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Reality Check Forum 2026 / Panel

Unpacking the 2026 State of the Documentary Field Study

What does the documentary field look like at a moment of profound industrial, political, and technological transition?

Drawing from the Center for Media & Social Impact’s latest State of the Documentary Field research initiative, Caty Borum will guide audiences through the key findings of an expansive new research project examining the forces reshaping nonfiction filmmaking today.

Based on a wide-ranging series of interviews with filmmakers, producers, funders, distributors, impact strategists, and leaders across the documentary ecosystem, the session offers a rare snapshot of what the field itself is thinking about, wrestling with, and anticipating right now — from the destabilization of public media and the rise of commercial streaming models to questions of sustainability, ethics, audience engagement, impact, and the future of independent documentary practice.

Designed as both a field report and a conversation, the session will surface emerging trends, shared anxieties, and new possibilities shaping documentary culture in the U.S. and beyond, offering attendees an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day and consider the larger transformations underway across the nonfiction landscape.

Caty Borum

Caty Borum

Executive Director and Professor

Caty Borum is Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) and Professor at American University’s School of Communication. She is the author or co-author of four books about entertainment, documentary, and comedy in social justice and human rights, including the latest, RADICAL REALITY: Documentary Storytelling and the Global Fight for Social Justice (Oxford University Press, 2025), co-authored with David Conrad-Perez.

In 2020, she was named to DOC NYC’s inaugural list of New Documentary Leaders, recognizing 16 members of the global documentary field who have made a substantial positive impact on the industry. Her research and creative media programs have received seven Anthem Awards for mission-driven media work; a Silver Telly Award; a Gold Signal Award for WE DISRUPT THIS BROADCAST, the podcast co-created and co-directed by the Center for Media & Social Impact and the Peabody Awards; and multiple book awards.

Brandon Kramer

Brandon Kramer

Filmmaker

Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures alongside his brother, Lance Kramer. Most recently, he directed HOLDING LIAT, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, was shortlisted for the 2026 Academy Awards, and broadcast on BBC Storyville. His previous directing credits include THE FIRST STEP, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival; CITY OF TREES, which broadcast on PBS and streamed on Netflix; and the Webby Award-winning documentary series THE MESSY TRUTH, which premiered on CNN.