Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Mark Cousins’ The Story of Documentary Film, an expansive 16-volume history of the medium that examines over a century of global nonfiction cinema. An essential follow-up to Cousins’ 2011 opus The Story of Film: An Odyssey, The Story of Documentary Film made its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where the festival presented chapter 1, “The Beginning”. The film was also an official selection at the 2026 Berlinale, which screened chapters 1 through 4, and most recently at Cannes Classics, which premiered chapters 6 and 7. Kino Lorber will release The Story of Documentary Film on all platforms later this year.
Documentary is thought of as a genre of cinema, like the gangster movie or superhero films, but it’s much more than that. Half of all films ever made have been documentary and so it is half of cinema, a multi-verse, a range of genres. There are observational films, campaigning movies, portrait docs, archive-based films, personal essays, music films, journey documentaries, experimental and animated non-fiction cinema. In The Story of Documentary Film we encounter all of these: this is the story of what happened in the last twelve decades. Spanning 16 hours in 16 chapters, this epic documentary traces the global evolution of nonfiction film, revealing the filmmakers who discovered, innovated, and shaped documentary cinema into a dynamic lens for life.
“Nonfiction and international cinema have long been a cornerstone of the Kino Lorber library, so we knew instantly that The Story of Documentary Film would be a perfect addition to our catalog,” said Lisa Schwartz, Chief Distribution and Revenue Officer for Kino Lorber. “Documentary filmmakers have captured the reality of our times since the earliest days of cinema, and celebrating and elevating their work feels more important than ever in our current era of fake news and manipulated imagery. We’re thrilled to partner with Mark, John, and the Dogwoof team to bring this monumental cinematic achievement to North American audiences.”
The deal for The Story of Documentary Film was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and Cleo Veger of Dogwoof ahead of the film’s Cannes Classics premiere. In addition to the North American deal, the film has sold internationally to I Wonder (Italy), Filmin (Spain and Portugal), and Madman (Australia / New Zealand).
The Story of Documentary Film is a Hopscotch Films production and is directed by Mark Cousins and produced by John Archer. The film is executive produced by Clara Glynn, Joslyn Barnes, Frank Lehmann, and Diana Bustamente.
