This issue includes:

Features:

Dark Clouds, by Carmine Grimaldi Fictional depictions of nonfiction filmmakers present us as predatory narcissists who unwittingly become monstrous stand-ins for documentary practice

Thoughts and Actions, by Luke W. Moody Mandy Chang, recently appointed chief executive officer of the Documentary Film Council, on leveraging her decades-long experience in the documentary field

“Find Another Way,” by Abby Sun Three core members of Tikkun Olam Productions on unlearning the conventional model and what the nonprofit collective making movement-aligned work actually looks like from the inside

Mass Medium, by Lucía Requejo Fuera de Campo, a political initiative committed to showcasing Argentine cinema, found a fitting 2025 opener in December, Lucas Gallo’s televisual archive doc

Watching From Above, by Leila Gómez Lucrecia Martel’s feature documentary debut, Our Land, is a culmination of the filmmaker’s long-running interests in the twinned concepts of land dispossession and nation building

Beyond the Distributor: A Primer on Theatrical Booking, by Alex Megaro The WTO/99 producer/editor explains the purpose, lingo, and cost strategy behind theatrical booking for independently released films

Festivals:

CPH:DOX 2026: A Question of Ownership, by Vladan Petković In its 23rd edition, the Danish festival privileged fresh new voices and projects that put cocreation at their center

Taiwan International Doc Festival 2026: Points of Departure, by Amarsanaa Battulga From Sinophone refuge to listening sessions, the 15th TIDF stakes its rigorous programming on the value of removal

Columns:

Letter From the Editor (Abby Sun)

Notes From the Real (Dominic Asmall Willsdon)

What’s in My Bag (XUE Ming)

What’s on My Desk (Qutaiba Barhamji)

Screen Time: Summer 2026: The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, Everybody to Kenmure Street, The Golden Spurtle, Neighbors, O Testamento: O Segredo de Anita Harley, Ran 12.3, Time and Water, U.S. Against the World, Whispers in the Woods