Ten Documentary Directors Gather at SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Ten leaders of leading 2026 documentary films gathered at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival during late October for the yearly Docs to Watch discussion.
Filmmakers Discuss Documentary Risks
The directors gathered at the Lucas Theatre in front of a capacity crowd. The venue holds 1,237 seats and hosted the fest's 13th annual Docs to Watch panel. Moderated by The Hollywood Reporter staff, the conversation covered origins and impact. Ten specific films including You Can See Everything and Everest: The Other Side were featured. Directors discussed how they calculated acceptable risks while interacting with their subjects.
Past Oscar Winners Attend
Previous panel selections have generated significant awards history over the last 12 years. Twenty seven films represented on past panels received best documentary feature Oscar nominations. Eight of those films ultimately won that award including Amy and Free Solo. This year's selections are considered as strong as any previous year by organizers. The event included representatives from Nat Geo, Frontline, Roadside, Netflix, Abramorama and A24.
Panel Highlights Success Trends
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi represented Everest: The Other Side alongside co-director Jimmy Chin. Ron Howard spoke for Netflix's Avedon while Rory Kennedy addressed The Trial of Alec Baldwin. Jack MacInnes and Itab Azzam discussed One in a Million regarding a Syrian girl. Alysa Nahmias presented Cookie Queens which documents Girl Scouts cookie-selling season efforts. The group noted that many worthwhile docs are made each year now.
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