Knowing how to pitch a documentary is almost as important as knowing how to make one, filmmaker and author Roger Nygard explains in his new book The Documentarian, which features advice from filmmakers including Ken Burns, Sam Pollard, Rachel Grady, Marina Zenovich and more on the art of the pitch.
One key thing to remember about how to pitch a documentary, Nygard says, is that executives don’t get fired for saying no; they get fired for saying yes to the wrong thing.
Nygard knows the business — his work includes Trekkies, The Nature of Existence and Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm — but he also knows people. Their insights may be the difference between nailing a meeting and fumbling through it.
Among his advice, which he shared in this except from The Documentarian: “Never speak as if you will make your film – you are making the film. When you talk about it, call it a project, not a pitch.”
He also advises filmmakers to feel out potential investors and executives, rather than just subjecting themselves to scrutiny.
“You will get a sense after your first interview if your idea is a winner,” Nygard writes. “When you feel it, you can sell it.
And when thinking about how to pitch a documentary, he also advises not just thinking about money, but also control.
Ken Burns, for example, prefers to seek out grants and to use the public broadcasting model that allows him freedom to avoid “intercession by the so-called suits.”
Here is some of the other advice The Documentarian shares.
Ken Burns and More on How to Pitch a Documentary
Marina Zenovich, director of 2008’s Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired and 2023’s Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe, among other films: “If you have a great story, with compelling characters, with access, something no one else is doing, you can probably sell it.”
Ken Burns, director of 1990s’ The Civil War, 1994’s Baseball, 2011’s Prohibition, 2017’s The Vietnam War and the new Leonardo Da Vinci, among other films: Underwriters have to feel confidence in your sincerity. Given my reputation, I suppose I could walk into a streaming service or a premium cable and get what I need to make a $30 million ten-part series. But they wouldn’t give me ten and a half years, which was what it took to make The Vietnam War. They would have wanted it in two to three years.”
Rachel Grady, co-director with Heidi Ewing of 2006’s Jesus Camp and 2022’s Endangered, among other films: “Never tell them there’s any chance it will be boring. Keep it engaging. There needs to be a reason for people to keep watching. The most important thing is to believe in the story from the bottom of your heart; and usually, if you do, it’s contagious.”
Davis Guggenheim, director of 2015’s He Named Me Malala and 2023’s Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, among other films: “I want to immerse them in what it might be like to watch the movie. Whether that means me talking and gesticulating or cutting a ten-minute series of scenes that can immerse them in the story.” He waits until he finds a project that makes him enthusiastic. “
Michael Tollin, executive producer of 2020’s The Last Dance and the new It’s In the Game: Madden NFL, among other projects: “During a pitch, always take yes for an answer. Some people just keep talking; shut up already. They said, ‘yes,’ they’re nodding vertically. It looks good. Get out too early rather than too late.”
Sam Pollard, director of 2020’s MLK/FBI, among other films, and co-director with Jason Pollard of Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys: “They have to love the idea, but they also have to love you.”
The Documentarian, by Roger Nygard, is now available from Applause Books.
Main image: Ken Burns and Connie Smith on the set of Burns’ Country Music. Photo and main image courtesy of Craig Mellish