UPDATE: 5,000+ actors, directors, producers, filmmakers, writers, comedians, and entertainment industry workers have now joined our fight to block this merger - just as 5 Attorneys General met with press today and CA AG Bonta declared, “this is not a done deal.”
We can block this merger to protect free expression, workers, and consumers by speaking up together and calling our state Attorneys General.
Join us in this fight at BlocktheMerger.com/OpenLetter to #BlockTheMerger
Nikolaus Geyrhalter on shooting Melt across four continents, his adoption of new imaging technologies, and why he won’t call it a climate film.
Ten years after Ulrich Seidl’s first film, 'The Ball' (1982), his influence in Austrian cinema started to become apparent in the work of Nikolaus Geyrhalter. Like Seidl and the late Michael Glawogger, Geyrhalter’s work demonstrates what George Orwell once described as “a power of facing unpleasant facts,” a steely-eyed engagement that can be confused with simple provocation or misanthropy. Where Glawogger’s work tended to use a more active, fluid camera, Seidl and Geyrhalter prefer a locked-off camera, often rendering the world in wide-angle static shots whose symmetrical stylization is inherently if sinisterly humorous.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
Chicken & Egg Films’ signature program will distribute $450K in new grants toward established women and gender-expansive nonfiction filmmakers.
Today, Chicken & Egg Films announces the 2026 cohort of its eponymous award, which will grant a total of US$450K, along with mentorship and support, to six nonfiction filmmakers poised for a breakthrough year. Each cohort member will receive a $75,000 grant: a $50,000 unrestricted career grant and $25,000 to be applied to a project the filmmaker will work on during their award year.
This year’s recipients are Amber Fares, Chase Joynt, Zippy Kimundu, Tamara Kotevska, Jules Rosskam, and Ema Ryan Yamazaki.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
In this interview, Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival head Artur Liebhart discusses growing the Polish fest into a pan-European hub.
Over two decades, Millennium Docs Against Gravity (MDAG) has evolved from a bold experiment into one of Europe’s most dynamic documentary platforms. Founded in 2004 with a focus on audience development rather than industry deal-making, the Polish festival has steadily expanded its reach—geographically, structurally, and strategically—into a multi-city event that now draws over 180,000 attendees annually and is increasingly positioning itself as a pan-European hub for non-fiction cinema. From the start, that meant treating documentaries not as niche festival fare, but as works that could circulate through regular cinemas, media debate, and civic partnerships—an approach reinforced by MDAG’s parallel role as a distributor.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
"I am asking you to join me in helping sustain this lifeline. This program is for every documentary filmmaker from any corner of the world who, like Pasha and me, can’t stay silent and uses the only tool they have to resist injustice. And if any danger arises, they know they have a whole community to have their backs." —David Borenstein, Filmmaker
When documentary filmmakers risk everything to tell the stories that matter, they should never do it alone. You can help sustain and grow this lifeline for filmmakers who risk everything to keep truth alive. Together, we can ensure that filmmakers everywhere have the freedom and the safety net they need to keep telling the stories that matter. Learn more via the link in our bio. #SupportFilmmakersAtRisk
In this interview, Xander Robin discusses the intense 12-day shoot in the Everglades that anchors his Florida-set doc, 'The Python Hunt.'
The magnificent ecosystem of the Florida Everglades is in danger, and one of the most prominent invasive species is the Burmese python, which has flourished to the point that tens, or possibly hundreds, of thousands of them live in those environs. Authorities have their hands full trying to control the population. Since 2013, to raise awareness of the issue, the state has intermittently hosted the Florida Python Challenge, in which anyone can apply for a ten-day free-for-all hunt, and a cash prize goes to whoever removes the most specimens from the wild.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
In this interview by @abbypsun , CPH:DOX’s head of industry Mara Gourd-Mercado discusses expanding the role of industry programs and the metrics of success of a pitch forum.
When CPH:DOX managing director Katrine Kiilgaard hired the Montreal-based Mara Gourd-Mercado as Head of Industry, the explicit goal was to deepen the festival’s connections between Europe and North America—a bridge-building mandate that has since become considerably more urgent. Three editions later under Gourd-Mercado’s tenure, CPH:FORUM’s decision-maker and accredited audience attendance has grown (one day this past edition had over 650 entries), filmmaking training programs have expanded, and the CPH:DOX SUMMIT launched as a dedicated space for policy and advocacy ambitions.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
The CEO of Chicken & Egg Films outlines the three principles that anchor successful impact campaigns for documentary films.
I invite you to take one deep breath right now.
We need to breathe. Not just we as people, but we as activists, advocates, and artists. In this daunting political time, we need to breathe together. Because the challenges in front of us are weighty, and they demand a collective response.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
By reframing the political rise and shocking assassination of Pim Fortuyn, mint film office’s archive-driven docuseries 'Fortuyn: On-Hollands’ slowly unravels the myth of Dutch multicultural tolerance.
By reframing the political rise and shocking assassination of Pim Fortuyn, mint film office’s archive-driven docuseries 'Fortuyn: On-Hollands’ slowly unravels the myth of Dutch multicultural tolerance.der Graaf had already been crouching behind cars for hours. When this lone assassin spotted Fortuyn, he walked up to him from behind and promptly opened fire. The controversial yet widely beloved right-wing populist died on this highly symbolic spot, in the heart of the Netherlands’ media industry, where all Dutch broadcasters house their studios.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
Dongnan Chen on co-creating her CPH:DOX winner 'Whispers in May' with three Yi girls in Liangshan—and why she wanted cinema to be a gift in the present, instead of waiting for impact later.
In the remote Liangshan mountains of China, there are many kids who are left to their own devices while their migrant worker parents roam the country for jobs. The burden of the adult world comes early to them, and so their days of running wild and happy through picturesque landscapes are numbered. Among them are Qihuo, a bright-eyed sixth grader who feels an impending change in her life, and her two closest friends, Atnyop and Itgop, who become the protagonists of Dongnan Chen’s sophomore feature documentary, 'Whispers in May,' that won the top prize at CPH:DOX in March.
Read more at documentary.org. #DocumentaryMag
Support Filmmakers At Risk—When documentary filmmakers risk everything to tell the stories that matter, they should never do it alone. They need to know we have their backs.
When a filmmaker faces danger simply for doing their job, they can rely on IDA’s new Emergency Assistance Program, a first-of-its-kind grant program providing direct support to documentary filmmakers in imminent and extreme physical danger. You can help sustain and grow this lifeline for filmmakers who risk everything to keep truth alive.
Join us! Together, we can ensure that filmmakers everywhere have the freedom and the safety net they need to keep telling the stories that matter. Make a donation today! (link in bio)
Call for Entries is now open for the 42nd #IDADocAwards for IDA members at the Doc Maker level and above! Call for Entries opens on June 1 for non-members. Not a member? Join today to get new member savings.
There are some changes in categories and rules this year. Visit documentary.org (link in bio) to learn more and share your work for consideration by August 20, 2026! #documentary
