Since 1990, illegal, guerrilla-style cinema has burst on the scene to sit alongside more traditional, government-produced nonfiction films in China. As recognition overseas has grown, questions surrounding intended audience and stylistic choice have sparked conversation and debate. Using short clips from student films as a jumping-off point, Kevin B. Lee (Transformers: The Premake) hosts a conversation with producer Zhao Qi (The Chinese Mayor) and Dean Ming Yang and Dr. Zhenzheng Wang of the Global Chinese University Student Micro Film Festival.

Moments of vulnerability make for great cinema but when your characters are real people, how do you know when to turn the camera off? Is a filmmaker’s responsibility to the subject or the story? Dan Krauss (The Kill Team) hosts Elizabeth Lo (Hotel 22), Aaron Wickenden (Almost There) and Laurent Becue-Renard (Of Men and War) as they locate the line between trespassing and truth-telling.

Are we in a new age of digital proliferation or have the reports of traditional distribution’s death been highly exaggerated? While artists have never been more in control of getting their film to the public, making money as a filmmaker can still seem like a distant mirage. Join guests with the most gleaming crystal balls as they discuss hype, reality, and what’s next. Emily Best (Seed & Spark) challenges Linda Pan (SundanceNow Doc Club), Peter Gerard (Vimeo), Brian Parsons (tugg) and Jody Gottlieb (Vulcan Productions) to look into the future.

Nonfiction filmmakers often function as journalists as well as storytellers. What journalistic protections are warranted and what obligations come with that label? Filmmaker Rachel Boynton (Big Men) convenes four other intrepid correspondents—Nick Broomfield (Tales of the Grim Sleeper), David Felix Sutcliffe ([T]ERROR), Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) and Serhiy Stetsenko (Maidan)—as they hand-deliver dispatches from the front lines. A T/F Global Journalist Forum, sponsored by the Lee Hills chair in Free-Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Films that observe life on the street operate in a tricky space. Is it ethnographic investigation, an attempt at social justice, or the privileged exploiting the disenfranchised? Morgan Knibbe (Those Who Feel the Fire Burning), Hanna Polak (Something Better to Come) and Khalik Allah (Field Niggas) join Omar Mullick (T/F 2013’s These Birds Walk) to discuss moral ambiguities and the power dynamics of documentary.  

Historical nonfiction presents an array of challenges for filmmakers looking to push the form forward. How does one engage the past to elucidate the present? David France (How to Survive a Plague) gathers an all-star crew to answer questions on craft, context, and the ultimate role of art in cultivating historical memory. Featuring Morgan Neville (Best of Enemies), Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?), Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck) and Roger Teich (Jeff, Embrace Your Past).