This is a periodically updated list of resources for documentary filmmakers. If there’s a resource not listed here you think should be included, please use the contact form on this site to let me know. This list has grown since I started it thanks to contributions from my readers. The list is somewhat slanted towards the New England region where I live and work, however, there are plenty of links of national interest.

Table of Contents

Discussion Lists and Online Groups

The D-Word hosts discussions about the art, craft, business, and social impact of documentary film. Public Topics are open to all, professionals can become Members of The D-Word and access a wide range of ongoing discussions in the Business, Creative, Social, and Technical discussion sections of the site. The D-Word has become the leading online community for over 2,000 documentary professionals from around the world.

Doculink is a community of documentary filmmakers who share information, leads, ideas, and a commitment to support each other’s growth, consists of an active email list, a website with detailed information and resources, and meetings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, BC and occasionally in New York.

DVinfo.net, is a good discussion board for technical information, the site was founded by Chris Hurd with a “real names, real information” philosophy.

The Documentarians Group on LinkedIn is relatively new, let’s see where this goes.

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Organizations providing fiscal sponsorship and other support services

The Greenhouse Development Program for Documentary Filmmakers from the Middle East and North Africa is a groundbreaking initiative positioned at the intersection of media, social change and peace-building. The program seeks to nurture a diverse and sustainable community of young documentary filmmakers from across the Middle East and North Africa and support them in developing the skills necessary to create powerful films that advance a more just, democratic and peaceful region. Greenhouse is comprised of an international consortium of support organizations.

The International Documentary Association (IDA) promotes documentary filmmakers, provides Fiscal Sponsorship, distributes the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, and publishes Documentary magazine. They also run Docs Rock, a two-semester program that introduces high school students to the world of documentary filmmaking, and Doc U, a series of hands-on educational seminars and workshops for aspiring and experienced documentary filmmakers.

Filmmakers Collaborative (FC) is a filmmaker/member run organization providing fiscal sponsorship and several professional development events for members and non-members alike including the annual Making Media Now conference. FC has expanded their fiscal-sponsorship services to include filmmakers all over the country.

Center for Independent Documentary was founded to collaborate with independent producers to create films and videos on issues of contemporary social and cultural concern.

Documentary Educational Resources (DER) provides fiscal-sponsorship and is also a respected distributor of documentary films, originally founded by John Kennedy Marshall and Timothy Asch.

Women Make Movies was founded to address the under representation and misrepresentation of women in the media, they are a non-profit media arts organization facilitating the production, promotion, distribution and exhibition of films by and about women.

The Independent Feature Project (IFP) provides fiscal sponsorship and runs a range of programs for emerging and established documentary makers, including Independent Film Week (connections to financing and exhibition) and Documentary Lab (mentorship support).

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Consultants

Morrie Warshawski provides fundraising consulting, workshops, and has written extensively on the topic of fundraising, his site includes an extensive fundraising bibliography

Documentary Educational Resources, provides documentary filmmakers with fundraising, production, and distribution consulting

Fernanda Rossi, the Documentary Doctor, provides excellent story structure consulting, she also conducts awesome workshops, don’t miss the opportunity to attend one when she’s in your area.

Engagement Strategists, a list compiled by POV of specialists who can help filmmakers with their engagement plans.

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Web Sites and Blogs

POV Documentary Blog provides conversation and debate around current documentaries, interviews with documentary filmmakers, sneak peaks of docs-in-progress, and articles related to documentary film.

Paul Harrill’s Self-Reliant Film site is a wonderful resource for documentary makers working on their own.

Michael Hall and Christopher Sakr created ShoHawk to get you up-to-speed quickly starting to make films and defining your career path, lots of useful, practical information.

Heather McIntosh has done a terrific job putting together the Documentary Site, an online resource for documentary, a nice balance of material of interest to academics, students, and fans of documentary film

Ian McCormick’s blog, Community Media – Interactive World deals with community development, digital engagement, and international community film

Morrie Warshawski’s site includes an extensive fundraising bibliography and links to his books and articles

Sandra Gaudenzi’s Interactive Documentary Blog covers documenting reality, digital media, and her Ph.D. work in interactive documentary, the core hypothesis of her research is that digital interactive media affords, and therefore pushes, towards documenting reality in an enactive and situated way, rather than in a representative way. A really interesting blog if you want to think beyond the boundaries of the linear documentary.

The Collab Docs blog reflects research into documentary and Web 2.0 by Mandy Rose, who is drawing inspiration and ideas for methodology from examples of collaborative creativity in documentary and beyond.

And, of course, Kino-Eye.com which you are currently visiting.

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Associations, Support Organizations, and Centers

The San Francisco Film Society provides fiscal sponsorship and a wide rage of services to filmmakers in the San Francisco Bay Area including classes and workshops. In 2008 the society launched their filmmaker support programs after signing an agreement with Film Arts Foundation, assuming the stewardship of activities provided by Film Arts over its 32-year history.

Sundance Institute offers a wide range of support services for independent filmmakers.

One World Media is a UK registered charity in London that is committed to excellence in media coverage of the wider world. Services include: A Fellowship that supports the next generation of international correspondents and documentary filmmakers; Awards celebrating the best media coverage of the developing world; Workshops that teach specialized skills for international reporting, either through established university media courses or directly to early career international correspondents; and Events bringing together decision-makers to debate pressing editorial issues, as well as creating opportunities for new talent to meet these decision-makers.

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Publications

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Funding

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Online Fundraising and Social Media

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Copyright, Fair Use, and Licensing

Fair Use & Copyright Articles (Center for Social Media, includes links to “Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use” and “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video” as well as a variety of excellent articles dealing with copyright issues)

Creative Commons (a licensing scheme that makes it possible to share media without losing specific rights)

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Conferences

Making Media Now is an annual conference held in the Boston area, hosted by Filmmakers Collaborative

Making Your Media Matter is an annual conference held in the Washington, D.C. area hosted by the Center for Social Media at American University

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Markets

Sunny Side of the Docs, an annual documentary market organized around 350 buyers representing more than 130 television stations

Docs for Sale, parallels the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam

The Doc Shop, the documentary market running concurrently with the Hot Docs Festival

Independent Film Week, the IFP market, not exclusively documentary like the first three on the list

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Film Festivals

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Documentary Film Distributors

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Classes and Workshops

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Academic Programs

While it is possible to study documentary in many undergraduate or graduate programs, the following programs have a specific focus on documentary and stand out as exemplary programs given the quality of their faculty and the track record of their alumni:

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Archival and Stock Footage Sources

The Internet Archive provides access to an extensive collection of historical footage in digital form, much of which is in the public domain or licensed via a Creative Commons license.

Getty Images was the first company to license footage online, they offer a wide range of stock footage and music along with an extensive collection of historical images and footage. While their footage fees are quite expensive, be aware the actual licensing fees you pay for your specific project are negotiable.

Research Video has an extensive footage library of music and comedy performances, celebrity interviews. The collection spans the 1940s through the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 1990s.

Documentary Educational Resources has an archive of ethnographic film covering cultures and societies around the world including the Smithsonian’s Human Studies Film Archive.

Video Blocks is a subscription-based website that provides members with unlimited downloads of stock footage, music, and sound effects. Instead of charging per download, they allow members to download as much as they want.



RevoStock offers an extensive collection of contemporary and historical footage, much of which is in the public domain or licensed via a Creative Commons license. They provide relatively generous terms to producers making footage available via RevoStock.

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Networking Events in the Boston Area

Connect The Docs is a monthly gathering of documentary filmmaking professionals in Boston

Boston Media Makers is a monthly gathering of people interested in social media, informal media, and new media.

Filmmakers Workshop events run by the Center for Independent Documentary offer Boston area independent media artists a non-competitive, supportive networking community, meetings vary, panel discussions, work-in-progress screenings or presentations, etc. Filmmaker’s Workshop has been on hiatus, however, I expect it will be back up and running late in 2013 or early in 2014. Stay tuned!

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Books

If you decide to purchase any of the books listed, please use the links on this page, they will take you to Amazon and a small commission will go to kino-eye.com to help defray the cost of hosting and updating this site.

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If there’s a resource not listed here you think should be included, please contact me. This list has grown since I started it thanks to contributions from my readers.