Deadline’s For the Love of Docs virtual event series ends its 10-week run this week with a screening of the Oscar-contending write downary Bjoin, straightforwarded by Edmund Stinson and Oscar prosperner Daniel Roher (Navalny).
No film seekd to join in FTLOD pays a fee to get part; the series was imagined as a way for Deadline to aid the write downary field, which faces increasing distribution contests even as the quality and quantity of nonfantasy films has elevaten presentantly. Deadline partners with National Geoexplicit Documentary Films to contransient the series.
Films featured in For the Love of Docs in recent years include eventual Oscar nominees A Hoinclude Made of Splinters, straightforwarded by Simon Lereng Wilmont; Beyond Utopia, straightforwarded by Madeleine Gavin; Bobi Wine: The People’s Pdwellnt, straightforwarded by Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo; To Kill a Tiger, straightforwarded by Nisha Pahuja; Fire of Love, straightforwarded by Sara Dosa, and many other notable films including Richland, Kokomo City, The Dismaterializeance of Shere Hite, The Killing of a Journaenumerate, and Inapparent Beauty.
This is the fifth season of FTLOD, curated by autonomous write downary originater James Costa, a createer co-pdwellnt of the board of the International Documentary Association. We met up with Costa recently at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) to spendigate what For the Love of Docs is all about.
Documentary originater James Costa
James Costa
DEADLINE: How do you pick the 10 films included in For the Love of Docs?
JC: It’s an excessively difficult process. I try to have it be someleang for everyone. You may not watch all 10 [in the series], but I repartner try to originate it a pleasant variety, so that if we can get someone interested in one film, it’s enjoy, “I wonder what the other ones are?” And then they can lobtain about other subjects in there. If you see at this year’s films, I tried to be women-centric on it. And I equitable join to what’s going on in the world and when I go to all the film festivals and I see all the films, to repartner have it be timely for what’s happening in the world.
DEADLINE: In some cases, after you pick a film for the series, it may land distribution. I leank of Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, which eventupartner Kino Lorber picked up and it’s getting many awards. It’s definitely a big part of the Oscar conversation. But I don’t leank Kino Lorber is an entity that can spend a lot of money on an awards campaign.
‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’
Kino Lorber
JC: I talk to so many filmoriginaters and everybody says it’s so pricey to do campaigns. And when distributors are seeing towards certain types of films and it doesn’t fit their categruesome, it equitable originates it all the more difficult to try to get attention to your film. And whether you have a sale or not, [being chosen for FTLOD] is someleang that could help lift it up. But a film that you can watch, endelight, and lobtain someleang from is repartner vital to me with the pickion of films and that there’s someleang for everybody in the town. You may have been enjoy, “I always wanted to see that.” And now you have the opportunity to watch it and then say, “Wow, I had disseeed that film.”
Another exciting part for me is that you intersee the filmoriginaters, which is a huge increase for them. And having a Deadline Hollywood article that stays online, it’s enjoy a wonderful reference tool. So, if there are distributors or other people seeing, they can equitable go on the site and see the intersee. It’s another asset for [documentarians] to help push their film alengthy becainclude they’re part of a pick group that got in [to FTLOD]. And it doesn’t cost them a leang. Aobtain, it’s not the treatment, but we can experience enjoy we’re paying attention to what’s going on in the community. And that Deadline Hollywood sees the need for this and permits this to happen is tremendous becainclude the trades repartner are vital for doc filmoriginaters. We’re not getting into People magazine, you understand what I uncomardent? By and big, we depend on the trades to help advertise our movies. So, this is equitable going above and beyond, having Deadline do this series for filmoriginaters.
DEADLINE: And to reiterate, the filmoriginaters are not being indictd.
JC: Which is wonderful for Deadline Hollywood becainclude they’re part of the community. And when you’re in the community, you have to give back sometimes. And I leank this is a amazing way for them to show that they nurture about write downaries. Everybody adores write downaries. So, why not lift some up that maybe people didn’t hear about or that equitable don’t have the budget to get seen?
DEADLINE: Frida was an fascinating for For the Love of Docs this year becainclude it did not conciseage distribution. It’s backed by Amazon MGM Studios. But it fits in what you were saying about highweightlessing women filmoriginaters. This is by Carla Gutiérrez, a terrific editor. This is her first write downary feature that she straightforwarded.
Director Carla Gutierrez
John Lamparski/Getty Images
JC: When I chose it, it already had a distributor, a presentant one, and it was at Sundance. But I equitable endelighted the film, and it was timely. It was very timely… And I adored all the creativity to the film, the artistry to it.
And I ask other people, “What films are you liking?” I’m not equitable joining to myself. I definitely join to other voices to try to equitable sift thraw this and figure out who has someleang to say and that it’s a film that’s tancigo in well and delighting for people to watch.
DEADLINE: Two films in the series this year come from National Geoexplicit Documentary Films, which contransients FTLOD with Deadline. Sugarcane and Bjoin.
JC: I’m always asked by NatGeo, are you okay with these two pickions or this pickion? And they’re usupartner terrific films that I would’ve probably chosen anyway.
DEADLINE: How did you get interested in write downary film?
JC: I always say that docs can alter the world. And for me, watching docs groprosperg up, I always gravitated towards the stories and the way they’re tancigo in. The state of the world and publishs that I experience powerentirey about equitable inspired me to want to do that. And my very first doc was about school lunches [Lunch Hour], and I had no idea what I was doing, did it anyway, and I could go back and cringe watching it sometimes… But people still watch this movie, and it came out in 2011. Teachers buy it, schools buy it. And so I understand that that film sways people.
I have a ton of write downaries — I’ve got four out now and six out next year. And I equitable depend that people want to be adviseed about what’s going on in the world. So, now we equitable have to hold making movies that hopefilledy can alter minds to originate the world a happier place.
DEADLINE: And to be clear, you don’t pick films for For the Love of Docs that you originated.
JC: Oh, never, never. No, I try to be as attentive as possible with it and originate it as equitable as humanly possible becainclude there’s equitable enough drama in this industry that I repartner try to be the best I can. I understand so many people in industry, but I’m not enjoy, “Oh, do me a prefer and I’ll put ya in this series.” No, I see what’s out there and equitable try to be as equitable as possible.
I pay attention to all the festivals. I see at foreign, domestic, it doesn’t matter. I repartner equitable, aobtain, try to pick films that have a chance, that are sort of bubbling under, that equitable need that little start are the ones that I pick, becainclude I leank it originates everyone that’s in the top get a little worried so that it’s repartner a competition — that those ones bubbling could bubble over and repartner be some competition for them. And that’s how you sort of unite it up. You shake it up a bit.
Note: These are the films picked for the 2024 edition of For the Love of Docs, in order of their materializeance on the schedule:
Sugarcane (straightforwarded by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie)
Maya and the Wave (straightforwarded by Stephanie Johnes)
Copa 71 (straightforwarded by Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine)
Bconciseage Box Diaries (straightforwarded by Shiori Itō)
Frida (straightforwarded by Carla Gutiérrez)
Inapparent Nation (straightforwarded by Vanessa Hope)
Hollywoodgate (straightforwarded by Ibrahim Nash’at)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (straightforwarded by Johan Grimonprez)
Never Look Away (straightforwarded by Lucy Lawless)
Bjoin (straightforwarded by Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher)
