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New survey reveals insights on current state of the documentary field

September 29, 2016 — Nina Sachdev

This week, the Center for Media and Social Impact (CMSI) and the International Documentary Association (IDA) released the results of a survey—“The State of the Documentary Field”—designed to track and better understand trends in the evolving field of documentary film.

“As new audiences continue to discover documentary storytelling across various platforms, tracking industry professionals’ perspectives and lived experiences in the field is a vital pursuit,” the survey introduction reads.

The survey, announced at IDA’s Getting Real conference in Los Angeles, was designed for documentary industry members in order to gain further insights on four key areas: challenges and motivations; careers and funding; distribution and format; and diversity and inclusion. Despite the many opportunities that exist in the way documentaries are now produced, distributed and consumed, the survey results of more than 500 professionals reveal that important challenges persist.
Some key takeaways from the survey:

  • Despite excitement about the future of documentary film, the majority of respondents (78 percent) said they were not able to make a living from their documentary work.
  • Foundation grants remain the top option as a main source of documentary funding (33 percent).
  • Almost half of respondents (47 percent) believe there’s been no progress or not much progress on the inclusion of directors of color, and 56 percent feel the same way about including producers of color.
  • Film festivals are the primary form of distribution (73 percent), followed by grassroots/ community screenings and educational screenings (both 49 percent).

With all of the challenges, more than 80 percent of respondents indicated that they felt excited about the future of documentaries and nearly two-thirds agreed that we are in a “golden era” for documentary film. “Documentary film producers and directors are a resourceful and resilient group, says MIF executive director Vince Stehle, who attended the filmmaker gathering this week. “And philanthropy continues to play a large and growing role in the development of this critical field of expression.”

“The State of the Documentary Field” was conducted over the course of several months in 2016 by CMSI co-director Caty Borum Chattoo in collaboration with IDA’s Simon Kilmurry, Ken Jacobson and Amy Halpin.

Read the report in its entirety here.

About the Author

Nina Sachdev

Nina Sachdev

Deputy Director of External Affairs
Nina Sachdev brings more than 20 years of experience in journalism, news editing, and marketing to her role as Deputy Director of External Affairs at Media Impact Funders (MIF). Since joining MIF in 2016 as the organization’s first full-time Director of Communications, Nina has been leading efforts to showcase the power of media, journalism, and storytelling to the philanthropic community. Through strategic communications, member engagement, research initiatives, and high-profile speaking events, Nina works to educate and inspire funders to make more strategic decisions about their media funding. In 2026, Nina was promoted to Deputy Director of External Affairs.  Nina’s experience as a senior leader in a philanthropy-serving organization (PSO)—combined with her unique perspective as a grantseeker and grantmaker—enables her to effectively advocate for MIF’s mission and vision and build strong relationships with donors and key stakeholders in media philanthropy. Nina also brings from her journalism days a special focus on sexual assault and reproductive health. She is a tireless advocate for the importance of quality, impactful storytelling, and journalism on these topics. Nina cut her teeth in journalism at The Dallas Morning News, where—as an intern on the copy desk—she was tasked with editing the obituaries of famous people who hadn’t yet died. Since then, Nina has worked at The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, The Philadelphia Daily News, and The Philadelphia Weekly in almost every editorial capacity imaginable, including senior editor, A1 editor (when that used to be a thing), and slot (does anyone remember that being a thing?). Nina is the creator and editor of the award-winning The Survivors Project: Telling the Truth About Life After Sexual Abuse, which exposes the reality of healing from the effects of sexual abuse. Nina holds an M.A. in journalism from Temple University. She lives in Philadelphia with her family.