficit. The business model for investigative documentaries has always been risky. It is now under siege… and needs new solutions. That’s the message presented by Christian Beetz, co-CEO of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion …
This week’s focus is on the boutique, international documentary distributor, and particularly on their business model. Windrose is a Paris and Nurnberg-based firm headed by Pauline Mazenod. In this unique Case Study, Pauline shares in generous detail her strategy, key business practices, practical advice, and much more. This post is dedicated to documentary producers who …
The most coveted road to a Netflix deal lies through acceptance at Sundance. But what are the odds that U.S. and international documentaries will earn a slot on the program? Submissions: 1,635 Documentary Features were submitted to the 2018 Sundance Film Festival: 740 were from the U.S. 895 were international. Selections: Sundance selected 47 for screening. …
Producers are at a big disadvantage in negotiations with U.S. networks because they lack industry information such as program ratings, network distribution trends, and network revenues. Best Deal We create customized reports for each producer that provides the knowledge that they need to get the best deal in the US marketplace. The reports include complete …