Monte-Carlo TV Festival: Joshua Seftel Talks Urgency & Innovation In Documentary Filmmaking

Joshua Seftel heads the Documentary and News jury at this year’s Monte-Carlo TV Festival. Ahead of heading to the Festival, the Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke to Deadline about what he hopes to see from this year’s competition entries, and the wider state of play in the sector.

Seftel won a Best Documentary Short Film Oscar for All The Empty Rooms, which followed CBS correspondent Steve Hartman on a secret project to photograph the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings. It can now be seen on Netflix. Getting released on a major streamer can mean global reach, but at an industry level, the challenge of getting documentaries in front of audiences often remains a puzzle.

“A lot of documentary filmmakers are struggling to figure out how to make sure people see their work, how to do small theatrical releases in new ways, and how to use algorithms on a smaller scale outside the major streamers to distribute their films,” he says.

“Technology is playing a role in helping figure it out, but it’s harder now. There was a time when you made a documentary and there was a decent chance it would find traditional distribution. That’s happening less often.”

In terms of technology, every corner of the film and TV business is grappling with the impact that artificial intelligence will have. Seftel hopes there is an upside.

“A lot of us believe AI may actually help documentary, because people are going to, and probably already are, craving reality, truth and real imagery. The world will be flooded with more synthesized content, so documentary will become like organic produce. It will be stamped: this is real.”

The Monte-Carlo TV Festival documentary and news selection has a global flavor, with projects hailing from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Thematically, war, migration, geopolitics, and social issues are at the fore, reflecting the world around us.

The work of journalists and filmmakers feels increasingly vital in a troubled world, particularly as many legacy media organizations continue to cut staff in news divisions, Seftel says.

“A lot of documentary filmmakers are saying: this is our job now, to make sure certain stories are told,” he says. “That’s why documentaries feel more serious in recent years. There’s a feeling of urgency, that the world is in trouble, and I think a lot of documentary filmmakers care and want to step up.”

Seftel’s Monte-Carlo jury chair duties come amid work on a new project, a feature documentary about an elderly rock and roll choir called Alive and Kicking. As he talks to Deadline, he is about to film the choir’s annual concert.

At Monte-Carlo, the competition lineup includes Under Occupation: The Reality of Russification from NHK and Our Earth, My Blood, exploring memory, land and survival. Investigative projects include the BBC’s Into the Void: Putin’s Foreign Fighters, Sweden’s Mission Investigate: The Hunt, Switzerland’s The Shattered Lives of Crans-Montana, and Italy’s Dacia Vita Mia – Dialoghi Giapponesi.

As a seasoned filmmaker, what are Seftel’s hopes for the projects the jury is looking over at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival?

“Things that I haven’t seen before,” he says. “I want to get inspired when I’m a juror. I’m looking for things that will get me excited about being a filmmaker.”