Essential Afghan Documentaries – War boosters & critics: 15 key documentaries about Afghanistan, From ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ to ‘Hell and Back Again‘ // Variety ‘Pat Tillman‘ and other films both critical and supportive of the war // Washington Post Art Workers in France Mobilize to Help Afghan Creators // Artnet Women journalists fear brutal Taliban // Vice Director’s escape from …
Story of the Month: Investors Target Unscripted Production. There’s a frenzy of investment in unscripted production // Wall Street Journal. New SVOD’s fail to understand that success depends on streaming addiction // Lightshed Partners. Netflix Australia: Revenues surge but avoids taxes and local production // The Age + Documentary Business. Audiences want more documentaries in streaming libraries …
BIG vs SMALL stood out at Sunny Side of the Doc 2019 as a pitch to watch. Last Friday, PBS‘s primetime NEWSHOUR dedicated a report to Director / Producer Minna Dufton‘s gripping feature documentary of Giant Wave surfer Joana Andrade. Below is the link to Stephanie Sy’s video report, and the transcript follows in case …
BIG vs SMALL tells the inspirational story of Joana Andrade, the first Portuguese woman to surf the giant, bone-crushing waves of Nazaré. Finnish director and producer Minna Dufton’s debut feature documentary was released in late 2020, and so far has enjoyed premieres at nine top global festivals including DOC NYC and PÖFF. BIG vs SMALL …
Ellen Windemuth executive produced Craig Foster‘s beautiful film MY OCTOPUS TEACHER, a new Netflix release. (Now OSCAR-shortlisted, I’m republishing my popular September 2020 podcast with Ellen in response to the undiminished hit-level appeal of “OCTOPUS” to Netflix subscribers of all ages and territories.) She describes the years’ long journey of her friend, South African wildlife …
France Télévisions is France’s multi-channel public broadcaster, buying 1,900 hours of documentaries / year. For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive presentation, Catherine Alvaresse shared France Télévisions’ vision. Watch my informative and exclusive conversation with Catherine Alvaresse: FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS: CATHERINE ALVARESSE Recorded June 15, 2020 Overview What is the big picture for France Télévisions? Describe …
Channel 4 is Britain’s youth-targeted, edgy broadcast network.: What is C4’s unscripted strategy? What do they want? What are examples of recent hits? What does C4 pay for programs? For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive session, Fatima Salaria shared Channel 4’s vision and programming priorities. Fatima announced today that she is departing C4 to …
It was standing-room-only at the East Village premiere that I attended for The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. The Q&A that followed resembled a celebrity speaking tour: the star in the spotlight was the sparkling 87-year old, Anne Innis Dagg. This Canadian feature combines several of my favorite genres: Archive-based History Wildlife Science Plus a bit …