Ken Jacobson, executive director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, discussed the state of nonfiction filmmaking and the Oscar race on the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast. The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, described as North America’s longest-running nonfiction film event, held its 35th edition last month.
This year’s festival featured world premieres and films among the Oscar contenders, including Once Upon a Time in Harlem, NAZA, American Doctor, Closure and To Hold a Mountain. It also partnered with Deadline to host its first Documentary Roundtable, bringing together directors Biljana Tutorov, Poh Si Teng and Michał Marczak, along with producer Liani Greaves.
Jacobson said the festival began in collaboration with the Motion Picture Academy as a showcase for Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning films. He also discussed the challenges of organizing a nine-day event and balancing international filmmaker participation with work from the South and mid-South.
The festival held its Forum this year without its usual support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which the source says was defunded under pressure from the Trump administration. Jacobson also offered his perspective on the Academy Awards documentary competition ahead of the next month’s voting on the shortlists.
The episode is hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley and Deadline senior documentary editor Matt Carey. It is available through Deadline and major podcast platforms, including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.
Sources: Deadline.