Crisis or Transformation?
A Plea for New Forms of the Documentary

published in Black Box, August 2025
by Björn Jensen

The recently announced insolvency of the renowned distribution company for factual content, Off the Fence - a subsidiary of ZDF Studios - has surprised many in the industry. Not only because the company, with its more than 25-year history and the Oscar-winning title "My Octopus Teacher", was among the most recognized players in the international documentary business, but also because it stood, more than almost any other, for the effort to make documentary content accessible to a broad public - for example, through the founding of the VOD platform Waterbear. The insolvency was made public only days before the most important industry gathering for documentary content, Sunny Side of the Doc in La Rochelle, and quickly became a frequent topic of conversation about profound changes in the sector.

The framework for documentary film in Europe has fundamentally shifted in recent years. Anyone who wants to remain internationally competitive must adapt not only in terms of content and aesthetics, but also strategically - to new financing realities, altered audience behaviour, digital distribution logics, and global competition. Large flagship projects still exist - feature-length documentaries on pressing issues of our time - but many broadcasters have reduced budgets or changed editorial lines, moving away from costly international co-productions toward more regional, shorter, faster-turnaround, often serial formats.

At the same time, SVOD platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV+, and several smaller players) have become important buyers of documentaries, but they bring their own requirements regarding production value, rights usage, and exclusivity. Moreover, the trend among broadcasters and streamers has long been toward smaller budgets and greater fragmentation: they settle for fewer rights, calling it “windowing”. With rising production costs, licensing models are increasingly fragmented. The number of partners needed to finance a film project grows, driving up the complexity of productions.

The insolvency points less to the financial troubles of a single firm than to a deeper issue: the classical licensing business is changing. The once-reliable global cycle of story development, production, theatrical release, festival exploitation, and rights trading no longer functions as it once did. Margins in the traditional distribution model are shrinking, exploitation chains are more complex, and financing is increasingly piecemeal and difficult. Production companies need strong networks and reliable distribution partners ideally involved early in a project. This makes it harder for small and medium-sized companies to compete. Consequently, there has been a trend toward mergers and acquisitions along the entire development chain - from development through production, from equipment rental to post-production studios, all the way to distribution.

Similar films to those in Off the Fence’s catalogue can be found at other distributors. What does this mean for their business models? Are festivals and markets - with their mix of theatrical screenings, project pitchings, co-production networking, and finished film sales - prepared for these changes?

In this situation, it is worth looking at potentials outside the classical production chain. Increasingly, documentary makers are experimenting with immersive XR formats: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, or 360° experiences. What seemed only a few years ago like a tech-obsessed gimmick is increasingly becoming a new form of documentary storytelling. These formats can reach new, especially younger audiences. Ideally, VR experiences - through their combination of immersive perception, impulse to act, and knowledge - create emotional closeness that leads to a new quality of learning and experiencing. For documentary producers, the synergy effect is particularly interesting when topics can be produced and communicated across technological boundaries.

As a consequence, immersive documentary formats could be used more where young audiences are targeted: in museums and memorial sites, in educational institutions and public spaces, and at events. Immersive formats are not a replacement but a complement - a future perspective for documentary storytelling. Complex content in history, art, and science can be made not only vivid but emotionally tangible through XR. A new market could emerge here for documentary productions. Demand exists; what is missing is reliable infrastructure.

While France already has three internationally active distributors with Astrea Immersive, Diversion Cinema, and Unframed Collection, Germany has not a single specialized XR distributor for documentary content. This is a missed opportunity, since the economic conditions are promising. Museums such as the Musée d’Orsay, which in 2024 set a visitor record of 793,000 with the VR experience "Monsieur Vincent", show how much immersive formats can enhance attractiveness. Some German museums are already successfully using XR formats, but hurdles remain: high costs for convincing VR productions, patchy funding structures, fragmented distribution. Strategic decisions are needed: stronger funding for immersive projects, targeted distribution initiatives, and the building of cooperation models and networks. Although some German funding institutions, such as FFF Bayern and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, already offer financial support, it lacks the consistency found in France, where VR and gaming have been massively expanded for years. French broadcasters like arte and France Télévisions also rely more heavily on VR than German broadcasters, aiming to reach young audiences who have long left the classical TV market.

Many festivals - such as CPH:DOX, Sheffield DocFest, IDFA, Venice and Visioni dal Mondo - have offered immersive sections for several years. But what is still missing is the one dedicated market where those with technical and creative expertise (XR studios, artists, directors) can meet those with storytelling experience (documentary filmmakers) and those interested in licensing (broadcasters, museums, institutions).

XR is only one example of possible future formats. There is still no sustainable economic structure that guarantees long-term refinancing. Moreover, immersive formats should not be understood as mere technological gimmicks but as narrative forms that can expand the documentary spectrum. The decisive difference may lie in mindset: documentary makers today must not only develop content and stories but also consider formats, platforms, and access points. The changing market conditions are also a call to the industry not to cling to old models but to seek new alliances - with tech partners and cultural institutions, with international organizations and educational institutions. This requires all market participants, including public broadcasters and funding institutions, to react more flexibly to new partnership models in their contractual conditions.

The classical documentary market is under pressure - not because audiences are lacking, but because market conditions are changing and new players and business models are emerging. In this situation, defensive battles are of no use; only strategic innovation will help. The challenge is not to see this transitional period as a crisis but as a space for shaping the future. One thing is clear: anyone working in documentary today needs more than ever courage, curiosity, and stamina.

This article originally appeared in Black Box in August 2025. For this version, small changes have been made.