Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast

Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast

Philly D.A. & the Doc Series Boom

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2020 has seen a boost in popularity and production of documentary series. Host Nadia Denton talks about the risks and challenges of producing such unpredictable and timely content with the producers and creators of one of this year’s most-anticipated shows: Philly D.A., an 8-part series about Philadelphia’s progressive lawyer Larry Krasner becoming Philadelphia’s new district attorney. Yoni Brook, Josh Penn and Nicole Salazar discuss their most important and crucial decisions when producing Philly D.A..

They talk about how they decided to make Philly D.A. into a series rather than a film and the growing audience for complex non-fictional serialised content beyond True Crime, how they found their story and access to the protagonist organically by following what was happening in their own neighborhood, how they managed not to fall into the trap of telling a classic hero-story but use their four-year-spanning access to include many perspectives and stories. They compare the levels of freedom and very different financing models of fictional versus docs, and the importance of trusting your gut feelings and telling a local story that might inspire a much bigger audience.

Philly D.A. is part of this year’s Berlinale Series selection [https://www.berlinale.de/en/programme/202108172.html]

Josh Penn is an Academy Award nominated producer, whose films have won over 100 awards, most notably Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize and Cannes' Camera d'Or, and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Yoni Brook, Creator, Director and Producer of Philly D.A., is a twice Independent Spirit-nominated director and cinematographer. His films have screened at Berlinale, New York and Toronto Film Festivals, IDFA and Sundance.

Nicole Salazar, Creator and Producer of Philly D.A., is a Pulitzer grantee and a photographer, videographer and multimedia producer. She worked as a producer for independent TV/radio news hour Democracy Now! And specialises in grassroots movements and urban history.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut.


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About this podcast

Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast is about and for the entertainment industry. The podcast features long episodes as a year-round series, with short episodes to be aired only during the five-day virtual event of the EFM 2021. As the first international film market of the year, the European Film Market is where the film industry starts its business of the year. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast will put the spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The podcast will feature in-depth analyses of the film industry’s contemporary challenges and strategies in order to tap into the most dynamic debates. Together with our partner Goethe-Institut, Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast will be covering the most pressing strategic industry topics such as digitizing the business and diversity & inclusion as well as social, environmental and economic sustainability and the power of community building.

Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast is one of the Berlinale podcasts and is provided in cooperation with Goethe-Institut.

by European Film Market

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