Access to Audience: Case Studies in Documentary Producing

What happens behind the scenes-with access, funding, and distribution-to bring a unique creative vision to life? Independent producer Rebekah Fergusson shares excerpts and case studies highlighting the key opportunities, operations, and producing decisions that enabled her films to cross the finish line and secure distribution. She also explores how these models hold up in today's uncertain media landscape. Films discussed include END GAME (Netflix, 2018), Q Ball (Fox Sports, 2019), CRIP CAMP (Netflix, 2020), and MAKE A CIRCLE (PBS, 2024).

A long-time independent documentary producer, Rebekah's recent producing credits include HELEN AND THE BEAR (Hot Docs 2024), distributed by Grasshopper Film, and MAKE A CIRCLE (DocLands Audience Award 2024), currently broadcasting nationally and available digitally on PBS. She was on the producing team for the Academy Award-nominated Netflix Original CRIP CAMP (Sundance 2020) and was a producer alongside Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman on the Netflix Original END GAME (Sundance 2018). She produced the feature documentary Q BALL, executive produced by NBA all-star Kevin Durant, for Fox Sports (SFFilm 2019) and co-produced the Academy Award-shortlisted HBO documentary THE CASE AGAINST 8 (Sundance 2013). Her directorial debut PELADA premiered at SXSW in 2010. Rebekah has been a board member of the Documentary Producers Alliance, an Impact Partners Producing Fellow, and a visiting filmmaker at the Wake Forest Documentary Film Graduate Program. She is a graduate of Duke University and Duke's Center for Documentary Studies.