Eight years past, tech tycoon Jeff Skoll applauded vigorously as Al Gore addressed the opening-night crowd at Sundance, mere hours before Donald Trump became the 45th president. “We will triumph,” Gore declared following the premiere of the film “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” which was backed by Skoll. “We aim for this movie to rally others.
Over time, an unexpected event transpired: The founder and chair of Participant Media seems to have shifted allegiances. In January, during Trump’s inauguration weekend, Skoll attended both the “Make America Great Again” rally and the inaugural parade, causing a stir in the independent film community. (Skoll did not respond to requests for comment.)
Or more casually:
Things took an unexpected turn over the years. The boss of Participant Media seems to have switched teams. In January, during Trump’s inauguration weekend, Skoll showed up at both the “Make America Great Again” rally and the parade, causing quite a buzz in the independent film world. (Skoll chose not to comment.)
For the last twenty years, the eBay tycoon had consistently funded progressive documentaries, including “RBG” and “He Named Me Malala”. However, Skoll’s sudden closure of Participant has left a gap that no other left-leaning billionaire has managed to fill yet.
Over the past two decades, it was the eBay magnate who consistently supported progressive documentaries such as “RBG” and “He Named Me Malala”. But when Skoll closed Participant, a space previously filled with left-leaning financial backing has been vacant and not yet taken by another billionaire.
Jeff showed no concern and simply stated he wanted out of the industry. He expressed his lack of interest in producing Al Gore documentaries further, as reported by someone knowledgeable about his film business departure. This exit also involved him selling his shares in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners at a reduced price. Another insider noted that Jeff became fixated on Elon, a term likely referring to Jeff’s fascination with Elon Musk, who is known as Trump’s main tech ally.
The departure of Skoll is not the only significant change in the documentary world this year. In the same month, Amazon purchased a set of environmental documentaries – “Groundswell,” “Common Ground,” and “Kiss the Ground” – for $40 million. This acquisition includes a three-part docuseries on Melania Trump, directed by Brett Ratner, who has been disgraced, and a film that Amazon will release in theaters. It’s worth noting that Amazon is not an exception; competitive bidding was involved in securing this Melania project, with Disney offering significantly more than the reported $14 million (Disney declined to comment on this matter). On the other hand, Netflix has shown little interest in political documentaries like “Knock Down the House,” centered on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and “Icarus,” an exposé on Russian doping.
It’s clear that visits by Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos to Mar-a-Lago and Apple CEO Tim Cook standing with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in the Capitol Rotunda on Inauguration Day didn’t go unnoticed. This has sparked a sense of unease among those in the documentary world, who view it as a shift towards support for conservative views (MAGA) within the decision-makers of an industry that is generally liberal.
According to Josh Braun from Submarine, it’s clear that they’re choosing safe options because they don’t want to cause any trouble. The current situation is causing a lot of fear among financiers, and as a result, many are becoming more cautious. Our company is being more selective with the projects we take on, while others are scaling back. However, I wouldn’t say we’re pulling back; instead, we’re being more thoughtful about the projects we choose.
For individuals who traditionally depend on affluent liberals, there’s no fresh Skoll emerging on the scene. The entrepreneur himself has shown a dwindling interest since the 2021 demise of his top documentary executive, Diane Weyermann, who also served as the head of George Soros’ Open Society Institute for seven years. Although Soros supports progressive causes, he has only marginally engaged in documentary financing, such as in the case of 2020’s “Welcome to Chechnya.” Laurene Powell Jobs’ Concordia Studio hasn’t quite found its rhythm following a wave of executive departures, including Jonathan King’s exit to join Zhang Xin’s Closer Media. It is said that despite Xin’s immense wealth, her funds are currently invested in Chinese real estate, which has recently suffered a blow. (King was also previously associated with Participant.)
John Sloss from Cinetic, who previously broke records by selling “Knock Down the House” for an impressive $10 million six years ago, now observes a sense of hesitancy or unwillingness among streaming services towards political projects. This hesitation has left Cinetic’s latest title, “No Other Land,” which won this year’s documentary Oscar by depicting the increasing conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, without a distributor.
Sloss suggests it’s not primarily about what filmmakers are creating, but more about the platforms where these creations can be viewed. He implies that regardless of the restrictions, creators will still produce content; the issue lies in determining where and how this content will be accessible to audiences.
The film ‘No Other Land’ is facing difficulties in securing screening venues. For instance, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner attempted to persuade O Cinema to cancel screenings of this movie and even threatened to evict the non-profit cinema and withdraw financial aid. However, the art-house cinema refused to back down, leading to protests that eventually forced Meiner to retract his proposal to terminate the theater’s city lease.
In today’s political climate, any documentary criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, could face challenges. For instance, Alex Gibney’s “The Bibi Files,” which delves into corruption accusations against the divisive global figure, has yet to find a U.S. theatrical distributor despite its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. On the other hand, Barry Ratner might have an advantage with a documentary about the Abrahamic Accords, given its involvement of Trump, Netanyahu, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, Amazon is not distributing that film.
In the meantime, some believe that Gibney’s upcoming documentary about Musk serves as a significant test for how far gatekeepers are willing to go in supporting a film that could potentially upset Trump. Critics refer to “Musk,” which secured funding from Closer and will be distributed through HBO Max, as a potential contender for the Cannes Film Festival in May, much like last year’s “The Apprentice” did, causing Trump’s anger. However, HBO has stated that the film is not likely to be completed in time for the festival.
As a movie reviewer, I find myself compelled to share my thoughts on “The Plot Against the President,” a documentary directed by Amanda Milius that stirred controversy. In 2020, just before the presidential election, this film was inexplicably withheld for release on Amazon Prime. After news reports about the delay, it finally saw the light of day and quickly became one of the most-watched documentaries on their platform. However, in 2024, once more ahead of another presidential election, the movie mysteriously vanished from Amazon Prime. This happened because Amazon pulled the entire catalog of its distributor, Turn Key Films, due to a music copyright issue with one of their titles.
She notes that these documentarians who lean to the left are experiencing censorship. ‘They’re some of the most open-minded individuals out there,’ she remarks, ‘and we’ve been grappling with this issue for quite some time. It’s almost gratifying to see them encountering a bit of that same restriction themselves.’
Addie Morfoot provided additional reporting.
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2025-03-19 21:47