Connect.

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.