John Cooper, with 30 years at Sundance Film Festival, now aims to enhance the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival's visibility. Despite the festival's smaller scale, he recognizes its potential significance, especially given the recent decline in documentary funding and distribution. Cooper highlights the shift from documentary acclaim and financial backing from platforms like Hulu and Netflix to a stark retrenchment in resources. The festival features themed films and live performances, indicating a blend of celebration and advocacy for the documentary genre.
"It's so bad right now - funding, distribution, it's all crashed and burned," Cooper says about the documentary landscape, "after a very hot moment when documentaries were it for a while."
"I want to make the Sebastopol festival over the radar," says Cooper, reflecting on the pressures and goals of transitioning from Sundance to a smaller festival.
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