Cara Mertes in Conversation: Advice for Filmmakers
This post was written by DOC NYC blogger Katie Lewin
At the “Cara Mertes In Conversation Panel” on Monday, Thom Powers, DOC NYC’s artistic director, discussed the illustrious career of Mertes before inviting her on stage for an hour-long discussion and Q&A. Mertes has been at the forefront of documentary for years: the former head of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Mertes in May became the director of the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative: a five-year plan to aid in the funding of documentaries dealing with social and environmental causes.
The program has been running for three years and has already helped to fund many different films (including GIDEON’S ARMY, a film in this year’s DOC NYC Short List section). Mertes is clearly enthusiastic about her role: she asked the audience for their opinion on “what needs to be done,” entreating them to act as a “focus group” to help her identify things she should keep in mind in her new role.
Mertes added, “I try my best to be on the ground,” a reflection of her commitment to help filmmakers as much as possible. She discussed the things she would be doing to evaluate the ways the Ford Foundation thought about funding, but also the ways that filmmakers can apply for help.
Mertes also commented on the shifting dynamics of social media that are increasingly part of, not only her role at Ford, but also how filmmakers are making films and the way that audiences are seeing them. She referred to the way the documentary DIRTY WARS had drawn attention to itself in numerous ways that make it “a part of a recurring news cycle both in broadcasts, in print, in book form, in press. She added that the Ford Foundation needed to “understand these mechanisms” to further the reach of documentary.
Mertes is clearly taking her job seriously and is committed to helping filmmakers as much as she can. The session was incredibly useful to those who were seeking to understand the help that is available to them, and the direction that philanthropic film funding will take in the future.
