Connect.

FFC Working Group Session: #BlockTheMerger

Join Future Film Coalition for a members-only working session on the latest developments in the #BlockTheMerger campaign and the ongoing challenge to the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Special guest Gabe Lezra of Democracy Defenders Fund will help unpack where things stand, what the legal process ahead looks like, and what recent developments mean for independent filmmakers and the broader field. We’ll also use the session to hear from FFC members about the issues that remain most important to the independent film community and discuss how FFC can continue building awareness, education, and collective engagement around media consolidation. This is a participatory working session for FFC members. Come with questions, perspectives, and ideas for what the field needs next.

Regional Civic Media Cohorts: National Kickoff

Join the Regional Civic Media Cohorts: National Kickoff as we launch a national initiative to develop regional strategies for more consistent and sustainable funding, stronger civic infrastructure, and community-centered approaches to supporting independent storytelling. Bringing together leaders from documentary film, journalism, public media, philanthropy, education, arts and culture, and civic engagement, the cohorts will explore practical models that communities can adapt to meet their own needs. This kickoff meeting will introduce the Civic Media 2.0 framework, connect participants across six regional cohorts, and begin a collaborative process to identify more durable approaches to funding, governance, and policy that strengthen local media ecosystems while respecting the distinct mission of every sector. Together, we'll help shape recommendations and practical resources that empower communities to take greater ownership of the systems that fund, distribute, and sustain public-interest storytelling.

FFC Webinar: Demystifying Film Offices

Join Katie Pryor (Film USA & Baton Rouge Film Commission), Lauren Sloan (Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media - COFTM), and Sanjay Sharma (Future Film Coalition) for a conversation about the evolving role of film offices, what makes effective production incentive programs, and how filmmakers, film offices, policymakers, arts leaders, and community partners can work together to strengthen local film ecosystems.

Workshop: Boots on the Ground

Presented by International Documentary Association

How can documentary and independent film build the collective power needed to advance structural reform? This working session, co-presented by Future Film Coalition, reflects on the development of the #BlockTheMerger campaign, explores lessons from organizing across the field, and discusses strategies for building campaigns that strengthen advocacy, influence policy, and create lasting change for the documentary and independent film ecosystem. This session is focused on filmmakers working in the U.S. ecosystem. Facilitators: Jax Deluca, Jes Vesconte, Marjan Safinia, and Sanjay Sharma (Future Film Coalition)

Terms of Engagement: Learning From Coalition Politics

Presented by International Documentary Association

As federal funding declines, public media infrastructure comes under pressure, and media consolidation accelerates, documentary and independent film face growing structural challenges. This panel explores how cross-sector coalitions have built political power through collective advocacy, and what those lessons mean for the future of documentary and independent filmmakers as a political force. Featuring FFC Executive Director Jax Deluca in conversation with Michael Bracy (Policy in Focus, moderator), Brigid O'Shea (Documentary Association of Europe), and Maya Chupkov (Common Cause).

Getting Real

FFC will be at IDA's Getting Real 2026 to lead and participate in conversations connected to documentary sustainability, public-interest media, and the future of independent film infrastructure. Details forthcoming.

New Horizons for Publicly Funded Media: Building a Civic-Information Infrastructure

Presented by the Media Power Collaborative

FFC Interim Executive Director Jax Deluca will join Rima Dael (NFCB), Jonathan Kealing (INN), and Chris Krewson (LION Publishers) for a discussion on the future of public support for media.

Main Street vs. The Merger: Atlanta Roundtable

A roundtable discussion with elected officials, industry leaders, and affected workers, open to press. Featuring Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04); Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor; and Gabriel Lezra, Senior Counsel at Democracy Defenders Action. Additional speakers to be announced.

Main Street vs. The Merger: New York City Roundtable

A roundtable discussion with elected officials, industry leaders, and affected workers, open to press. Featuring Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ); James Schamus, screenwriter, producer, and former CEO of Focus Features; Sam Wheeler, WGAE Executive Director; and Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor.

Main Street vs. The Merger: Los Angeles Town Hall

A town hall on the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger, open to the public and press. Featuring FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez; Michele Mulroney, President of the Writers Guild of America West; Adam Conover, comedian, writer, and WGA strike captain; Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor; and Marjan Safinia, Documentary Field Leader at Future Film Coalition / IDA. Press interviews at 12:30 PM.

NYWIFT Panel: Mergers, Defunding, and Public Media

Presented by New York Women in Film & Television

FFC Interim Executive Director Jax Deluca will join a panel focused on the future of public media and the impact of corporate mergers on the industry, alongside Sharese Bullock-Bailey (MNN), Leslie Fields-Cruz (Black Public Media), Fernando Ramirez (Attorney), Dana Roberson (WNET/Thirteen), and Bernardo Ruiz (Director). Moderated by NYWIFT Board Member Christina Kiely.

Doc Talk: Big Media, Conglomeration and the Fight for Independence

Cannes Film Festival

FFC Board Member Brian Newman (CEO of Sub-Genre Media) joined a panel exploring the global implications of media consolidation on documentary filmmaking and distribution. The conversation examined how the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger threatens already-fragile distribution possibilities for non-fiction filmmaking — from audience access, sustainable business practices, and plurality of opportunities to festival windows, theatrical release revenue, platform visibility, creative independence, and censorship risks for nonfiction filmmakers.

Senate Spotlight Hearing — Lights, Camera, Competition: Promoting American Film Production

FFC Interim Executive Director Jax Deluca testified at a Senate Spotlight Hearing convened by Senator Adam Schiff, focused on how consolidation in the entertainment industry affects independent film production and the workers who power it. The hearing was held in Burbank and livestreamed via Senator Schiff's YouTube channel.

Future Film Coalition Inaugural Town Hall

Over 700 independent film professionals gathered for the Future Film Coalition's inaugural virtual town hall, where the coalition was formally introduced to the field. The session previewed FFC's six member branches and its working groups on state tax incentives, public media and funding, and industry consolidation.