The State of the Documentary Industry: New Findings From the DPA

For a decade, the Documentary Producers Alliance has highlighted one of the field’s biggest challenges: a lack of transparency. Now, with new research findings drawn from a wide-ranging study of over 300 established documentary filmmakers, the DPA’s research lead presents data that reveals stark industry realities for the first time. How much money are Producers and Director/Producers making? How do their identities, achievements, and choices relate to their success? What factors have a different impact than we often assume?

This session replaces speculation with evidence-based insights about the careers of working documentary filmmakers and the inequalities involved. It opens a conversation about how improving data collection and analysis practices is crucial for driving better industry decision-making, in service of building a more equitable documentary field.

Presenter: Jonathan Goodman Levitt, Filmmaker and Chair of the DPA Research & Data Subcommittee