ACADEMY DIALOGUES: Documentaries Through Our Own Lens

For decades, documentary filmmaking was not inclusive of people from underrepresented communities. Today, the field of talented documentarians has become among the most diverse in the entertainment industry. However, opportunities to tell their stories continue to be a challenge for people from underrepresented communities. Several current projects have brought conversation about the documentary world to the forefront.  Academy governor and Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams moderates a panel with fellow documentary directors Lisa Cortés (“All In: The Fight for Democracy”), Jim LeBrecht (co-directed and co-produced “Crip Camp” with Nicole Newnham), Bao Nguyen (“Be Water”), and Dawn Porter (“John Lewis: Good Trouble”), to discuss systemic changes needed to give marginalized communities a shot at telling stories through their own lens. Is there a distinction between excursions of discovery into indigenous cultures and cultural appropriation? Who gets to tell those stories?

For the full list of Academy Dialogues, visit: https://oscars.org/events/series/academy-dialogues-it-starts-us