The Future of the Documentary Genre

Tom JENNINGS | 1895 Films

In the long history of cinema and television, documentaries hold an honoured place. But in Bob Dylan’s words The Times They Are A’ Changin’. These are turbulent times for doc filmmakers just as they are for the industry as a whole. Tom Jennings is a Peabody and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. He has written, produced and directed more than 500 hours of programming on topics including politics, religion, history, crime, sports, mystery and travel.
Has he experienced turbulence like this before or is this something new? Drawing on his vast experience and research from Documentary Business, he will lay out the facts facing documentary filmmakers today and give a perspective on where we are headed.

After the Snowmelt

Taiwan, Japan｜2024｜ 110 min ｜LO Yi-shan

After the Snowmelt is a coming-of-age tale that delves into how youth grapple with their first experience of profound loss. 

On the threshold of adulthood, Yi-Shan’s (director) best friend in high school, Chun, went trekking in Nepal with his boyfriend, Yueh, and promised to reunite with her there. However, she lost contact with them and didn’t hear from them until two months later: they’d been trapped in a cave for 47 days due to unseasonable snowfall. Chun passed away three days before the rescue, leaving Yueh as the sole survivor. 

Yueh returns and reveals a promise made between him and Chun: whoever survived had to share their story. To honor Chun’s last wish, Yi-Shan takes up the camera and accompanies Yueh to the mountains to ask him about what happened in the cave. However, Yueh withdraws into silence, prompting her to retrace the journey she and Chun promised to take together in Nepal.  

Along her way, local villagers in Nepal share memories of Chun and Yueh. Gradually, her journey overlaps with theirs, blurring the boundary between past and present, and finally converges at the same destination. In the snowmelt season, some things resurface while others vanish forever. When Yi-Shan reaches the CAVE, she must confront the future alone.

Pitching Session: CCDF-16 Selected Projects

All Quiet on the Westlake + Secret Screening

All Quiet on the Westlake

China | 2023 | 15min | 魏子碩 WEI Zi-shuo

As the oldest way of communication, sign language may be the common language used by humans before the collapse of the Babel Tower. With the rapid development of Hangzhou, someone is doomed to be left behind. In this surging long river of time, the documentary will be the last words written for time.

The Dating Game

United States, United Kingdom & Norway ｜2025｜ 88min ｜馮都 Violet Du FENG

Set in China, where eligible men outnumber women by over 30 million, The Dating Game is the story of ZHOU, LI, and WU, three bachelors embarking on a seven-day dating camp, led by HAO, one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches. In their last-ditch effort to find love, the bachelors chuckle and bond as HAO makes them over, altering how they look and act online—and in real life. It’s all part of Hao’s signature “strategic deception,” a series of techniques designed to, purportedly, make humans connect. Hao’s credentials? HAO successfully wooed Wen, a stylish, educated city-girl—a real catch who is now his wife.

As our three bachelors stumble through the camp’s awkward challenges, they try to make sense of their authentic and constructed selves, and find the self-confidence they need to land that date.

The Dating Game is, on the surface, a whimsical romp through courtship in the digital age, but it also reveals the social challenges that leave us questioning how we seek human connection.

Feature Docs and Shorts: Not Only… But Also

Ema Ryan YAMAZAKI | Director
江松長 S. Leo CHIANG| Director
張昊 Hao ZHANG | Bilibili

For many filmmakers, the feature documentary is the ultimate goal, but the short documentary is far more than just a stepping stone. Shorts can be bold, creative statements, career launchpads, and powerful calling cards that open doors to festivals, funders, and future collaborators. They can also become the seed of a feature or stand proudly on their own.

In this lively, clip-filled session, three award-winning speakers who have mastered both formats will reveal how shorts and features can work in tandem to expand your storytelling range and professional reach. From creative choices to market strategies, they’ll share the lessons, surprises, and smart moves that have helped them thrive in both worlds.

Survival Strategies: Lessons from the Frontlines

Laura NIX |《Democracy Under Siege》Director
馮都 Violet Du FENG |《The Dating Game》Director
Gary KAM | Producer
黃惠偵 HUANG Hui-cheng |《Small Talk》Director

The global documentary industry has never been more exciting—or more unforgiving. Streamers are shifting strategies, funds are shrinking, and audience habits are changing faster than ever. In this candid conversation, four acclaimed filmmakers and producers with deep international experience pull back the curtain on what it takes to get a documentary funded, produced, and seen in today’s volatile market.
From navigating funding gaps, political sensitivities, and cultural differences, to mastering the art of pitching across borders, the panel will share unfiltered stories of both triumph and failure, along with the strategies that made the difference. They’ll also look ahead to the next five years: the formats, platforms, and career moves that will help creators stay relevant in a world where the rules keep changing.

Instruments of a Beating Heart

日本 Japan ｜2024｜ 23min ｜Ema Ryan YAMAZAKI

If you wonder why Japan is the way it is, why our trains run on time, why there’s no trash on the streets — in my opinion, we’re not born that way, but rather those Japanese traits are accomplished through education. When I look back at my life, I think of my six years of elementary school, and realize that’s where I learned how to be “Japanese.”

In many Western systems, education for young people is all about being different from the person next to you at a young age. You’re taught to be unique, and encouraged to develop your personality. Whereas in Japan, you start by figuring out how you belong within your group, what you are responsible for, what your role is, and you form your identity in relation to those around you. You are expected to contribute to the community you are a part of, sometimes facing pressures to conform, as well as shame when you come up short of expectations. 

It is my belief that not only what kids are being taught, by how, is an indicator of where that society is headed. The Japanese system is far from perfect, but as it is so different from how many societies teach children, I hope it can be used as a mirror to each of our societies’ way of doing things. Perhaps the Japanese way is too strict, or perhaps it is one example of how resilience is fostered. In a post-Covid era, I hope we can take a moment to think about how we want to teach the next generation, and ponder upon the possible benefits of putting the community’s well-being above personal desires, as it might provide hints to pave the way for the next generation, and perhaps a better future for us all.

Translating Culture through Documentary

Ema Ryan YAMAZAKI | 《Instruments of a Beating Heart》 Director

Cultural translation in documentary is far more than simply adding subtitles—it’s about perspective, trust, and the countless storytelling decisions that determine how a film speaks across languages and borders. For Japanese/British filmmaker Ema Ryan YAMAZAKI, it is also a personal practice: moving fluidly between cultures, she brings the lens of both an insider and an outsider to stories set in Japan.

In this masterclass, Ema will share how her years living and working in the United States shaped her cinematic approach and how she integrates that with her deep cultural roots in Japan. Using her directing work on The Making of a Japanese, Instruments of a Beating Heart and her editing of Black Box Diaries as case studies, she will explore the creative strategies that enable her to honour local authenticity while creating universal resonance.

From crafting a visual language that speaks beyond words, to earning the trust of participants across cultural divides, to making editing choices that respect context without losing pace, Ema will walk participants through the practical and philosophical considerations of making culturally specific films that travel. This session will offer inspiration and concrete tools for telling stories that connect with audiences around the world—without losing the voice of where they began.