Do writers throw away the benefits of the documentary business? – Various

Courtesy of Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The collapse of the Writers Guild of America’s contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could benefit the documentary industry. Especially documentary filmmakers with projects that require distribution.

At least that’s the hope.

As film and television writers worry about the survival of screenwriting as a viable career, hundreds of independent nonfiction filmmakers are grappling with the streamers’ new distribution landscape. He has been commissioned.

If the writers’ strike lasts several months, the idea is that not only broadcast networks, but also streaming companies will begin to face holes in their narrative content, which could lead to indie docs being bought up to fill the void.

At Toronto’s Hot Docs Film Festival, documentary filmmakers, programmers and filmmakers are not only celebrating independent fare, but also reflecting on the impact of the writers’ strike on the fiction industry.

“The data shows that during writer’s strikes or during Covid, we’ve definitely seen an increase in demand for non-fiction programming,” said Jeralyn White Dreyfuss, founder of Doc Fund Impact Partners. “They combine the consolidation of the media with the reduction of staff and budgets, and it still looks very tight. But my hope is that buyers will go to non-fiction because there are still many great films that have not been sold.

There are two films in Hot Docs seeking Impact Partners distribution – Alexandra Baumbach’s “It’s Just Life After All,” about the Indigo Girls, and Penny Lane’s “Confessions of a Good Samaritan,” about kidney donation.

Following a Hot Docs industry panel discussion about creative diffusion, filmmaker and author John Rees, while standing “firmly” with the Writers Guild, saw potential in the strike for doctors.

“Real TV has been at the forefront of writers’ strikes in the past,” Reis said. “Now we have reality TV coming out of our ears. So, other documentary content like a doc series will come[up front]which is good for me because I’m going to mention one in a couple of months.

Hot Docs Director of Industry Programs Elizabeth Radshaw added, “I look back on history to see how past strikes have been beneficial to the documentary community in terms of driving sales and bringing buyers’ attention back to our work. Indeed, given the current marketplace, it would be a very interesting focus that we feel we deserve. We don’t wish ill on our wonderful fiction creators, and we need a quick fix, but there are plenty of documentaries and long-form series out there that deserve a profile and a platform.

But when, like the 2007 writers’ strike, networks shortened seasons and rebroadcasts, streamers have years’ worth of content in the pipeline with international shows written by writers outside the WGA.

Julie Goldman, documentary producer and founder of Moto Pictures, said: “People seem to be hoping that the writers’ strike will have the same effect as Covid, giving more opportunities for documentaries and non-fiction. “I think there are two key things that limit this situation: one is that the strike is unlikely to last long, and the other is that no one was surprised (by the strike) and had time to prepare. )”

Goldman is on Hot Docs, “Loving You, Donna Summer” and “Eternal Memory.” Both films have aired with HBO and MTV documentaries respectively.

“I think there’s going to be a programming gap, and that’s going to require rescheduling, which I hope will be an opportunity for a lot of documentaries that haven’t sold yet in the last year,” Goldman added. “We have to see how long the strike lasts before we see a change in the landscape.”

Fair wages and contracts aren’t just a concern of Hollywood writers. No matter how successful doc filmmakers are, they often spend their entire careers struggling to keep a budget that includes enough salaries.

Oscar-winning producer Joanna Natasegara (“The White Helmets”) says, “I’m sure most documentary filmmakers would support a fair and sustainable wage for writers.” “It’s an issue that our community is also struggling with. Overall, it would be great if the money were spent more equitably across the industry and bringing the many beautiful docs coming out this year to a global audience that clearly wants to invest at every level.

Getr founder and CEO Scott Glosserman, with Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now” in Hot Docs, isn’t sure the writers’ strike will lead to more sales, but he thinks it will lead to more nonfiction production.

In the year I was writing a script for Paramount when the writers’ strike happened in 2007, and I finally went and said, “Truth in numbers? Everything, according to Wikipedia, “Glosserman said. “Time will tell how everything turns out.”