Welcome to Docfound. We're a destination for discovering and
accessing
documentary film.
Until now, the amount of independent and documentary moving images available to the public has been limited. We intend to
change that.
Docfound is
committed to providing access to a media form that is one of the most powerful and prodigious contributors to our cultural and
scientific heritage.
Docfound affords the access of documentary film via:
- an extensive, easily-searchable archive of readily obtainable and previously unobtainable works
- a commerce portal for viewing clips, streaming entire films, and renting or purchasing films
- a vault where filmmakers can upload, store, and share film footage
Together the archive and the marketplace offer a
comprehensive directory with sample clips and a place to buy, sell, and distribute documentaries via
streaming and physical media.
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Archive
Browse, sample, download, rent, and buy over 1400 documentaries.
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Best of Show
Collection of outstanding peer-reviewed documentaries.
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Young Prize
Annual peer-reviewed award for outstanding documentary.
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The Best of Show Finalists
Behind the Scenes of 'Best of Show': Documentary film has tradionally had a short active viewing life resulting
in thousands of important films lying fallow. Although more documentaries are being shot on digital or transferred to
digital, most are yet stored on celluloid film which is an impermanent medium prone to damage and
deterioration. The 'Best of Show' program encourages funders to select their prized works and subsidize the high quality
digitization of that work, so as to enahance acrhivability, access, and permanence.
Behind the Scenes of Docfound: Tens of thousands of hours of documentary footage are currently stored upon
traditional film, keeping it
effectively out of reach of scholars and the general public. The composition of celluose-based film renders it an
impermanent media prone to deterioration and thus unsuitable for long-term archival purposes. Digitized versions
afford more permanent archives and multiple backups both on and off-site, as well as distribution via streaming and
physical media including DVDs and VHS. And too, digitized versions may be more easily catalogued in a searchable
database, complete with digital stills to enhance the browsing experience. Docfound, riding upon the renaissance
in Open Source Content Management Systems, offers an economical solution for digitizing, archiving, and
distributing films. From individual films to extensive film libraries, Docfound can handle it all.
Docfound's service is unique in offering a complete end-to-end package for the modernization of traditional film
archives. To start with, an institution's films are digitized with great care, and high quality video and audio
are stored on multiple hard drives as well as on offsite tape backups. The digital versions are then archived and
catalogued according to subject, genre, producer, and director, as well as other optional attributes. The
institution then chooses the method by which access to the footage is granted. Docfound is equipped to handle both
proprietary and public domain rights, and an institution can combine delivery methods including streaming, VHS, and
DVD. Docfound affords membership-based, subscription-based, and micro-payment options, and an institution may also
combine these methods of access control.
Another objective of Docfound is to celebrate the documentary art form by finding, cataloguing, and sharing
documentary film's "Best of Show." We aim to rescue forgotten footage from reels deep within archives and promote
the circulation of these hidden treasures alongside contemporary films.
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