Despite our best efforts to create a more just and distributed documentary ecosystem, we still live in a world where a small group of people select or acquire films for entities that filmmakers desire—unrestricted grants, influential international film festivals, deep-pocketed platforms, and legacy broadcasters. Questions and assumptions about their processes as crucial points of access and support for filmmakers tend toward the worst. For this session, we turn the tables. These intrepid gatekeepers have pledged to give honest answers to your questions, especially the most challenging ones.
To submit a question for consideration, fill out this form.
Moderator: Abby Sun (IDA)
Panelists: Amanda Lebow (CAA), Mara Gourd-Mercado (CPH:DOX), Basil Tsiokos (Sundance), and Chris Hastings (WXXI)
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Abby Sun is IDA's Director of Programs and Editor of Documentary magazine. She is a cofounder of Distribution Advocates and the Future Film Coalition, and serves on the board of directors of Mezzanine, a nonprofit building audiences for independent films in Los Angeles, and the arts advisory council of the Princess Grace Foundation.
Mara Gourd-Mercado is an Argentinean-Canadian arts manager, specializing in film, television and digital media. With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, she has served as Executive Director of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), Executive Director of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television - Quebec section and has been a jury member, a moderator, a speaker at events such as Cannes Doc, Visions du Réel, DOK.Fest Munich, Sunny Side of the Doc, SANFIC, Festival internacional de cine de Guadalajara, Chicken & Egg, Catapult Film Fund. Since 2023, she is Head of Industry & Training at CPH:DOX. She oversees the INTER:ACTIVE exhibition, the CPH:FORUM, the CPH:LAB and all industry activities.
Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival. He was previously the longtime Director of Programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival, and the Artistic and Executive Director of NewFest: The New York LGBT Film Festival. Basil has served on the feature nominations committees for Cinema Eye Honors, the IDA Awards, and the Gotham Awards. He was formerly a regular contributor to IndieWire and wrote extensively about documentaries on what (not) to doc between 2010-2022. Basil holds a Masters degree in Cinema Studies from New York University and two undergraduate degrees from Stanford University.
Despite our best efforts to create a more just and distributed documentary ecosystem, we still live in a world where a small group of people select or acquire films for entities that filmmakers desire—unrestricted grants, influential international film festivals, deep-pocketed platforms, and legacy broadcasters. Questions and assumptions about their processes as crucial points of access and support for filmmakers tend toward the worst. For this session, we turn the tables. These intrepid gatekeepers have pledged to give honest answers to your questions, especially the most challenging ones.
To submit a question for consideration, fill out this form.
Moderator: Abby Sun (IDA)
Panelists: Amanda Lebow (CAA), Mara Gourd-Mercado (CPH:DOX), Basil Tsiokos (Sundance), and Chris Hastings (WXXI)
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Abby Sun is IDA's Director of Programs and Editor of Documentary magazine. She is a cofounder of Distribution Advocates and the Future Film Coalition, and serves on the board of directors of Mezzanine, a nonprofit building audiences for independent films in Los Angeles, and the arts advisory council of the Princess Grace Foundation.
Mara Gourd-Mercado is an Argentinean-Canadian arts manager, specializing in film, television and digital media. With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, she has served as Executive Director of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), Executive Director of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television - Quebec section and has been a jury member, a moderator, a speaker at events such as Cannes Doc, Visions du Réel, DOK.Fest Munich, Sunny Side of the Doc, SANFIC, Festival internacional de cine de Guadalajara, Chicken & Egg, Catapult Film Fund. Since 2023, she is Head of Industry & Training at CPH:DOX. She oversees the INTER:ACTIVE exhibition, the CPH:FORUM, the CPH:LAB and all industry activities.
Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival. He was previously the longtime Director of Programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival, and the Artistic and Executive Director of NewFest: The New York LGBT Film Festival. Basil has served on the feature nominations committees for Cinema Eye Honors, the IDA Awards, and the Gotham Awards. He was formerly a regular contributor to IndieWire and wrote extensively about documentaries on what (not) to doc between 2010-2022. Basil holds a Masters degree in Cinema Studies from New York University and two undergraduate degrees from Stanford University.
