What Makes a Doc a Doc? Expanding Artforms

The popularity of the documentary genre has grown exponentially over the last two decades, due in large part to producers’ willingness to push the boundaries of the form.  Re-enactments, animation and a variety of experimental and hybrid styles have taken their place alongside the more traditional observational and verité formats, leading to an unprecedented renaissance of non-fiction storytelling. 

How does the producer’s choice of subject matter affect their choice of format, and vice-versa?  What implications does formal innovation have for the producer’s ability to communicate a subject’s truth?  And what impact have these new approaches had on the market for documentaries? 

Session Sponsor:

Speakers:

Dan Braun, Co-President, Submarine; Kusama – Infinity, Wild Wild Country

Marta Kauffman, Writer/Director/Producer, Okay Goodnight; Seeing Allred, Grace and Frankie

Errol Morris; Wormwood, The Fog of War

Ceyda Torun, Co-Founder, Termite Films; Kedi

Moderator:

Diane Becker, Co-Founder/Producer, Fishbowl Films; Inventing Tomorrow, If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd