As non-fiction filmmakers face challenging circumstances, the Documentary Producers Alliance has launched the Ethics Resource Library, an online tool meant to help filmmakers make “ethical choices in all aspects of their work.”
The searchable database includes articles, video presentations, keynote addresses, guidelines, courses, and podcasts, among other sources on subjects that range from minimum wage laws to the filmmaker-participant relationship to on set safety.
Thr resource, which is free and will continue to be updated with new information, was established by DPA members Charles Box Jr., Chantal Encalada, Simon Mendes, Dawn Mikkelson, Risé Sanders-Weir, Steffie van Rhee, and Sarah Rachael Wainio, and is based on real life experiences by established producers and content creators.
The library has been endorsed by DocuMentality, Film Fatales, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Columbia College Chicago, and Jewish Film Institute, among other organizations. The program will be announced at the Tribeca Festival on June 11th at Spring Studios.
The Documentary Producers Alliance is a nonprofit organization made up of 500 independent documentary producers. In the pats, the group has released guides and best practices — such as “Guide to Best Practices in Documentary Crediting” and “Negotiating Contracts for Independent Documentary Producers” — to assist filmmakers in all aspects of the changing non-fiction landscape.