Documentary Magazine

2 months ago | documentary.org | Davide Abbatescianni

Shot over three years, Flophouse America is the unflinching debut feature by Norwegian photographer-turned-filmmaker Monica Strømdahl. Premiering in the DOX:AWARD competition at this year’s CPH:DOX and earning a Special Mention, the documentary offers an intimate, often harrowing portrait of Mikal, a boy growing up in a crumbling motel alongside his parents, Jason and Tonya, both trapped in cycles of addiction and poverty.

2 months ago | documentary.org | Amarsanaa Battulga

In 2024, 7 million livestock died in Mongolia due to what some say was the country’s harshest winter on record. Australian filmmaker Kasimir Burgess witnessed the disaster firsthand while making his third feature documentary, Iron Winter. The film documents two young herders, Batbold and Tsagaanaa, upholding a rural Mongolian tradition of winter herding—protecting horses from severe dzud and wolves by amassing them by the thousands and migrating for several months in search of better pastures.

2 months ago | documentary.org | Davide Abbatescianni

The 27th edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival closed on March 16. From March 7–15, the Greek gathering hosted Agora, an industry platform for developing projects and fostering collaborations, headed by Angeliki Vergou. Agora featured a rich program of panel discussions, masterclasses, and networking events, with 33 new projects showcased across the Agora XR Lab, Agora Boost, Docs in Progress, and Pitching Forum sessions.

2 months ago | documentary.org | Natalia Keogan

At Wednesday morning’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, joined by several House Republicans, argued for rolling back federal funding of  PBS and NPR due to alleged bias in their content and reporting. The brunt of the heat was concertedly directed at NPR, which GOP members lambasted for allegedly “violating journalistic integrity” due to the outlets’ coverage of topics that range from COVID-19 to Hunter Biden’s laptop controversy.

2 months ago | documentary.org | Lauren Wissot

Gail in court, in Baby Doe. Courtesy of Baby Doe, LLC Film festivals are all about discoveries, but in recent years, it’s gotten ever so hard to find true under-the-radar gems in U.S. nonfiction filmmaking. While Sundance long provided the latest crop of American documentaries to rave about, it’s now SXSW that increasingly seems to be taking up the national mantle. To be clear, Sundance is still the first stop for top-notch international surprises on these shores.