A24 is getting out of the documentary business, and shutting its doc department down. More on the story right here.
It’s relatively well known that boutique studio A24 has made a conscious decision to chase bigger movies over the coming years, with its hiring of Alex Garland to direct Elden Ring a clear statement of intent. But it does look as though its new drive towards higher profile projects comes with a little collateral damage: A24 is also getting out of the documentary business.
As per a report at Deadline, its entire documentary division is being closed down, and apparently, five members of staff have lost their jobs at the company as a result. As you might expect, A24 has good form in documentaries too, not least Asif Kapadia’s superb Amy, and also the recent two part telling of Steve Martin’s story, Steve!.
The Val Kilmer feature Val was also one of those on A24’s slate.
There are still a couple of documentary projects that A24 will be seeing through to completion. At least two of these are known, going by the names Andre Is An Idiot, and Architecton.
After that, A24 will be leaving documentaries to others.
It’s a shame, of course. It comes at a point when documentaries are increasingly pointing at high profile subjects, and not going particularly deep. They bring in good numbers for streamers, but more forensic features seem to be enjoying less joy.
Documentaries are also increasingly seen as a way into the industry for breaking talent as well. Plus, year after year and against mounting odds, a whole bunch of indie filmmakers manage to produce some superb documentary features.
It’s just that going forward now, there’ll be one less studio flying the flag for them, with the news that A24 is exiting the documentary business. A shame, but hopefully others will step in to help keep the metaphorical flag flying.
