We had hoped to stay away from traditional festival wrap reports here at Resources. However, because the International Documentary Conference seemed to have a serious slant toward new media this year, I think it important to at least make a few comments about it. Like it or not, the internet, low cost consumer technology and viewer expectations are changing the movie business profoundly and rapidly. Telecomm policy issues are being fought out, hardware is refined with every iteration, and producers and distributors are trying to figure out models for monetizing content in a world that seems to be moving toward “free.” This territory that once felt so well-trodden is now the Wild West—anything can happen and just might, depending on which way the winds blow.

It is appropriate that this years International Documentary Conference, which runs concurrently to Silverdocs, the AFI/Discovery Documentary Festival in Silver Spring, MD that ran from June 12-17, to program several panel discussions with new media and funding as a recurring theme. I was disappointed with the level of discussion, which seemed in turns rudimentary, overly academic and old news. Where are the fresh ideas, the tips and tricks, the connective threads? While ultimately, I had some very enlightening conversations in my time there, they happened outside the panels in small groups.

One bothersome part of the line-up is the insistence by conference producers to only invite executives. I’ve worked for enough festivals now to understand that it is important to incorporate the event sponsors—they want to reach the festival audience for a reason and to receive that support, they have to be included. But, there seems to be no bar as to whether the speakers will have anything cogent to say or if they will simply be reciting the same company line that anyone could read on their website. Note to companies who put their people on panels: give them some leeway to have a discussion with their peers. No one is interested in pure sales pitches. These kinds of presentations are transparent and fool no one.

Also, particularly in matters of practice, the executives often don’t know as much as the community builders, acquisitions people or developers. These hands-on folks might not be a sexy draw (though I’d suggest that now one knows one Discovery person from the next, so…) but during the discussion, they are the people with concrete advice and techniques that filmmakers can employ in their own work. These people were invisible at the Conference.

I also noted that several panels I popped in on were sparsely attended, particularly the public television ones. I doubt this is because of content necessarily, as I’ve attended the Conference in years past and seen the same panels filled to capacity. What was different this year was the number of choices going on at the same time. I’m not convinced that there was a sufficient growth in attendance overall to warrant additional activities in the same number of time slots. Was it great to have Industry only screenings available? You bet, but to have them at the same time as two or three industry panels splinters the audience to such a degree that no one wins. There is something kinetic and exciting about a packed room, lots of people vying to ask questions and presenters giving smart responses and discussing among themselves, which can’t happen with 20 people in attendance.

I have some thoughts about the content of the panels that I attended but I think I’m going to “answer” my issues with interviews and guest blogs here rather than simply rant about what wasn’t working. In the meantime, blogger Brian Geldin, a.k.a The Film Panel Notetaker, has done his work and posted notes from several of the panels should you wish to take a look. Pamela Cohn of Still in Motion covered “Filmanthropy.” Silverdocs did have some podcasts up but they have removed them in favor of film trailers and promo highlight reels. Sigh.

What did you take away from the International Documentary Conference? What worked? What didn’t?