With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Documentaries May Be Heating Up Again, But Not To The Same Level Of The Boom Years
Signage hangs from lamp posts as people walk on Main Street during the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 23, 2024 in Park City, Utah.
(
Dia Dipasupil
/
Getty Images North America
)
Topline:
This year’s Sundance Film Festival saw a spate of seven and eight-figure documentary sales, which was welcome news to a beleaguered industry, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an end to a doc market that has lurched from boom to bust in recent years.
The details: In recent years the streamers seem to be all about documentary biopics that center on iconic sports and pop culture figures — Arnold, Sly, Val! — and yet they have cooled on the more sophisticated stories that fueled the documentary boom that started in 2012 and had everyone from Will Smith to the Duplass Brothers jumping into the space.
The background: The 51% tumbling of Netflix’s stock in 2022 is widely considered the end of the documentary boom and it triggered a contraction and widespread layoffs in the documentary space.
Sponsored message
As the industry consolidated key executives either retired or were let go which caused further concern among documentary filmmakers. All of a sudden, the industry’s focus started narrowing and companies were privileging more celebrity-driven bio docs because they are seen as less-risky bets. But that shift has the mission-driven community of documentary filmmakers who see themselves not unlike journalists with cameras deeply worried about the future of their industry.
What’s next: Hollywood’s pivot to streaming undoubtedly has been a boon to the doc world, but much of the industry is eager to get back to a time when there was a more diverse slate of films. Whether that’s a creative issue or a business one is the question on everyone’s mind.
For more...read the story on The Ankler.
This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
