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Three Questions: A Practitioner's Approach to the Documentary Form

image of Three Questions: A Practitioner's Approach to the Documentary Form

At the core of my somewhat precarious filmmaking self-identity are the relationships involved in the production of the film, especially between the filmmakers, the filmed subjects and the audience. This relational perspective informs the way I define the space into which I intentionally create. As a result, I ask three questions of a project to understand if it is a documentary. They are: Did the filmmaker intend to make a project located within the documentary field? Was the trust-bond with the person or things filmed maintained? Was the trust-bond with the audience maintained? These questions arise from my practitioner epistemology in which I view documentary as a process of production, rather than as primarily an artefact.

Keywords: Audience ; Character ; Creative practice ; Documentary ; Filmmaking ; Hybrid ; Ontology ; Process ; Relational ; Trust

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References

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  2. Aufderheide, P. ,, Jaszi, P. ,, & Chandra, M. . ( 2009). Honest truths: Documentary filmmakers on ethical challenges in their work. https://cmsimpact.org/resource/honest-truths-documentary-filmmakers-on-ethical-challenges-in-their-work/
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  27. Varda, A .. (Director). ( 2000). The Gleaners and I. [Film]. Cine-Tamaris.
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References

  1. Andoni, R. . (Director). ( 2017). Ghost hunting. [Film]. Palmyre Badinier (Les Films de Zayna)/Raed Andoni (Dar Films)/& Nicolas Wadimoff (Akka Films).
  2. Aufderheide, P. ,, Jaszi, P. ,, & Chandra, M. . ( 2009). Honest truths: Documentary filmmakers on ethical challenges in their work. https://cmsimpact.org/resource/honest-truths-documentary-filmmakers-on-ethical-challenges-in-their-work/
  3. Bouzereau, L. . (Director). ( 2017). Five Came Back. [TV series]. Amblin Television/IACF Productions/Passion Pictures/Rock Paper Scissors Entertainment/Netflix.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bouzereau, L. . ( 2017). Five came back. Netflix.
  5. Brady, G. . (Director). ( 2019). Island of the hungry ghosts [Film]. Third Films.
  6. Bruzzi, S. . ( 2013). The performing film-maker and the acting subject. . In B. Winston . (Ed.), The documentary film book (pp. 48–58). BFI Publishing;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Buckmaster, L. . ( 2017). Struggle street season two: SBS ‘poverty porn’ is back – and more problematic than ever. Daily Review. https://dailyreview.com.au/struggle-street-season-two-sbs-poverty-porn-back-problematic-ever/68407/
  8. Cull, N. J. . ( 2003;). Peter Watkins’ Culloden and the alternative form in historical filmmaking. . Film International, 1 (1), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1386/fiin.1.1.48
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Druick, Z. . ( 2007;). Documenting false history: Errol Morris and Mr. Death. . Studies in Documentary Film, 1 (3), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1386/sdf.1.3.207_1
    [Google Scholar]
  10. FitzSimons, T. . ( 2009;). Braided channels: A genealogy of the voice of documentary. . Studies in Documentary Film, 3 (2), 131–146. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1386/sdf.3.2.131/1
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Gaynor, H .. (Producer). ( 2017). Marry me marry my family. [TV series]. Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder.
  12. Gough-Brady, C. (Director). . ( 2020). Characters, interrupted. [Film]. Snodger Media.
  13. Grierson, J. . ( 1933;). The documentary producer. . Cinema Quarterly, 2 (1), 7–9.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Huston, J. . (Director). ( 1945). The Battle of San Pietro [Film]. U. A. P. Services.
  15. Ivens, J. . ( 1969). The Camera and I. International Publishers;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Kerin, L. ,, & Ong, T. . ( 2015). Struggle street: Mount Druitt community up in arms over ‘poverty porn’ documentary series on SBS. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-05/sbs-struggle-street-series-poverty-porn-says-mt-druitt-mayor/6446648
  17. Layton, B. . (Director). ( 2012a). The imposter. [Film]. Film4/A&E IndieFilms/RAW Production/Red Box Films/& Passion Pictures.279
  18. Layton, B. . ( 2012b). Interview: The imposter director Bart Layton [Interview]. https://diymag.com/archive/interview-the-imposter-director-bart-layton
  19. Ma, N. . (Director). ( 2015). Putuparri and the Rainmakers [Film]. Sensible Films.
  20. Mazin, C. . (Director). ( 2019). Chernobyl [TV series]. HBO/Sky UK/Sister Pictures/The Mighty Mint/Word Games.
  21. Munro, K. . ( 2019). Listening in: Approaching difference, multiplicity and collectivity through a practice of listening in documentary. RMIT University.
  22. Nichols, B. . ( 2017). Introduction to documentary (, 3rd. ed.). Indiana University Press;. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=4813367
    [Google Scholar]
  23. O'Rourke, S. ,, Cone B. ,, & Green, T. J. . (Directors). ( 2015–2019). Struggle street [TV series]. Keo Films Australia Pty Ltd.
  24. Polley, S. . (Director). ( 2012). Stories We Tell [Film]. National Film Board of Canada.
  25. Rowlands, L. ,, & Handy, J. . ( 2012 ;). An addictive environment: New Zealand film production workers’ subjective experiences of project-based labour. . Human Relations, 65 (5), 657–680. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726711431494
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Thomson, D. . ( 2014). The best World War II documentary was faked: But that doesn't make it any worse. New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/117175/battle-san-pietro-what-makes-war-documentary-true
  27. Varda, A .. (Director). ( 2000). The Gleaners and I. [Film]. Cine-Tamaris.
  28. Varda, A. S. ,, & Kline, T. J. . ( 2014). Agnès Varda: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi;. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=573338&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s5445732
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Watkins, P. . (Director). ( 1964). Culloden [Film]. BBC.

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