Dawn Porter to Deliver Keynote at MIPDoc

RX France has lined up a MIPDoc keynote from award-winning producer, director and founder of Trilogy Films Dawn Porter for April 7 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.

Porter is known for her body of work that explores those who are overlooked, reveals the consequences of policy and views the familiar from different perspectives. Her recent credits include Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court, The Lady Bird Diaries and Luther: Never Too Much.

Porter’s filmography also includes 37 Words, Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net, Eyes on the Prize, Un(re)solved, The Me You Can’t See, The Way I See It and John Lewis: Good Trouble.

Additionally, Porter is a three-time Sundance film festival director. Her 2016 documentary Trapped received the festival’s Special Jury Award for social impact filmmaking, and her film Gideon’s Army received the award for best editing. The latter is now part of the U.S. Department of State’s American Film Showcase.

In 2021, Porter was named a Guggenheim Symposium honoree by the American Film Institute, joining alumni such as Martin Scorcese and Spike Lee. The following year, she was presented with the Critics’ Choice Impact Award, given to documentarians whose work resulted in tangible societal change.

Porter’s keynote will take place at 11:45 on Sunday, April 7, at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. She will share insights on the purpose and processes that drive and define her work, along with her take on how to navigate the challenges and grasp the opportunities that face the global documentary sector.

Her keynote forms part of the MIPTV pre-opening weekend’s MIPDoc and MIPFormats, which gather documentary, factual and format communities ahead of the main market. The international MIPTV market will then run from April 8 to 10.

“Both Dawn’s story and her storytelling are truly inspiring,” said Lucy Smith, director of MIPTV. “To get the future-facing perspectives of one of the world’s most preeminent documentarians up close and firsthand will be invaluable for anyone in any part of the factual world.”