The fourth participant in our Industry Survey is Ira Deutchman, the CEO of Emerging Pictures, an innovative distributor pioneering new spaces for theatrical exhibition. He has a long career marked by notable docs, including his days at Fine Line Features when he worked on the release of the record-breaking Hoop Dreams.

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

DEUTCHMAN: Theatrical is getting harder and harder. Audiences and critics seem to be getting numb from all the serious subject matter on the screen, and it now takes much better reviews and a provocative subject to get any kind of audience. Hopefully this is just a cycle.

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

DEUTCHMAN: Be realistic. Being in theaters is not necessarily the most efficient way to reach an audience. Blowing all your resources on trying to be eligible for the Oscars is a little like selling your business in order to buy a lottery ticket.

Check back tomorrow morning when the Industry Survey interviews Nancy Gerstman of Zeitgeist Films.