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Sundance Programmers Say Political Documentaries Are Still Crucial, Despite Challenging Market and Right-Wing Hits
Sundances forge ahead with programming bold documentaries that will garner awards attention down the line, despite the challenging market.
The good old days when streamers shelled out seven figures for docus about polarizing politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Knock Down the House”), and eye-opening mock-government teen conferences (“Boys State”) after their Sundance debuts are behind us. Between the fraught political climate and growth of right-wing documentaries and streaming buyers’ taste for crowd-pleasing subjects, it falls to festivals to program the bold titles that will garner awards attention down the line. Matt Walsh’s “Am I Racist?” – a right-leaning film that tears into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – made $12 million at the box office in 2024, making it the highest-grossing doc of the year.
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