It’s no secret that corporations like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have lost their appetite for current event documentaries that tackle politics. The good old days when streamers shelled out seven figures for docus about polarizing politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Knock Down the House”), and eye-opening mock-government teen conferences (“Boys State”) after their Sundance debuts are behind us. That type of nonfiction, streamers would like you to think, doesn’t attract enough eyeballs and doesn’t lead to new subscriptions. Algorithms suggest that doc audiences are mostly interested in watching docus about celebrities, cults and true crime.
But Sundance programmers aren’t making their selections with commercial potential as their priority. Between the fraught political climate and growth of right-wing documentaries and streaming buyers’ taste for crowd-pleasing subjects, it falls to festivals to program the bold titles that will garner awards attention down the line.
“We know that some distributors are a little wary of picking up films with overt political subject matters and that audiences sometimes seem to be looking for lighter types of work,” says Basil Tsiokos, Sundance senior programmer. “We get all that. At the same time, filmmakers are spending years of their lives pursuing stories, investigating situations in conflict zones, and telling these very difficult stories around war and around larger, horrible things that are happening in the world. Our mission is to provide a platform for that.”
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This year Tsiokos didn’t shy away from programming docs that touch on politics in Russia (“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”), Iran (“Cutting Through Rocks”), America (“Heightened Scrutiny”) and the Sudan (“Khartoum”).
“Are we certain that all of the films in this year’s lineup, especially the more serious, harder titles, will enter into the megaplexes? No,” says Tsiokos. “But we have never been certain about that. I think that it’s important that these films still get support from festivals like Sundance and others to share their stories because they are important. ‘Khartoum’ is about Sudan. People don’t talk about Sudan. It is an important story, and I would feel really horrible to be like, ‘This isn’t going to get distribution. Let’s not program it,’” because I don’t think that’s the point. The point is sharing the story with an audience, and maybe that’s just the audience at Sundance. Who knows? But at least it is reaching somebody.”
While 17 of the 23 docus that came to Sundance last year found distribution, the majority of those were self-distributed or released via a service deal that filmmakers had to pay for. Those methods included self-distribution in the case of “Eno” or arrangements with Submarine Delux for “War Game” and with Picturehouse for Oscar nominated “Porcelain War.”
Notably, last year, Netflix swooped in and bought six docus, including “Daughters,” “Ibelin” and “Will & Harper,” while Warner Bros. Discovery shelled out $15 million for “Super/Man,” a documentary about the life of Christopher Reeve. Those sales offered a glimmer of hope for the struggling documentary market.
Submarine Entertainment sales agent Josh Braun is coming to Sundance with eight documentaries seeking distribution, including “The Stringer,” “Middletown,” and “Andre Is an Idiot.”
“The quality of our films is great, so I can’t help but think, how could buyers not want to buy these films?” says Braun. “I know that some of the market is contradicting that, but in the end, buyers need films. Distributors need to fill their slates and documentaries, and even though we are going through a challenging time, we are still part of that mixture. I’m hoping that Sundance is the place where people go to stock up this year.”
Braun is also repping Ryan White’s “Come See Me in the Good Light,” about two poets’ journey through love, life and cancer. For White, who has had three previous docs premiere at Sundance, this will be his first time seeking distribution in Park City. The filmmaker said that it didn’t make sense to look for a deal for “Come See Me in the Good Light” before Sundance.
“This is the type of film that people have to see to understand it totally,” says White. “I just knew it wasn’t the type of film where you were going to get a streamer or distributor to right away throw money at you.”
White is cautiously optimistic the docu will find distribution.
“I don’t have huge expectations, not because I don’t want the film to sell but just because I am a part of the documentary community, and I know that the marketplace right now is tricky,” he says. “So, I’m managing my expectations, but I’m very hopeful once the distributors are there in the theater, they realize how big this movie can play and how relatable it is.”
So far, one indie Sundance docu – Kevin Macdonald’s “One to One: John & Yoko” – has sold. Magnolia garnered North American rights to the film while Max picked up streaming rights.
While several streamers, including Max, Apple TV+, and Hulu, have docus in the Sundance 2025 lineup, Netflix has none. Some people in the industry think that not inviting any Netflix Original docus to the fest was a bad move that wasn’t politically savvy for the festival, and could lead to less funding for docus the company commissions with festival circuit in mind.
However, Sundance director Eugene Hernandez insists that the festival is an equal opportunity zone.
He adds, “Netflix is a premiere destination for documentary full stop, no question,” says Herandez. “They have supported Sundance, the ecosystem and the festival, and we honor and respect that. We are so excited to be able to show this lineup to them. The other thing I will say is that Sundance is a festival of discovery. Sundance does make space for discovery. It’s fundamental to the mission of the organization.”
“I don’t honestly think Sundance factors in that a film is from a streamer or not,” says Braun. “Certainly, with limited slots this year and with fewer theaters, they didn’t invite a lot of great films. I also think maybe it’s just a little better for the industry that the slots mostly went to films seeking distribution just because that will add to the continued subsistence and success of Sundance.
Distribution or not, Tsiokos says that “it’s important that everybody feels there is a seat at the table at Sundance.”
In the theatrical market, anti-woke, conservative docs are the ones making money, but for the most part, they aren’t going to be selected for festivals like Sundance.
Matt Walsh’s “Am I Racist?” – a right-leaning film that tears into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – made $12 million at the box office in 2024, making it the highest-grossing doc of the year. Morgan Neville’s “Piece By Piece” came in second place with over $9 million, but the remaining eight spots on the top ten grossing docs list this year were populated with conservative and faith-based films like “Vindicating Trump” and “In Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist.”
Tsiokos says that Sundance programmers seek out quality films and are not partisan. He points to docus about Mitt Romney (“Mitt”), Ronald Reagan (“Reagan”), and Dick Cheney (“The World According to Dick Cheney”) that all screened at previous Sundance festivals. This year, Barry Levinson and Robert May’s five-part docuseries “Bucks County, USA,” about friends with opposing political beliefs, will undoubtedly lead to debates amongst Sundance audiences.
But with Amazon recently forking over $40 million for a Brett Ratner documentary about Melania Trump, the future viability of liberal-leaning documentaries on corporate streaming services could be threatened.
“There isn’t a single person I know in the documentary space who isn’t appalled and disgusted by what is such an obvious ploy to curry favor with the Trump administration and with a cancelled filmmaker on to boot,” said a doc producer who did not want to be named.
While nobody knows what will happen at Sundance when it comes to documentary sales, the current self-distribution/service deal marketplace for indie docus is unsustainable, according to insiders.
“This can’t go on forever because the origin point of every film starts with creating a piece of work, but it’s also a business proposition,” says Braun. “Business, art, and commerce are not divorced. So, if there continue to be roadblocks to broader distribution for a greater number of films, then it will be philanthropy and other sources of support that may not last forever. The market has to shift back in the other way at some point, but it may not be to the extent that everyone wants. But I do think it will happen.”
R.J. Cutler, who will be in Park City this year to present the Vanguard Award to “Sugarcane” co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is also hopeful.
“Distribution is cyclical,” he says “We couldn’t sell (Anna Wintour doc) “The September Issue” at Sundance in 2009. We sold it after Sundance for a pittance to our wonderful friends at Roadside Attractions who then put it in theaters and made a mint because it was a big fat hit. We have to recognize that we are at somewhat of a downturn in terms of the history of distribution, but historically, it has come back, and it comes back when there are new distribution avenues and new distribution avenues, which are emerging.”