Documentary filmmakers fear more legal challenges in Trump era

Some of the hardest-hitting documentaries in recent years have been forced to delay release or cough up hefty fees for attorneys, among them "Bananas!", a 2009 documentary about Nicaraguan plantation workers for Dole Food Co. who were sickened by a pesticide banned in the US; "Citizenfour", which followed Edward Snowden as he began to leak documents about US surveillance programs; and "Crude", which dealt with a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Chevron Corp. that claimed the oil giant despoiled the Amazonian jungle in Ecuador. Many in the documentary film world expect further assaults on free speech in the current divisive political climate. With a president-elect who has threatened to loosen libel laws and sue over reporting he doesn’t like, indie filmmakers are steeling themselves for open season.