Story of the Month
INCLUSIVITY RISING!
Brown Girls Doc Mafia advocates for women & non-binary people of color who work in the documentary industry. It's one of the many communities forming across our sector to spotlight biases, address injustices and create opportunities.
Filmmakers challenge PBS for its lack of diversity // NPR

TIDF presents a new category for indigenous filmmakers // TIDF

Microaggression in representation in the documentary industry // IDA

Beyond Inclusion is a BIPOC-led group of non-fiction media professionals

EBU calls for more diversity in casting decisions // EBU

Diversity is high at the Oscars, but is it COVID related? // The Guardian

Pat Younge speaks on diversity and inclusivity in television // K7 Media

C4 boss Alex Mahon on achieving diversityon screen, behind scenes and among viewers // The Dum
PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
HBO gives director Raul Peck free reign on new documentary about colonialism // NYT

Seaspiracy shines light on the ecologically destructive fishing industry // The Guardian

Apple and Imagine Documentaries join forces for Louis Armstrong doc // RealScreen

Gender questions in Ken Burns & Lynn Novick's Hemingway doc // CounterPunch+

QAnon documentaries hit screens after Capitol riots // Politico

Discovery+ will premiere Sean Penn doc about his humanitarian efforts // TV Real

Apple TV greelights1971 Rolling Stones gen Music doc series // Realscreen

Apple TV's Jamie Foxx / Kevin Hart docs about Hollywood's Black actors // Realscreen
#STORYTELLINGMATTERS

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER wins Documentary Oscar. Acceptance speech. // YouTube

How we sold OCTOPUS to Netflix” podcast. Listen to executive producer Ellen Windemuth, a great friend of Sunny Side and DocBiz (Update) // Documentary Business

2021: a landmark year for diversity at the Oscars. Why did it take nearly a century? // WAPO
NETFLIX & THE STREAMERS
Are channels being cannibalized by SVOD's? Animal Planet and the roll out of discovery+ // Dan Salerno in Documentary Business

Netflix will spend $300Mn on Spanish-language originals // C21

We are in a new era of TV // Broadcasting+Cable


Western Europe SVOD subscriptions to reach 234Mn // Rapid TV News


Netflix commissions first Harry and Meghan series // C21Media
PEOPLE / BUSINESS

Love Nature's Carlyn Staudt: AVOD & FAST are the perfect platforms for Natural History // TBI

Smithsonian Networks' James Blue III drops specialist documentary focus for mainstream unscripted projects, often led by celebrities // Broadcast


Facebook unscripted exec joins Discovery+ // RealScreen

Florence Sala becomes Head of International Distribution & Marketing for ARTE
WORTH READING!!
Alt-right content creator breaks YouTube algorithm // NYT

UK unscripted TV fund develops workforce // TV Real

Upping conservation content is the way to go // TBI

Upfronts are changing the advertising landscape // Beet.TV (Video)

Uptrend in non-scripted post-pandemic // Deadline

TikTok founder under scrutiny // The Age
Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business and Sunny Side of the Doc are publishing partners, providing our colleagues throughout the year with valuable industry analysis and context. Thanks for your feedback, and for sending us stories with links that you feel our readers will appreciate... at [email protected].
Editorial Assistant: Becca Wallance