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At this point, I've been working from home for over a month and I'm a bit surprised that I'm still managing to keep my days straight (it is Monday, right?). I've spent the last few days catching a variety of films from the online edition of Nyon, Switzerland's Visions du Réel, and it seems starting today we'll all be able to watch a few films from Amazon Prime's online presentation of SXSW. But despite all the rather unprecedented online access we've been able to enjoy, I think we're all starting to seriously ponder what kinds of lasting effects COVID-19 is going to have within all aspects of the film industry. This week's memo sees a spate of in-depth articles and interviews debating this very topic. Plus, Full Frame revealed its 2020 award winners, Open City announced a new bi-annual doc journal titled Non-Fiction, and Columbia University Press released Stefano Odorico's new book, The Interactive Documentary Form. Stay safe, read on, and watch some docs.
 
-Jordan M. Smith

HEADLINES

DOC NYC Announces Free Live Series "Friday Fix"
You start your work week with the Monday Memo. Now finish strong with the Friday Fix. We are happy to announce the launch of a new live weekly interview show hosted by the festival’s artistic director Thom Powers. Titled “DOC NYC Friday Fix,” the show kicked off last week with Episode 1 featuring filmmakers Liz Garbus (THE INNOCENCE FILES; LOST GIRLS) and Rachel Mason (CIRCUS OF BOOKS), plus Loira Limbal (THROUGH THE NIGHT) gave a moving perspective of how Covid-19 has impacted her community in the South Bronx. Episode 2 arrives May 1 with Janet Tobias (director of the pandemic doc UNSEEN ENEMY), Oscar winners Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert (AMERICAN FACTORY) and Kartemquin Films’ Gordon Quinn (who’s recovering from Covid-19). DOC NYC Friday Fix is available for free worldwide. You can RSVP to watch  During the livestream, viewers can contribute questions and comments. The show is recorded for later access. Upcoming episodes will focus on the PBS series Asian Americans, and the features Crip Camp, Welcome to Chechnya, John Lewis: Good Trouble and more.

Independent Filmmakers Call on Feds for Financial Support Amid Pandemic
J. Kim Murphy covered the story for Variety: "As the coronavirus pandemic continues to halt film productions across the country, the Freelancers Union and a coalition of 25 independent film and media groups have called on the federal government to support its members. The coalition’s request calls upon Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressional members across the country to ensure than any replenishment of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) includes stipulations that allow freelancers to qualify for financial relief. ‘The PPP has the potential to offer a critical financial lifeline to America’s freelance and self-employed workers by providing forgivable loans to cover payroll and business expenses,’ the coalition’s statement reads. ‘Unfortunately, with insufficient federal funds allocated and rules set up to favor larger businesses, freelancers have not been able to gain access to this essential funding.’ The coalition found that more than 80% of freelancers surveyed reported that they had lost thousands of dollars in wages due to shutdowns. While freelancers were allowed to apply for PPP loans on April 10, one week after applications opened to small businesses, the statement explains that freelancers were only offered a period of four business days before the Small Business Association announced they were closing applications due to exhausted funds. During that brief window of opportunity, many freelancers struggled to connect with banks overwhelmed with applicants from larger businesses and new rules requiring the completion of a 2019 Form 1040, Schedule C, which many individuals have yet to complete due to the extension of the IRS’ filing deadline. Over the past 10 days, over 2600 freelancers in the industry have joined the coalition’s online seminars on PPP, with many frightened by the difficulty of obtaining access to this financial support from the federal government.”

Doc Industry Pivots to Lock in Buyers, Audiences During Coronavirus
Jennie Punter reported on the state of doc distro for Variety: "With the global premiere of National Geographic’s JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE on Earth Day (April 22) and the April 19 premiere of the first two episodes of Michael Jordan series LAST DANCE — a ratings slam-dunk for ESPN — it’s deceptively easy to think all is right in the documentary world. The coronavirus pandemic has created a huge, captive audience for documentaries à la TIGER KING, while films are reaching millions of home-schooling students and connecting house-bound viewers to the outside world. Meanwhile, broadcasters and streamers are moving up premiere dates and making select programming more widely (i.e. freely) available, while doc-championing independent U.S. distributors such as Magnolia, Kino Lorber, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Neon and Music Box have launched virtual cinemas as revenue-sharing partnerships that support local arthouse theaters. The reality is that beyond the headlines for high-profile fare, the pandemic is exposing the fragility of the documentary ecosystem, where the characteristic persistence and resilience of documentary filmmakers is under threat in a marketplace that has never felt more uncertain.”

When Do We All Go Back to Work?
Filmmaker Magazine editor Scott Macaulay asks: “When do we all go back to work? While provisional answers to this question are suggested every day in the newspapers and in government press briefings, industry-specific conversations play out in email exchanges, Zoom conference calls and text message threads. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been canvassing producer friends and colleagues about what they’re doing and what they’re hearing. Of course, testing — virus and antibody — as well as declining, low-level transmission rates in the shoot location will be givens before any production will start. Assuming that, however, their answers are all over the place. Studio feature production may not be starting for a year, some say. But some television may go in the Fall. There are producers who think they will be shooting their indies mid-summer. Others, are more confident of lensing in October. There’s one particular producer, I’ve heard, who plans a virtual prep in July for an August shoot — an indie in one main location with a tiny cast. He really wants to make Sundance.”
DOC BOOKS

THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY FORM:
AESTHETICS, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH

By Stefano Odorico
"While the concept of the documentary film is well established, interactive documentary is a newly emerging form of nonlinear, nonfiction narrative that animates viewers to control their own path through a film. Stefano Odorico examines the aesthetic structures and dynamics of interactive documentary as a web-based film experience. His study considers theoretical issues such as critical complexity, reality effect, and polyphony, and assesses their respective media practices. Questions of distribution and preservation are addressed through the analysis of a number of film festivals, museums, and archives. Lastly, Odorico explores the potential of interactive documentary as a research method not only specifically for film and media studies but also for academia more generally."

ON THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT
 
How Film Festivals Can Navigate the Risks and Rewards of Reopening
Noah Cowan pieced together an analysis on how film festivals might move forward from here for IndieWire: "Film festivals are facing a wide array of challenges over the coming months, most of them well-documented in trade and commercial media. But it’s worth restating some of these specific concerns in a more holistic context, especially as the luckier among us are just beginning to pass from the ‘horror movie’ phase of COVID-19 to the ‘suspense thriller’ phase, and we contemplate what ‘re-opening’ might look like. These thoughts are obviously speculative as changes on the ground continue and none of us are certain how this massive economic downturn will affect consumer behavior over the next year. Festivals are currently torn between their bedrock mission of gathering local communities around film — now totally shut down — and staying relevant to their audiences, which is currently happening with a rush to online screenings and other digital initiatives. There are some bright spots — especially CPH:DOX, with its young demographics and fervent digital following, which managed to go online and didn’t miss a beat. However, most spring festivals have failed to effectively translate their real world enthusiasm to the online space.”

Toronto Film Festival Considers Digital Options in Post-Coronavirus World
Variety's Peter Debruge spoke with TIFF's Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente about what TIFF might look like this year: "It’s ‘full steam ahead’ at the Toronto Film Festival, according to artistic director Cameron Bailey. However, even the organizers of North America’s largest annual film gathering can’t say with total certainty what that means, since there are so many unknowns in the fast-evolving coronavirus pandemic. TIFF traditionally takes place in early September, boasting a lineup of nearly 300 films. Unlike other festivals that were forced to cancel or postpone due to coronavirus, the team is committed to deliver some form of the event on its original September dates — even if that means fewer venues, smaller audiences or, worst case scenario, no in-person component at all. Six months out, the team has already started developing some kind of virtual or streaming alternative, should it come to that. ‘Postponing is definitely not a possibility on the table right now. [Based on] everything that we are learning, things might get worse in October or November if there is a second wave,’ says TIFF executive director and co-head Joana Vicente. By sticking to its dates and thinking about contingency plans early, TIFF has positioned itself as the year’s de facto can’t-miss festival and market. While travel restrictions have forced programmers to cancel March trips to Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong FilMart, Bailey insists that studios and filmmakers eager to premiere their work remain highly motivated for their films to be considered.”

2020 Full Frame Award Winners
Announced via press release: “Seven awards for a combined value of $47,500 in cash prizes are announced for the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Full Frame is a qualifying event for nominations for the Academy Award Documentary Short Subject category and the Producers Guild of America Awards. The four-day event, originally scheduled to run April 2–5, was canceled amid COVID-19 concerns...The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award was presented to MAYOR, directed by David Osit...The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was presented to THEN COMES THE EVENING, directed by Maja Novaković...The Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award was presented to TIME, directed by Garrett Bradley...The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award was presented to TIME, directed by Garrett Bradley...The Franklin Humanities Institute Award was presented to RIAFN, directed by Hannes Lang...The Full Frame President’s Award is presented to SAUDADE, directed by Denize Galiao...The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights is presented to US KIDS, directed by Kim Snyder.”

Prime Video Presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection
Announced via press release: “Amazon Prime Video and SXSW announced ‘Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection’ will launch on April 27, 2020 with 39 films, composed of narrative and documentary features, short films and episodic titles. Filmmakers in the official 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup were invited to opt in to take part in this online film festival, which will play exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. from April 27, 2020 thru May 6, 2020. The one-time event will be available in front of the Prime Video paywall, free to all U.S. audiences with or without an Amazon Prime membership — all that is needed is a free Amazon account.”

MISCELLANEOUS
 
New Non-Fiction Journal Now On Sale
Announced via press release: “Non-Fiction is a new journal from Open City Documentary Festival. The publication aims to create a space for considered, critical and creative writing on non-fiction, featuring contributions offered in response to moving image, audio or cross-media, both contemporary and historical. Non-Fiction reacts to a growing interest in documentary work by providing a platform for more rigorous and engaging criticism made in response to it. It assumes that criticism can itself be an act of creation, and that there is no fixed format that a critical response should take. Non-Fiction will be intellectual but accessible, including a variety of voices and perspectives, both in terms of contributors and subject matter. Like Open City Documentary Festival, the journal looks to nurture and champion the art of creative non-fiction, aiming to challenge and expand the idea of documentary in all its forms. The journal will be a biannual print publication, with each issue containing a number of varying responses to a given theme. It will be available to buy online, at the festival, and in select shops. Non-Fiction is supported by UCL.”

DCTV Online Workshop: Documenting in Quarantine
Announced via press release: “To support our community during this time, we are reducing all prices. We are offering Office Hours either for free or suggested donation, and in-depth Workshops on a sliding scale to be able to support our freelance instructors and cover some of our costs. Please choose the amount you’re able to pay...Do you want to document your community coming together to support vulnerable neighbors? Or interview friends around the world to compare their experiences? Or maybe make a video journal of your personal insights on being at home? At this fraught time, there are so many stories to tell at all levels – stories about governance, science, or community, about the people who are impacted, at risk, or doing their best to help. With this online workshop, join a cohort of other creators to support each other and go through the process together. Channel your energies and extra time into creating your own documentary film to contribute to the record of this time. This workshop meets virtually as a group once a week for one month, and to keep on track, participants will also have weekly one-on-one virtual meetings with the instructor. This workshop will culminate in a live online viewing party of completed projects with a Q&A session.”

On Watching Brett Story’s THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES
Georgie Carr reflects on the film in the midst of COVID-19 at Another Gaze: “How do you represent the prison system cinematically? A certain syntax of images springs to mind: a concrete wall, coils of barbed wire, or hands clasped behind iron bars, as seen in documentaries such as Louis Theroux’s BEHIND BARS (2008) or Reggie Yates’s THE INSIDER: INSIDE A TEXAS JAIL (2016). These films and others like them explore the prison and the toll on its inhabitants from the inside. The reach of the prison, however, extends far beyond its physical limits. America’s prison system is vast, and has grown exponentially since the 1970s. As of now, 2.3 million people are incarcerated. Millions more endure parole restrictions, correctional facilities and probation. Meanwhile, 113 million adults have an immediate family member who has been to prison or jail. Brett Story’s THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES weaves together studies of different sites across America to show the ways in which the oppressive structures of the prison expand outwards across the nation as a whole.”

The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund and Criminal Justice
Dana Merwin wrote about this year’s Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund and its relationship to history at IDA: “In one of Pare Lorentz’s defining films, THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS (1936), Lorentz illustrated the impact of destructive agricultural practices with striking imagery and an artistry that moved audiences in a way that headlines did not. Its release pioneered the power of film to magnify injustice, spur national discourse and create change. More than 80 years later, the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund continues his filmmaking legacy by supporting feature-length documentary films that reflect the spirit and nature of his work. The fund empowers filmmakers to use cinema for social justice and education. Each year, the fund focuses on select issue areas that reflect Lorentz’s legacy.”
 
NEW RELEASES
 
Ivete Lucas & Patrick Bresnan's PAHOKEE is now available via virtual cinemas, Rachel Mason's CIRCUS OF BOOKS is now streaming on Netflix, and the Spike Jonze directed BEASTIE BOYS STORY is available through Apple TV+.

PAHOKEE
CIRCUS OF BOOKS
BEASTIE BOYS STORY

DOC NYC ALUMNI

Chuck Smith's BARBARA RUBIN & THE EXPLODING NY UNDERGROUND
2018 DOC NYC Metropolis
Is now available to stream on Amazon Prime via Juno.

Ivete Lucas & Patrick Bresnan's PAHOKEE
2019 DOC NYC American Perspectives
Is now available to stream at virtual cinemas via Monument Releasing.

Todd McGrain's ELEPHANT PATH / NJAIA NJOKU
2018 DOC NYC Wild Life
Is now available to stream for free on Vimeo.

Deborah Dickson's THE LOST BIRD PROJECT
2012 DOC NYC American Perspectives
Is now available to stream for free on Vimeo.

D.W. Young's THE BOOKSELLERS
DOC NYC PRO - Only In New York
Is now available to stream at virtual cinemas via Greenwich Entertainment.

Chris Cassidy's DENNIS AND LOIS
2018 DOC NYC True Love
Will be released on Blu-ray/DVD/VOD on April 28th via Gravitas Ventures.

Justin Pemberton's CAPITAL IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
2019 DOC NYC New World Order
Will be released online via Kino Marquee on May 1st.

Elizabeth Carroll's NOTHING FANCY: DIANA KENNEDY
2019 DOC NYC Food For Thought
Will be released online via Greenwich Entertainment on May 22nd.
FEATURED STREAMING DOC SHORT
ELEPHANT PATH / NJAIA NJOKU
Directed by Todd McGrains

"An indelible tale of friendship and commitment set against the luminous beauty of the Central African Rainforest. Together, elephant behavioral biologist, Andrea Turkalo, and indigenous tracker, Sessely Bernard, will be tested by the realities of war and the limits of hope for the majestic animals they have committed their lives to study and protect."
FUND THIS PROJECT

Crowdfunding has become an integral means of raising capital for documentary filmmakers around the globe. Each week we feature a promising new project that needs your help to cross that critical crowdfunding finish line.

This week's project:

GATHERING HOPE: STRONGER TOGETHER
Directed By
Andrew Escher

Funding Goal: $25,000
As always, if you have any tips or recommendations for next week's Memo, please contact me via email here or on Twitter at @Rectangular_Eye.
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