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Producer Profile: Oscar Documentary Magic

An Inspiration for the Documentarian in All of Us

Videomaker was invited to attend an exclusive Academy Awards reception sponsored by the International Documentary Association. The IDA annually honors the documentarians that have traversed that long lonely road to the Academy Awards. These producers make it to the top in their field with compelling images and solid storytelling. We spoke with a few of these documentarians about the making of their movies and some of the conflict and obstacles they encountered along the way. You can see our video recap of this reception and hear from a few of the documentarians we interviewed here.

Struggle and Toil

Documentary work is not for the timid. Documakers don't go into this field for the money, but because they feel impassioned and compelled to tell a story. Their struggle is very real, worthy of a documentary itself. Michael Moore, for instance, producer of the film Sicko, about the failing health care insurance system in America, ironically battled to obtain insurance for his movie. Without insurance, most movie studios won't produce a movie, and most distributors will refuse to release it. This is where the IDA steps in, working as a portal to help documentarians get their movies financed, insured and nurtured and offering assistance with fair use and copyright legalities. Moore gave a passionate, energetic and humble speech at the reception, praising the hard work of the other documentarians and expressing his desire to help them in their continuing fight to get their voices he…