NETFLIX 2020: What You Need To Know Now! is my updated study of how Netflix buys documentaries. Netflix has been a black box for the documentary production community. My new research reveals much more about Netflix’s strategy, programming decisions, budgets, deal terms, preferred producers, and the business model that drives it all. The new study …
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 …
Ben Simmons is an NBA All-star with a US$170 million contract. He sent a message to the Sports and Documentary worlds by signing on as an executive producer of THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM. Passion Pictures‘ feature documentary captures the struggle of Aboriginal professional footballer Adam Goodes. Goodes was driven from the local game by unrelenting racial …
Netflix 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 great …
This month’s coverage of the documentary and unscripted landscape is curated by your friends at Sunny Side of the Doc and DocumentaryBusiness.com. Fetishizing personalities: “The Inventor: Out For Blood” exposes the celebrity money cult led by Silicon Valley’s Elizabeth Holmes, founder of collapsed medical disrupter Theranos // The Guardian. Misogyny? That’s what a tech writer …
Participating in the Master’s Pitch at DOK.Fest Munich was a highlight of my year. Documentary Campus and DOK.fest have developed a unique format that combines compelling pitches, feedback from a jury of international commissioners and experts, and valuable practical training. Case Study: Richard Ladkani (Director / DOP) opened with an inspiring Case Study of the …
The MIPDoc International Copro Summit gathered 40+ industry leaders to discuss coproduction trends, challenges and solutions. FORMAT: The Summit kicked off with my mini-presentation on the forces that are shaping how producers and buyers are approaching copro’s in this new, high-pressure ‘Age of Netflix’. A panel discussion analyzed a Case Study: Life of Earth: From …
THE SIEGE OF MECCA is a compelling investigation into a violent event that has shaped recent history, but that is still wrapped in secrecy in France, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and elsewhere. This Sunny Side of the Doc / DocumentaryBusiness.com Case Study reveals a 5-year commitment to a German/French copro with a €620,000+ budget. THE STORY …