On this episode of The Season, host Ryland Aldrich interviews Chris Albert, a documentary awards guru who spent more than 20 years at National Geographic before leaving to found Albert Media Group. Chris discussed his experiences leading Oscar and Emmy-winning campaigns for Free Solo and this year’s nominee, Porcelain War, as well as insights on why craft still matters when it comes to making successful documentaries. The conversation also covers the importance of festival premieres, the role of distribution strategies, and finding champions within the documentary community to advocate for films. This episode offers a little extra awards season perspective thanks to our FYCit Field Agent, Tony Miros, sharing his experience as a 2x nominee at this year’s Casting Society Artios Awards.

Show Notes:

(02:19) Chris Albert’s Career Journey

(02:53) Porcelain War and Its Impact

(04:46) Challenges and Rewards of Documentary Campaigns

(06:23) Key Elements of a Successful Documentary

(09:30) Festival Premieres and Their Importance

(15:20) Theatrical Releases and Distribution Strategies

(19:16) Awards Campaign Strategies and Tastemakers

(30:38) Exploring New Opportunities

(31:45) The Nat Geo Lounge at Telluride

(35:05) Lightning Round with Chris Albert

(39:57) Tony Miros at Artios

Host: Ryland Aldrich @RylandAldrich

Guest: Chris Albert – Docu Awards Guru & Albert Media, CEO

FYCit Field Agent: Tony Miros @tonymiros

Produced by Spellbinder Media

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