Documentary films are records of our culture. But our culture is full of legally protected objects - songs, films, signs, even logos or buildings. Sometimes filmmakers need to use pre-existing copyrighted material to tell a story. Sometimes they accidentally capture copyrighted work in their documentary footage. However,in order to distribute their documentaries, filmmakers must often clear the rights to every protected fragment of film or song - whether it is a focal point of the scene or merely an incidental or fleeting detail.

Filmmaker Orlando Bagwell talks about making Citizen King and why Eyes on the Prize is no longer in circulation. Mr. Bagwell is Program Officer, Media, Arts & Culture, The Ford Foundation; besides Citizen King, his documentary film work includes A Hymn to Alvin Ailey, Africans in America, and several installments of PBSs The American Experience.