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CPH:CONFERENCE - DAY 2: AFTERNOON (Panel 2)
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          11. – 22. March 2026

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              CPH:CONFERENCE - DAY 2: AFTERNOON (Panel 2)

              WHAT’S NEXT? FUTURE PERSPECTIVES ON THE SHIFTING ECO-SYSTEM OF THE CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY

              15:00 - 15:50 Wednesday 18th Mar 2026 / 50 min

              The consensus amongst documentary peers is unanimous: the most recent golden age of creative documentaries with more bountiful funding, financing, distribution and broadcasting opportunities is now firmly consigned to the history books, leaving in its wake the current transitional period, replete with uncertainties and potential.

              The most significant seismic shift in the documentary landscape in North America indeed took place in the last 9 months. 
               
              On July 18th 2025, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate-amended Rescissions Act, thereby eliminating all previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP) for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. Created by the US Congress by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to support the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting, the CBP had been the cornerstone of the US public media eco-system, through which funding was channelled for a network of local radio and television stations as well as for a whole rafter of organisations which funded,incubated and showcased nonfiction works and documentary filmmakers. 

              Bereft of the lion’s share of their funding, many of these organisations have faced difficult strategic decisions regarding their programmes and are operating under existential threat. The CBP closed its doors on January 5th, 2026, and based on current anecdotal research, the total amount of federal funding it disbursed to documentary film creatives via a variety of well-known US organisations amounted to at least $40 million in 2024, all of which has been lost for the next two years. The dismantling of the US public media eco-system is, in addition, proving to be a moment for pause, to rethink and update the role of media in the public interest in the 21st century and how it is resourced.

              Across the Atlantic, conservative political winds with their associated cuts in arts and culture, combined with increased defense spending, in a context of increasing geopolitical paradigm shifts, have in particular affected broadcasters. Structurally, these cuts have forced them in some cases to downsize, pool their resources through partnerships and even merge.

              More generally, European broadcasters have decreased the level of their funding to creative documentaries. In parallel, the larger streamers have tended to focus their attention on documentaries with broader audience appeal and well-known I.P. The compounding effect of both of these dynamics has led European producers of creative documentaries to become themselves “creative” in their strategies to co-produce, fund and finance their productions. These strategies include forming configurations of European broadcasters and US private equity to finance their films, all of which has the potential of creating yet more changes in the standard media chronology for the release of such films.

              This session can only be purchased as part of the full afternoon bundle.

              Speakers

              Andreas Møl Dalsgaard

              Andreas Dalsgaard, director, producer and founder of Elk Film. Most recent directing credits include the Sundance title 'The Oligarch and the Ard Dealer' and the Venice Days winner ‘The War Show’, and producing credits include ‘The Lost Leonardo’, ‘Hacking Hate’, ‘As the Tide Comes In’, ‘Daughter of Genghis’, ‘An Eye for an Eye’, ‘Afghan Circus’ and ‘American Doctor’

              Jon-Sesrie Goff

              Jon-Sesrie Goff is part of the Creativity and Free Expression team and makes grants globally in documentary film, new media, and visual storytelling for the foundation’s JustFilms program.

              Barbara Truyen

              Barbara Truyen has worked in the documentary scene since the early 90’s. She focuses on international coproduction and strategic alliances for both Dutch and international documentary films and series. Barbara is trying to create new ways of working, to create a healthier ecosystem that benefits all.