HEADLINES
 

No Other Land, Only Girl in the Orchestra Win Doc Oscars
Pat Mullen reports at POV Magazine: "No Other Land and The Only Girl in the Orchestra won the Oscars in the documentary categories last night at the 97th annual Academy Awards. The win for No Other Land provided one of the highlights of the ceremony as winners Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, and Hamdan Ballal—a collective of Palestinian and Israeli journalists and filmmakers—took the stage to accept the award for their documentary that chronicles the Israeli army’s ongoing occupation of Palestine, including forcible housing evictions, in Adra’s community of Masafer Yatta. The winners took a big moment to address the plight of Masafer Yatta and other communities enduring violence. ‘Thank you to the Academy for the award. It’s such a big honour for the four of us and everybody supported us for this documentary,’ said Adra on the Oscar stage. ‘About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now, always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions, and forcible displacements that my community, Masafer Yatta, is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation. No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist, as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.’...On the shorts side, Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson presented the Oscar to The Only Girl in the Orchestra director Molly O’Brien and producer Lisa Remington. The Only Girl in the Orchestra offered a loving tribute to Molly’s aunt, double bass player Orin O’Brien, who broke the gender barrier as the first woman in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.”

No Other Land Doesn’t Have U.S. Distro, Highest-Grossing Oscar-Nominated Doc
Brian Welk reports for IndieWire: "No Other Land is the most acclaimed film of 2024 without U.S. distribution, be it because of apprehension over embracing a story about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or because of general concern for the documentary market theatrically. And yet, even without a proper distributor backing it, the film has grossed just shy of $420,000 at the domestic box office. What’s more impressive — or perhaps more sad, considering the state of documentary film — is that the film is now the highest-grossing feature among the five doc features nominated at the Oscars this year. According to data from Comscore, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat (Kino Lorber) is the next highest with $320,530 cumulative as of February 25. Porcelain War (Picturehouse Films) came in at No. 3 with $215,826 cumulative, and No. 4 Sugarcane (Variance Films) has $112,251 cumulative. Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films) had no reported numbers via Comscore but had a release on October 25, and Box Office Mojo lists a worldwide gross of $33,228.”

‘A Chilling Effect’: Is Hollywood Too Scared to Touch Hot-button Documentaries?
Adrian Horton reports for The Guardian: “The Oscars are far from a consensus, but few films head into Sunday’s awards with as much critical acclaim as No Other Land, a documentary chronicling the destruction of the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta by the Israeli military, which seeks to expel families from their land to make way for a military training base. The film, made by an Israeli-Palestinian collective, garnered numerous festival accolades, several independent awards and nearly every American critics association’s “best of” title. But the vast majority of Americans cannot view it. For months, even after No Other Land secured an Oscar nomination, no major US distributor bought the project, stranding the film in a strange limbo – high visibility, at least in the film world, but almost no access to audiences. At a time when studios and streamers are typically boasting their Oscar bona fides, no company has been willing to touch it. ‘We were told that people were afraid’ of distributing a film critical of the Israeli government during the war with Gaza, said Yuval Abraham, the film’s co-director, even though No Other Land filmed in the West Bank and wrapped before the attacks of 7 October 2023. (For transparency, Abraham has previously written for the Guardian.) ‘Some of them said: ‘If we take this film, we will have to balance it with another film.’’”

Robert Richter, Documentary Filmmaker, Dies at 95
Lauren Coates reports at Variety: “Robert Richter, an independent filmmaker and producer whose credits include nearly 90 documentaries on a wide range of subjects, died at his home in New York City on February 16 following complications associated with heart failure. He was 95. A three-time Academy Award nominee for best documentary short, Richter’s expanse of accolades included a 2008 National Emmy for 'exceptional merit in nonfiction filmmaking' as executive producer on the HBO version of his documentary feature The Last Atomic Bomb, and three duPont Columbia Broadcast Journalism awards (TV’s Pulitzer Prize). Richter was the only independent producer to receive the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global 500 Award. Born and raised in New York City, Richter’s decades-long career in filmmaking began at Occidental College in California with an experimental Telluride Association program, followed by a B.A. from Reed College in Oregon and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop.”

Chicken & Egg Announces Seven Award Recipients, One Finalist For 2025
Filmmaker reports: “Chicken & Egg Films, the organization that champions women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers with funding, mentorship, and access, today announced more than $550,000 in grants to seven recipients and one finalist of its 2025 Chicken & Egg Award. Each cohort member will receive a $75,000 grant: a $50,000 unrestricted career grant and $25,000 to be applied to a project the filmmaker will work on during their breakthrough award year. The Award recipients are Rita Baghdadi, Kelly Duane de la Vega, Carola Fuentes, Angelo Madsen, Habiba Nosheen, Jenni Olson, and Anupama Srinivasan. The 2025 Chicken & Egg Award Finalist is Marcela Arteaga, who will receive a $25,000 production grant toward her film.”

Eurodoc Announces 2025 Cohort
Announced via press release: “Congratulations to the 40 participants selected, for our 26th flagship program! Coming from 28 countries worldwide, they will develop their documentary projects and their careers over eight months, within groups led by Jean-Laurent Csinidis (Les Films de Force Majeure), Heino Deckert (Ma.ja.de) and Gema Juarez Allen (Gema Films). This year, the first residential sessions will take place in Biella (Italy) in March, thanks to the Film Commission Torino Piemonte, and the second session will be run in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in June, with the support of RE-ACT. In each country, a group of local producers will join the international cohort and build a robust network of creative and business opportunities. Through the in-person sessions and additional online sessions, through group work, masterclasses, case studies, individual consultations and coaching, the 40 participants will address artistic development, European and global development and production funding, coproduction fundamentals, techniques and ethics, legal aspects of development, creative teams management and leadership, impact, marketing and audience outreach, pitching skills, until the third session in October in Cork, Ireland, held thanks to Screen Ireland, where they will meet with 40 industry guests.”

Questions Still Remain for BBC After Damaging Gaza Documentary
Katie Razzall writes at BBC: “As guests sat down on the red cinema-style seats in the screening room of a plush central London hotel, nobody could have imagined that, less than a month later, the BBC would find itself forced to apologise for serious and unacceptable flaws in the documentary that was about to be shown. In the darkness, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone unfolded over an hour, telling in bleak and upsetting detail the story of Gaza's children over recent months of the war. Screenings are standard practice for media companies, primarily for outside press to review a programme ahead of broadcast. Also in the room was BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and other senior executives from the BBC's news and current affairs to view what one described as a ‘landmark’ piece of filmmaking. But after the programme went out on BBC Two, it emerged that the child narrator at the heart of the film, 13-year old Abdullah, was the son of a Hamas government official. The outcry and accusations of anti-Israel bias and lack of transparency led the BBC to pull the film from iPlayer. Questions were asked in Parliament.”

DOC NYC Selects Returns This March!
 

It's a new year, which means a new season of DOC NYC Selects, our popular in-person screening series, is here! This season's lineup includes four noted new documentaries hot off of the festival circuit, featuring work from Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin MacDonald, editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes, and more. The Winter 2025 edition will run every Tuesday in March (March 4 - 25) at New York’s IFC Center, with filmmakers and special guests in person at each event.

ON THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

Filmmaker Yance Ford Curates Full Frame's 2025 Thematic Program
Announced via press release: “Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Yance Ford will curate the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival’s 2025 Thematic Program, ‘The Weight of a Question: Documentary and the Art of Inquiry.’ The program presents eight features and three short films that invite viewers to wrestle with complex—and at times, uncomfortable—questions about the world around them. Ford will present the lineup and take part in discussions with filmmakers following the screenings. Guests will be announced in the coming weeks. ‘I’m thrilled to curate the 2025 Thematic Program at Full Frame,’ said Ford. ‘These films don’t simply document; they provoke, challenge, and demand reflection. From deeply personal narratives to formally inventive works, each selection disrupts easy conclusions, pushing us to confront power, ideology, history, and the ways we are entangled in these forces.’”

2025 Slamdance Film Festival Announces Award Winners
Announced via press release: “The 31st Slamdance Film Festival this evening announced the winners of their annual Sparky Awards in Audience and Jury categories for 2025. The festival also announced the recipient of their AGBO Fellowship from Slamdance alumni Joe and Anthony Russo, a curated Acting Award, and the second annual Summer Chastant Episodic Award. All winners were announced during the in-person awards ceremony on February 26th at the DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles, CA. ‘Our first year in Los Angeles hasn’t just been a new chapter—it’s been a breakthrough,’ said Taylor Miller, Slamdance Director. ‘These award-winning films don’t just stake a claim; they redefine what cinema can be. These filmmakers have cemented their place in the future of cinema, proving that Slamdance isn’t just moving—it’s evolving. And we’re just getting started.’”

CPH:DOX Announces Full 2025 Program
Announced via press release: “Running from March 19-30, CPH:DOX 2025 brings a new thematic section focusing on human rights and the rules-based international order – Right Here, Right Now. World premieres include films about Israel and Palestine, the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the rise of the far-right across Europe, identity politics, art and activism and much more. Key figures coming to Copenhagen include artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Ukrainian feminist activist Inna Shevchenko, investigative journalist and whistleblower Christo Grozev, musician Warren Ellis, HBO comedian Jerrod Carmichael, Republican Trump critic Adam Kinzinger and the iconic model and actress Twiggy amongst others. The festival will present a total of 94 world premieres of which 68 are feature-length films – this is the highest number of feature-length world premieres in the festival’s history. This year’s film programme features six competition categories, judged by an international jury: DOX:AWARD, F:ACT AWARD, NORDIC:DOX AWARD, NEXT:WAVE AWARD, NEW:VISION AWARD and HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD. The 2025 DOX:AWARD main competition lineup features strongly anticipated world premieres such as Alisa Kovalenko’s My Dear Theo; Thomas Balmés’ À demain sur la Lune, Artur Franck’s The Helsinki Effect, and this year’s opening film Facing War by Tommy Gulliksen among many other important titles.”

Atelier 2025 is Dedicated to Cláudia Varejão
Announced via press release: “For its 56th edition, Visions du Réel will have the honour of welcoming Portuguese filmmaker and photographer Cláudia Varejão for an Atelier. Cláudia Varejão will be taking part in the next edition of the Festival with a masterclass and a retrospective of her films. A filmmaker deeply attuned to the sensitive world, Cláudia Varejão has directed four feature-length films and seven short films, all of which share a strong feminist perspective, tackling themes such as emancipation, personal relationships, intimacy and everyday life. Her profoundly contemporary films have won critical acclaim as well as numerous awards.”

MISCELLANEOUS

The Best (and Most Anticipated) Documentaries of 2025 (According to Vogue)
Erik Morse writes for Vogue: “With a new year comes another round of new documentaries to savor. More than ever, the documentary has become an essential form of communication, grounding us in a moment while providing historical context and nuance. This year’s spate of entries at Sundance, the unofficial pipeline of the genre, ensures a steady flow of films throughout the spring and beyond. Among 2025’s most promising selections are portraits of female icons, a film adaptation of a political broadside against neoliberalism, and a muckraking investigation into the world’s richest man. Here is a list of 11 for your consideration.”

Now Accepting 2025 Rough Cut Retreat Applications
Announced via press release: “Catapult is excited to partner with True/False Film Fest to present our tenth annual Rough Cut Retreat, a one-of-a-kind mentorship experience that unites nonfiction filmmakers and mentors in a creative, supportive, and engaged atmosphere. This year’s retreat will take place July 20-24 at Hilltown Commons in Rensselaerville, New York. Rough Cut Retreat seeks work that displays ambitious, idiosyncratic approaches to nonfiction storytelling – and prioritizes filmmakers who lack strong feedback networks. Chosen mentors represent a variety of nonfiction film professionals who embody creativity and generosity of spirit. Interested in applying? Submissions are free until our regular deadline on April 11, 2025 at 6PM CST. After this deadline, submissions will be charged a $30 LATE FEE until April 18, 2025 at 6PM CST when submissions will close.”

Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film Open for Submissions
Announced via press release: “The Library of Congress, The Better Angels Society, Ken Burns, and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation today announced the open call for entries for the seventh annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, which provides critical recognition and resources to filmmakers who produce exemplary documentary films that tell compelling stories about American history. The Prize for Film was established in 2019 by the Library of Congress and The Better Angels Society, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging Americans with their history through documentary film. This award is bestowed annually by the Librarian of Congress in partnership with The Better Angels Society and provides a cash prize of $200,000 to one winner, a secondary prize of $50,000 to one runner-up, and $25,000 to each of four other finalists. Core underwriting for this prize is provided by a generous gift from Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine through the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation.”