Groundbreaking ITVS Study Unpacks the Filmmaker-Participant Relationship

By ITVS Staff
Posted on November 18, 2024

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After more than a year in the making, we're excited to share The Filmmaker-Participant Relationship Unpacked: Ethical Responsibility and Impact in Documentary Filmmaking, with special thanks to funders Ford Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts for supporting this massive accomplishment. 

As documentary films have grown in popularity, with seemingly every streamer now producing nonfiction content, ethical concerns about their production have also increased. A galvanizing question for the field today is: How do filmmakers balance the benefits and risks of sharing participants' personal experiences or perspectives? 

In light of the challenges, ITVS conducted a large-scale study—tapping 678 U.S.-based documentary filmmakers and 195 participants—to learn from both documentary filmmakers and film participants to zero in on what works and what can be improved as the nonfiction field evolves. This study hits at a time when documentaries are at the heart of national conversations that aim to deepen understanding and drive social change.

ITVS thanks our academic research partners at American University, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Columbia University, as well as our design partners who worked with us on this yearlong study:

  • Brown Girls Doc Mafia
  • Documentary Accountability Working Group
  • Documentary Producers Alliance
  • Documentary Participants’ Empowerment Alliance
  • FWD-Doc
  • Flaherty
  • 4th World Media Lab
  • Youth FX: NeXt Doc

 We also thank our many other partners who shared the survey with their networks.

>> Link to the study: The Filmmaker Participant Relationship Unpacked: Ethical Responsibility and Impact in Documentary Filmmaking

>> Appendix: Detailed Methodology and In-Depth Survey Findings

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