This study proposed an industry-wide strategy to support the development of new strategic partnerships between Canada’s philanthropic sector and the documentary sector to benefit the promotion and distribution of Canadian documentaries. The study examined innovative initiatives that have been successfully introduced in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to engage the philanthropic sector to support the production and dissemination of documentaries. The findings showed that compared to these other jurisdictions, Canada is behind in leveraging funding from the philanthropic sector and that the Canadian sector, including grant making foundations, corporate and individual donors, represents a significant untapped resource for the documentary community. The report was presented at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival Doc Conference, and led to a follow up study on documentary “impact” producing in Canada.
“It would be difficult to find two sectors with more shared common purpose than those of philanthropy and documentary, said DOC’s Executive Director, Pepita Ferrari.
Access the report here.
