CSM Blog

The traditional film festival has morphed into a multitude of events beyond film screenings as programmers capitalize on the media expertise that gathers in unexpected places like Columbia, Missouri, Durham, North Carolina, Austin, Texas or Washington, D.C. Taking advantage of the wealth of talent, aspiring independent documentary filmmakers can (and should) jump on the opportunity to attend festivals and learn from industry leaders.Read more...

BAVC released the Impact Playbook: Best Practices for Understanding the Impact of Media on April 9, 2013, with support from The Fledgling Fund.  The report was researched and completed by Harmony Institute, a center that focuses their research on the impact of entertainment on society and individuals. Read more...

Julie Goldman spent nearly 15 years breaking the traditional role of being an independent documentary film producer.  With three films in this year’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, there is no sign she is slowing down anytime soon. By inserting herself directly into the creative process every step of the way she epitomizes the role of “creative producer”, and has earned some of the highest honors in the industry along the way. Read more...

One way to reach a bigger audience: don't just make a documentary, make the narrative feature, too. Directors at the 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival made a strong case for how documentaries can inform narrative features. At the "Based on a True Story" Speakeasy discussion, host and Festival Director Deirdre Haj reminded us that documentaries are more than just informative, they are powerful storytelling devices. Read more...

Fair use is enabling more documentaries, and filmmakers are in the lead of making fair use work for creative practice. The latest evidence is one of the films I savored at SXSW, Our Nixon, by Brian Frye and Penny Lane.