Sheffield DocFest tackles the challenges facing the non-fiction film industry

International documentary filmmakers and industry representatives gather at UK’s Sheffield DocFest at a time of political upheaval in Europe. British voters head to the polls for a general election on July 4; in France, President Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called early legislative elections after a French ultra-nationalist party was voted into the European Parliament. Germany’s far-right AfD party also made substantial gains in that vote in the European Parliament. In general, the center held – more or less.

If anything, the documentary community is used to dealing with its turbulence, whether at the macro level of major change in the business itself or the micro level of launching a film production. The message to DocFest attendees this week was to insist on solidarity – to support each other – in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

“In this time of crisis, it’s where we need to come together,” says Patrizia Mancini, Head of Industry at Sheffield DocFest. “And that’s where the creatives really shine, the creatives in terms of what we can do with the stories and how — despite the decrease in funding or certain (conditions) that might be more difficult materially to produce documentaries — it’s the place where creativity can really surprise. us in terms of resistance.”

To foster resilience and support, DocFest annually convenes a meeting market where top doc producers and broadcasters, streamers and distributors flock to see 50 pre-selected non-fiction projects up close. Among the films that have attracted support in recent years are many that have earned Oscar recognition: Everything That Breathes, The act of killing, The Gaze of Silence, In search of the sugar man, 5 Broken rooms, square, The edge of democracyand the 2021 winner of L’Oeil d’or at Cannes, A night of not knowing anything.

The projects presented at this year’s Meet Market were chosen through an open call last fall – 45 projects in development and five in the general phase. During DocFest, notes Mancini, filmmakers “meet with UK and international industry representatives such as commissioning editors, public and private broadcaster buyers, international sales agents, impact producers, other market representatives and festivals to develop their project, to seek collaboration. The purpose of Meet Market is to develop collaboration, connection, to stimulate co-production.”

Among the entities represented this year – NHK from Japan, Arte, France Télévisions, ZDF from Germany, VPRO from the Netherlands, Sky, Netflix and Channel Four from the UK. And that’s not all – other entities that can provide funding and/or visibility were on hand, including nonprofits and festivals: Hot Docs, IDFA, DOK Leipzig, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Sundance, Ford Foundation, and International Documentary from the USA. Association.

“They have meetings for two days, from 9 to 6,” notes Mancini. “So it’s pretty intense.”

This year, DocFest also launched a new initiative built around podcasts, one of the hottest growth areas in non-fiction. “Podcast Pitch brings together six emerging creative non-fiction audio filmmakers,” the DocFest program notes, “selected from around the world to pitch their ideas to a selection of industry experts and curators.”

To get the creative juices flowing, DocFest also schedules a robust line-up of talks and discussions. Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, the festival’s guest of honor this year, gave two public talks, one of which focused on how to support documentaries that don’t fall into the obvious categories of true crime, celebrity biographies and music docs. Williams moderated the “Social Impact Documentary” conversation with filmmakers Sugar cane (acquired by National Geographic from Sundance), DAUGHTERS(acquired by Netflix from Sundance), as well as Union — Deadline broke the news Friday of the film’s plan for a self-distributed theatrical release — The Battle for Laikipiashot in Kenya and The stone mountaina film about the Confederate monument outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Part of DocFest’s role, at least implicitly, is to direct distributors to material that transcends the boundaries of strictly defined genres—to, as Mancini puts it, “give audiences not only what they expect, but also make them curious of things. of which they know not.”

The sustainability of documentary careers has long been a concern in North America, Europe, and probably everywhere. Much documentary work is freelance in nature – most directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and sound designers do not work for institutions but as independent contractors.

“We’ve had several conversations about how freelancers can be supported,” says Mancini. “It’s really a question of (DocFest) pushing certain buttons and looking at the problem and trying to come to maybe a final solution not definitive, but trying something different.”

There is concern that AI could further erode the number of jobs in the field. For young people hoping to pursue a career in documentary, this is a particular concern. DocFest strives to support emerging creators as well as filmmakers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. The festival’s Amplify: Production Talent, for example, “is an initiative for select entry-level production professionals to elevate their careers,” as DocFest’s website describes it. The idea involves mentorship between seasoned professionals and those who represent the future of the doc field.

“It’s a matter of sharing the experience, and giving space for questions,” explains Mancini. “And there’s always an exchange, which I think is a really good part of Sheffield DocFest, an exchange of ‘Okay, I’ve been through what it means to be an emerging director and an emerging producer… I can to give you advice, how I did it when my time (came) and how it’s changed over the years.'”

DocFest also runs a Challenge for Young Filmmakers, an opportunity to make a short film over the course of a week and exhibit it at the festival. Oscar-nominated director Julie Cohen (RGB, scratch, Everyone) served as a mentor for this year’s participants.

“It was very successful,” says Mancini. “It’s part of the DNA of the festival — in the program, in the team. It’s just being open, giving access to people from different backgrounds, different stories.”

Sheffield DocFest ends on Monday. At the end of June, an event from across the English Channel will take up the banner — Sunny Side of the Doc, the world’s largest documentary market, taking place in La Rochelle, France. And at Sunny Side, the focus is on promoting co-productions, getting the work done, confronting the challenges of the field, and charting a future course so that quality non-fiction work reaches the eyes of people around the world, whether through streaming platforms , cinematographic, broadcast TV or linear cable.

This is the ethos, as Mancini defines it: “We need community. We need to build a community and increase collaboration.”