At the 2025 edition of CPH:DOX , extreme political tension in the U.S. and parts of Europe cast a cloud of uncertainty over the Copenhagen-based documentary film festival.
While nonfiction films that expose truth and challenge misinformation are arguably more vital than ever before, the current marketplace for political docs is dismal, especially in the U.S. One glimmer of hope is the box office success of “No Other Land,” which has surpassed $1.
7 million domestically in America despite not having U.S. distribution.
Former Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam believes that Americans are keen to see more political fare like “Not Other Land” that is not available on mainstream streaming services. “I truly believe that audiences are sick of being spoon-fed, algorithmic, mass-market content, sequels, whatever,” Putnam said during a CPH:DOX Summit panel. As a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, Putnam released a report titled “U.
S. Independent Film Audience & Landscape” late last year. The comprehensive study examined the current independent film landscape and found an untapped market of 40 million viewers hungry for independent film.
“Audiences want something authentic,” Putnam said. “Audiences want to watch something that actually engages with the world around us. One thing that I found in the research that I did last year was that the audiences who want this work really can’t find it.
Even on YouTube, it’s sometimes hard to find .
