While Hollywood features command the headlines, and low-budget indie films often slip under the radar, documentaries continue to be a long-form staple that show no sign of abating as this 2006 list of docs in production attests.
Dollarwise, they represent approximately $5-$6-plus in production dollars (or $14-plus million when you apply the 2.5 multiplier).
Chicago, the leading center of 16mm non-fiction films for more than five decades dating back to the early ?30s, is home to legendary doc makers, veterans like Tod Lending, Steve James, Gordon Quinn, Daniel Alpert and Peter Gilbert, as well as some better-known younger filmmakers like Daniel Kraus and Rusty Nails.
The 28 films are a rich mixture of subjects?biographies, local issues, true crime, music, medical research, science and religion. Some are already scheduled for distribution and others should have no problems finding television outlets.
The 2006 docs, including six from Kartemquin Films and three each from the Kindling Group and Bulletproof Film, have not yet been released.
