The latest response to Doc Blog's industry survey is Dylan Leiner of Sony Pictures Classics. Their imprint, led by Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, represents a gold standard in taste. Thye have numerous films in TIFF this year, including the documentary My Kid Could Paint That (click the title to watch the trailer). Here are Leiner's reflections on the current theatrical scene for docs.

Q: What changes do you see in the documentary marketplace?

LEINER: Broadly speaking, the "D" word that used to ghettoize the format is long gone.  Documentaries have become an integral part of the theatrical landscape.    They are being made faster, their information has become more immediate and they are more entertaining than ever before.  But there are also more being made which makes the competition that much fiercer.  And certain genres have already become commonplace calling out for greater innovation and creativity.

Q: What advice can you give doc makers on navigating distribution?

LEINER: Focus on telling stories that people cannot find on television with technical achievement that cause audiences to have to see them in movie theaters.  

Q: What do you hope to get out of Real to Reel this year?

LEINER: There are great filmmakers returning to the documentary form and it will be fascinating to see how they've chosen to tell their stories.

Come back tomorrow morning to read an industry survey response from Peter Broderick of Paradigm Consulting.