Lawyers Wanted

DOC NYC is pleased to announce two new panel discussions on legal and financial facets of documentary film-making (CLE credit applied for). Presented as break-out sessions within Doc Convergence, Documentary Filmmakers and Confidential Sources and Alternative Finance for Feature Documentaries address hot topics for lawyers and anyone interested in the crucial legal issues facing the documentary world.

To attend, enroll for Doc Convergence. In addition to the legal panels, you’ll get access to the full day’s events, including discussions with prominent documentary practitioners across film, photography, radio, prose, illustration and performance.

Session One: 1:30 – 3:00 PM

Documentary Filmmakers and Confidential Sources – What does the court’s decision over the film CRUDE in Joe Berlinger vs. Chevron mean for documentary filmmakers and their subjects and sources? When are subjects and sources exposed to discovery legal proceedings and when are they protected from disclosure? When is a documentary filmmaker a journalist? Should documentary subject release forms contain language to protect confidential subjects?

Moderator: Dan Satorius (Satorius Law Firm)

Panelists: Sue Bodine and Robert Freedman (Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams, and Sheppard); Vernon Chu (BBC Worldwide Americas)

Session Two: 3:15 – 4:45 PM

Alternative Finance for Feature Documentaries – Hot new sources of funds or legal nightmares? As equity, presales and other traditional forms of financing have dried up, documentary filmmakers have explored new forms of financing. Properly utilized, crowd funding, corporate sponsorships, fiscal agents, and project related investments can be useful and versatile financing tools for the independent producer. They can be deployed to develop, launch, partially/fully fund, or complete a project. But there are numerous legal pitfalls to navigate. As these sources become more widely used, they will most certainly draw increased legal scrutiny.

Moderator: Dan Satorius (Satorius Law Firm)

Panelists: Victoria Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz); Jonathan Gray (Gray Krauss Des Rochers)