Subcategory report · 10.2K projects
Feature documentaries, short docs, journalistic projects. The middle of Film & Video — and the only cinema-adjacent format where Kickstarter funds first-time filmmakers.
n = 10.2K · subcategory of Film & Video · 2009–2026
What makes this subcategory different
Documentary closes at 43.6% — middle of the road for Film & Video subcategories. Documentaries succeed when the subject provides built-in audience. The Bill Nye Film raised $859K because Bill Nye himself is the audience. Investigative documentaries about famous figures, urgent topics, or beloved subcultures fund reliably. Documentaries trying to introduce a topic from scratch — "a thoughtful look at suburban architecture" or "the history of typewriters" — rarely cross $50K, regardless of craft quality. Unlike narrative film (where Kickstarter is a near-impossible launchpad), documentary is the one category where first-time filmmakers can fund a real project — provided they pick a subject the audience already wants to know more about.
Finding 01 · Goal analysis
Documentary projects under $10K succeed at 46.1%. Projects asking $100K+ close at 14.1% — a 4× drop. The middle range, $30K–$100K, lands at 41.3%.
Finding 02 · Geography
Of the eight largest creator countries by volume in this subcategory, France sits at the top with a 43.8% success rate — 0.2pp above the subcategory average. Geography proxies for the local ecosystem of suppliers, distributors, and audience networks that compound campaign credibility.
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