This is a list of tools and resources to help filmmakers, funders, and participants address ethical challenges that arise during the filmmaking process. These resources cover a range of topics, including: financial impacts and benefits, ownership, content review rights, and the film’s impact on participants. This list was prepared for a workshop presented by Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media.

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• What is Ethics?
  Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
  An explanation of what ethics is.

• Making an Ethical Decision (PDF)
  Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
  Questions to help you make an ethical decision.

• Inside the Documentary Cash Grab (Sep 16, 2022)
  The Hollywood Reporter
  As streaming transforms the once-sleepy nonfiction space into a money-making juggernaut of hit series, cool parties and $30 million single-title sales, THR talks to Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and other filmmakers about rising costs, ethical lapses and the very soul of their profession.

• The State of Journalism on the Documentary Filmmaking Scene (2021)
  CMSI (Center for Media and Social Impact)
  CMSI surveyed 66 professionals across the field of documentary-focused journalism about ethical standards, journalism vs. documentary, and ways to create change.

• HONEST TRUTHS: Documentary Filmmakers on Ethical Challenges in Their Work (2009)
  CMSI (Center for Media and Social Impact)
  This study summarizes the findings from 45 interviews with documentary filmmakers about ethical challenges.

• The Unraveling of an Award-Winning Documentary (July 18, 2022)
  New York Times
  A look at the ethical, storytelling, and human rights concerns around the production of the film, Sabaya.

• Editorial Standards
  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  The editorial guidelines and standards of Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

• Dealing with trauma and survivors of trauma (June 4, 2020)
  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation provided this guidance to assist staff involved in the reporting, discussion or depiction of trauma. It includes advice on dealing with victims, survivors, relatives of victims, and witnesses of crime, accidents, and natural disasters.

• From Reflection to Release: A Framework for Values, Ethics, and Accountability in Nonfiction Filmmaking (2022)
  Documentary Accountability Working Group
  A value-based framework focused on guiding principles and values. It includes questions to ask yourself during each stage of filmmaking – from pre-production to distribution – heavily focused on participant well-being for films with marginalized communities.

• Putting the Human into Human Trafficking Reporting: Tips for Interviewing Survivors
  Minh Dang, Irina Project
  Step-by-step guiding principles and tips for interviewing survivors.

• The Prenups: What Filmmakers and Funders Should Talk About Before Tying the Knot (2009)
  Active Voice Lab
  A framework for building filmmaker-funder relationships and what to consider when forming these partnerships.

• Money Changes Everything–or Does It?: Considering Whether Documentaries Should Pay for Play (Jan 31, 2004)
  IDA
  An exploration of whether documentary filmmakers should pay their subjects.

• Making Media with Communities: Guidance for Researchers
  Ann Light of Northumbria University and Tamar Millen of the Community Media Association
  These guidelines set out a framework of ethical and practical considerations for creating media with communities to think about the process, the approach, and the legacy of the project.

• The Ethics of Archival Use: A Roundtable Discussion (Sep 15, 2008)
  IDA
  In this roundtable discussion, experts covered the ethics of archival filmmaking.

• REIMAGINE: A Legal Framework for Community-Accountable Mediamaking (2022)
  Detroit Narrative Agency
  A collective decision-making process using existing legal frameworks to create agreements grounded in social justice principles and values.

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