At the Dallas Video Festival, I met with filmmaker Kristen Nutile, who was this year’s Albert Maysles award winner. We were discussing fair use - and it was interesting that when I was discussing how negatively creativity is effected by the current clearance culture, she seemed a bit surprised, like she hadn’t quite thought about the fact that our collective memory of ourselves through documentary is and will continue to be shaped by what we are permitted to clear and what we are denied. It’s easy to become embroiled in the day to day of just getting a film made, but taking the long view of the documentary form and its impact on culture is important also. You wouldn’t have found John Grierson pandering to Hollywood studios.

Paul Cullum wrote a comprehensive article for LA Weekly, Freedom of Information: Copyright and its Discontents. I hope you’ll read it, get angry and get in touch with me with your questions and issues.