Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, who opened the industry section of the Swiss documentary festival Visions du Lille, whose latest film from Netflix, Cover Up, opened the festival, pointed to a documentary field that is not only under pressure but also increasingly mobilized, including in opposition to Paramount and Warner Bros.’ Discovery deal.
Citing an open letter signed by more than 1,000 industry professionals, she said, “There was a letter recently asking to block the merger. We know that there were a lot of documentary filmmakers involved in that behind the scenes. There was that involvement.”
More broadly, she said the field is defined as much by solidarity as tension: “It’s no secret that this is a really dire time in the documentary industry when it comes to funding and distribution, but I also think it’s also a time where documentary filmmakers are really showing up to each other and taking risks and doing the work. That’s filling the void where some of our institutions are failing us.”
The letter has been signed by Hollywood luminaries such as Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Stewart, and Jane Fonda, as well as directors such as Alex Gibney and Davis Guggenheim, and has gained significant support across the industry.
The issue of funding came to the fore in the wake of footage of “My Country, My Country,” the first film in Poitras’ 9/11 trilogy set in Iraq, which was supported by US public television. When asked whether such a project related to the current Iran war could still be funded, the answer was a resounding “no.”
“Our public funding is now completely dwindling. Losing ITVS, one of the organizations that has played a key role in supporting emerging filmmakers, is completely devastating, both in terms of funding and distribution,” she said, referring to the U.S. Congress’ vote last summer to cut funding to the Corporation, which resulted in the suspension of major subsidy programs and reduced support for independent and politically engaged films.
She suggested that the space for politically sensitive work, even beyond public support, is shrinking overall: “If you’re trying to go to corporations, that’s going to be difficult,” she said, later adding that there are also limits to pitching such material to major platforms. “I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be difficult for a filmmaker to go to Netflix or HBO and say, ‘I want to make a movie about the U.S. government’s regime change strategy in Venezuela and Iran.'”
Much of the conversation centered on Poitras’ long-standing interest in power and surveillance. Recalling the origins of Citizenfour, the Oscar-winning film about US national security whistleblower Edward Snowden, he said he was trying to tackle a subject that was difficult for the public to understand at the time.
“I was very interested in how to make a film about (state) surveillance in a society that doesn’t seem to care about surveillance at all.” Around 2010, she noted the “long relationship between state power and surveillance” and felt, “Wow, this feels really scary and dangerous,” but added, “People were hooked on the internet, cell phones, Facebook.”
Poitras acknowledged that the film was “a very difficult film to make, very difficult to translate into cinematic language because it’s so abstract,” but asked the audience, “How many people are worried about being surveilled?” She went on to ask, “How many of you have ever participated in a political protest?”, drawing a direct line between fear of surveillance and political action.
Speaking about Mr Snowden’s defection to Moscow in 2013, Ms Poitras was keen to emphasize what she described as the United States’ “full efforts” to prevent Mr Snowden from fleeing to Europe. “His passport was revoked. He was trying to go somewhere else. And he tried to get asylum in every country in Europe. And every country in Europe was pressured by the United States not to give him asylum,” she said.
Poitras declined to discuss her current project, but she reiterated that it is a recurring political pattern in U.S. political history, a pattern that underpins “coverage,” which she describes as “cycles of power and cycles of impunity.” “Revelation of wrongdoing, followed by denial and cover-up, and ultimately impunity. No one is held accountable.”
During a Q&A with the industry audience, Poitras concluded by defending freedom of expression amid mounting pressure on U.S. institutions. “I truly believe that we have freedom of expression and the right to exercise it,” she said, criticizing the university for “bowing to pressure” and “silencing” student protests, particularly over the situation in Gaza and Palestine. Calling the situation “disgraceful”, she added that the response must be “to exercise these rights that we have to resist and to speak out about the world we live in.”
VdR-Industry will be held in Nyon, Switzerland, in parallel with Visions du Réel until April 22nd.
