The Documentary Accountability Working Group considers values, guiding principles and ethics that inform the practices of filmmakers, and shape their relationship to the story, the participants, the audience, funders and other stakeholders.

The working group grew organically out of a common series of questions around the future of documentary filmmaking, and the exponential growth of the documentary film industry. As the industry and the world navigate social constructs that could mitigate the documentary ecosystem, do filmmakers need a foundational set of best practices? Would industry-wide agreement on best practices help non-fiction storytellers work in ways they and their peers understand as responsible and ethical?

Our working group has elected to lead a discovery process, in order to source guiding principles that can support equitable and just filmmaking.  An essential pillar of this work is to conduct open dialogues with filmmakers, funders, festivals and foundations who make up the documentary film system.

Download DAWG’s Framework for Values, Ethics, and Accountability in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

This Framework is endorsed by: