A concise and practical guide to making a feature-length documentary film - from funding to production to distribution, exhibition and marketing. Using her award-winning film 'Musicwood' - a New York Times Critics' Pick - as a case study, director Maxine Trump guides the reader through the complex lifecycle of the documentary film. Her interviews with lawyers, funders, distributors, TV executives and festival programmers provide a behind-the-scenes look that will assist readers on their own filmmaking journey. Written from the perspective of a successful documentary filmmaker, the book covers mistakes made and lessons learned, a discussion on the documentary genre, crowdfunding, pre-production through post, test screenings, the festival circuit distribution, legal pitfalls, fair use and more.

Specialized.