As PBS redraws its role for nonfiction films and as major streaming platforms and traditional broadcasters narrow their slates for investigative documentaries, independent filmmakers face both daunting challenges and rare opportunities in getting their work to audiences. Navigating this unsettled territory—where public infrastructure is receding and corporate algorithms reign—has become a defining issue along today’s “New Fault Lines.” This session brings together leading voices from long-standing and emerging alternatives for creative distribution.
They’ll share hands-on strategies for surviving and thriving in the new distribution ecosystem, from grassroots marketing to leveraging direct-to-audience platforms. We’ll explore how filmmakers are bypassing traditional gatekeepers, building devoted followings, experimenting with hybrid revenue streams, and cultivating sustained communities to power both financial success and lasting social impact. We’ll talk honestly about which doors are closing, which new ones are opening, and what it takes to forge a path as an independent creator when the old certainties have fractured. Filmmakers, producers, journalists, and impact campaigners will come away with actionable insights and a clearer sense of how to stay independent, resilient, and connected in a digital landscape transformed by shifting boundaries and new divides.
Presented in partnership with the PBS Public Editor
