‘The Tinder Swindler’ Director Felicity Morris Says Doc Market Is “Contracting” & Warns Against Chasing Viral Storytelling – Berlinale Series Market
deadline.comNetflix’s The Tinder Swindler director Felicity Morris has said the documentary market is going to contract and warned filmmakers against “chasing the next viral story that everyone is talking about.” Speaking at the Berlinale Series Market, Morris and other European documentarians questioned whether the golden age of premium docs is coming to an end as buyers – especially the streamers – become more risk averse. “We are hearing things are going to contract although there is definitely still an appetite for the best stories being told in the best way,” added Morris, who also produced Netflix’s Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer and is working on the same streamer’s All American Nightmare. “I hope creativity will prevail and there might be a bit more risk taking in the stories that get commissioned but there will of course still be a plethora of shows for people to watch,” she added.
Benji Bergmann, who runs Netflix’s Oscar-nominated Camp Confidential producer Babka Productions, said the lack of sales at the recent Sundance is proof “we are in a bit of a tricky moment,” adding: “There is a feeling of contraction in the market but the sky isn’t falling.” While the market shrinks, Bergmann stressed that buyers are looking for “big names that have marketing value,” which they are happy to “throw a little bit more money at.” With that in mind, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, the CCO of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, criticized the likes of Netflix’s Harry & Meghan for a lack of objectivity. “I have an issue with Harry & Meghan because it’s talking about them but of course you can see they have editorial control,” he added. “That is tricky because we need to be credible and keep our journalistic distance.
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