This resource surveys the state of documentary participant care, including key advocates, crucial issues, and a look at the future, and shares insights from thought leaders in the field.

The report shares Peace is Loud’s findings about the state of participant care throughout the documentary field, as well as possibilities for its future. We worked with partners including director Jennifer Tiexiera, filmmaker and participant Margie Ratliff, and the organization DocuMentality, and had conversations with a total of 27 thought leaders and practitioners about their work and the state of the field. 

It’s important to note that others have been doing this work to a greater extent and for longer periods of time than Peace is Loud. We hope this document collects and uplifts the incredible work being done, and reflects back the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We don’t see ourselves as “experts,” but rather part of a larger community engaged in, and committed to, collective efforts necessary for change. There are also limitations to this document. In the future, we aim to expand this work to include a deliberate analysis of how a participant’s race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, and class intersect with their experience being in a film. 

This field scan was informed by our experiences, research, and, most crucially, interviews with the following people, without which it could not exist: Sekou Campbell, Jennifer Chien, Sonya Childress, Rebecca Day, Jess Devaney, Camilla Hall, Rahi Hasan, Set Hernandez, Jennifer Huang, Penny Lane, Asad Muhammad, Molly Murphy, Marianna Olinger, Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Oseguera, laurie (pea) prendergast, Alex Pritz, Margie Ratliff, Gini Reticker, Malikkah Rollins, Denae Peters, Bhawin Suchak, Sherry Simpson, Stephanie Sunata, Jennifer Tiexiera, Sarah Wainio, ill Weaver, and Robert Winn.