By Rafa Sales Ross
Publication Date: 2025-11-17 14:55:00
Few topics are analyzed and discussed in as much detail in the film industry today as the possibilities and consequences of AI technology. In documentary filmmaking, discussion takes on new meaning because the form is often tied to journalistic notions of truth and reality. Leading documentary filmmakers gathered at this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the world’s largest documentary festival, to discuss best practices, urgent warnings and the possible future of documentaries as the use of AI becomes more widespread.
Oscar-nominated US director and investigative reporter David France recalled his first work with artificial intelligence for 2020’s “Welcome to Chechnya” at IDFA with the Sundance breakout documentary “Free Leonard Peltier.” The film, which chronicled the persecution of members of the LGBTQIA community in the semi-independent autonomous republic of Russia, dealt with an extremely…
