Documentary (Film Studies)

Wildlife Documentaries: From Classical Forms to Reality TV

by Jan-Christopher Horak

Technology and the GPO Film Unit

by Leo Enticknap

In Scott Anthony and James Mansell (eds.), 'The Projection of Britain: A History of the GPO Film Unit', Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), pp. 188-198.

This chapter considers the unique approach to technology taken by John Grierson's GPO Film Unit. The handheld... more This chapter considers the unique approach to technology taken by John Grierson's GPO Film Unit. The handheld Newman-Sinclair camera, the Visatone-Marconi sound system, colour processes that were either experimental or heavily modified from the form in which they were initially marketed and distirbution and exhibition on 16mm were all innovations that were developed by this group of filmmakers. The chapter argues that this was primarily a case of invention (or, strictly speaking, adaptation) being the child of economic necessity, but that the influence of these technologies on the resulting films has all too often been dismissed by earlier writers as simply restrictive. In conlcusion, I suggest that these technologies presented the GPO's filmmakers with opportunities as well as constraints.

Rodrigo, Gustavo e Marcelo e a poesia do cotidiano

by Maria Ines Dieuzeide

Partindo da análise do vídeo "Rodrigo, Gustavo e Marcelo", documentário capixaba de Vitor Lopes realizado... more Partindo da análise do vídeo "Rodrigo, Gustavo e Marcelo", documentário capixaba de Vitor Lopes realizado em 2006, pretendemos tecer algumas reflexões sobre a produção documental, tentando estabelecer relações com a história dessa prática e com seus pares contemporâneos. Para isso, travaremos possíveis diálogos deste vídeo com Chuva (Regen, Joris Ivens e Mannus Franken, 1929, 12min, Holanda) e Da janela do meu quarto (Cao Guimarães, 2004, 5min, Brasil), obras que propõem outros olhares, menos usuais, sobre o mundo e o fazer documentário.


SOUZA, Maria Ines D. S. Rodrigo, Gustavo e Marcelo e a poesia do cotidiano. In: VIEIRA JR, Erly M. et al. Crítica em artes. Vitória: Secult, 2010. p. 81-101.

Documentário, animação e as imagens do real: uma análise de Dossiê Rê Bordosa

by Maria Ines Dieuzeide

Se pensamos que os documentários constroem narrativas estruturadas de modo a estabelecer asserções sobre o mundo, e... more Se pensamos que os documentários constroem narrativas estruturadas de modo a estabelecer asserções sobre o mundo, e que, na construção dessas narrativas, as imagens predominantes são as que possuem a mediação da câmera, trazendo a situação da tomada, o que nos interessa é refletir sobre a construção de um filme indexado como documentário, mas que praticamente não faz uso dessas imagens captadas do mundo via máquina. A partir da análise do curta-metragem Dossiê Rê Bordosa (César Cabral, 2008), procuramos entender como alguns planos de imagens-câmera se relacionam com as imagens animadas, modificando a relação do espectador com o filme, e colocando em questão algumas ideias já estabelecidas sobre o uso de entrevistas e a própria noção de documentário.

A música no documentário: Um estudo sobre Valsa com Bashir

by Maria Ines Dieuzeide

The studies in portuguese language on the role of music in nonfiction films are still few. Based on some concepts of... more The studies in portuguese language on the role of music in nonfiction films are still few. Based on some concepts of Michel Chion and Anahid Kassabian, in the sound field, in dialog with Bill Nichols’ studies in the field of documentary, the aim of this paper is to discuss the forms and functions of music in documentary discourse, specifically in the recent experiments of animated documentary, from the analysis of the film Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008). We will try to understand the ways in which the music is placed in establishing this kind of narrative, and with whatelements it contributes to the possibles specificities of the animated documentary.


SOUZA, Maria Ines D. S. A música no documentário: Um estudo sobre Valsa com Bashir. In: Ciberlegenda: Revista do Programa de Pós-graduação em Comunicação da Universidade Federal Fluminense, v. 1, n. 24, p. 91-101, 2011.

Una revisión fílmica de Franco y la Guerra Civil: contrapropaganda y memoria en 'Caudillo'

by Alberto N. García

"Una revisión fílmica de Franco y la Guerra Civil: contrapropaganda y memoria en 'Caudillo'", Historia Social, nº 57, 2007, pp. 27-46.

The film Caudillo (B. M. Patino, 1974) builds –from a continuous rhetorical collision between the two factions– an... more The film Caudillo (B. M. Patino, 1974) builds –from a continuous rhetorical collision between the two factions– an anti-portrait of Franco and a chronicle of the ideological and military aspects of the Spanish Civil War. The director deconstructs the icon created along forty years of official images, political and historical symbols, social rites and some ideological and informative manipulation. Caudillo reutilizes archive footage –national and republican– in order to present a historical re-reading, far away from the vision of the official Franquist media.

La imagen que piensa. Hacia una definición del ensayo audiovisual

by Alberto N. García

"La imagen que piensa. Hacia una definición del ensayo audiovisual", Comunicación y Sociedad, nº 19 (2), 2006, pp. 75-105.

This article examines the key features –historical, rethorical and related to genre– that characterizes one kind of... more This article examines the key features –historical, rethorical and related to genre– that characterizes one kind of audiovisual text with scarce cinematographic tradition. The film-essay proposes a personal and nonsystematic discourse, using different tools: a personal style, a visible editing that privileges the word, or the filmic presence of the author. In this way, the film essayist builds its reflection inside the images, putting forward his/her way of thinking.

Ironía, nostalgia y deconstrucción en 'Canciones para después de una guerra'

by Alberto N. García

Article published in "Tripodos", vol. 21 (1), 2007, pp. 149-170.

Canciones para después de una guerra (Martín Patino, 1971) comprises an ironic archive documentary about Spain during... more Canciones para después de una guerra (Martín Patino, 1971) comprises an ironic archive documentary about Spain during the forties. Using different editing strategies —such as re-location of materials, fusion between sound and image, figures of speech and montage effects—, the film proposes an alternative view to the dominant one offered by Franco’s official media. The movie provides a re-reading of the Spanish postwar period that combines the historical report of years of shortage and isolation, the political criticism of an authoritarian regime and the sentimental force symbolized by the popular songs.

La realidad como estilo. Los límites de la representación en Andalucía, un siglo de fascinación [Reality as Style. Limits of Representation in Andalucía, un siglo de fascinación]

by Alberto N. García

Article published in "Ámbitos. Revista Andaluza de Comunicación", nº 16, pp. 37-59, 2007.

The seven chapters of Andalucía, un siglo de fascinación combines real and fictional elements in order to simulate... more The seven chapters of Andalucía, un siglo de fascinación combines real and fictional elements in order to simulate truth and feign the rhetoric and strategies of different types of documentary. With the aim of reflecting on certain representative aspects of the Andalousian region –cultural and identity myths, historical episodes, traditions and artistic expressions–, Martín Patino spreads the post-modern game of the suspicion. The director scatters the Andalousian imaginary using mockumentaries that mixes reality and fiction. By using this fakery, Patino converts the style in the message and proposes an auto-reflexive thinking about the boundaries of documentary representation, the credibility of image, and its potentially manipulative nature. This analysis will be articulated from three perspectives: firstly, we will identify the real material of every chapter and the fictional evidences that allows discovering the counterfeit; subsequently, we will explain the mechanisms used for simulating documentary style; and, at last, we will analyze the thematic issues that characterize this TV films: reflection about popular identity, freedom concept and the likelihood of depiction.

Film als kulturelles Gedächtnis der Arbeitsmigration: Fatih Akins "Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren".

by Dagmar Brunow

In: Ozil, Seyda / Hofmann, Michael / Dayioglu-Yücel, Yasemin (eds): 50 Jahre türkische Arbeitsmigration in Deutschland. Göttingen: V&R Unipress; 2011. p. 183-204. (Türkisch-deutsche Studien, Jahrgang 2011)

Obwohl die Arbeitsmigration nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg die deutsche Gesellschaft entscheidend geformt hat, blendet die... more Obwohl die Arbeitsmigration nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg die deutsche Gesellschaft entscheidend geformt hat, blendet die nationale Geschichtsschreibung Migration weitgehend
aus. In der kulturwissenschaftlichen Debatte um deutsche Erinnerungsorte kam das Thema der Migration und seine Rolle für das kulturelle Gedächtnis bislang entschieden zu kurz.
Hingegen macht sich in den letzten Jahren eine kulturelle Praxis bemerkbar, die den Migrationserfahrungen der so genannten ersten Generation von Gastarbeitern aus der Türkei
einen diskursiven Raum eröffnet, z.B. in Emine Sevgi Özdamar's Die Brücke vom Goldenen Horn (1998), Feridun Zaimoğlu's Leyla (2006), der KanakHistoryRevue an der Berliner
Volksbühne (2001), oder jüngst in Yasemin und Nesrin Şamderelis erfolgreicher Kinokomödie Almanya - Willkommen in Deutschland (2010). Auch Fatih Akins Dokumentation Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren (2001) kann als Beitrag zum kulturellen Gedächtnis der Migration gewertet werden.
Der Artikel verfolgt zwei Ziele: zum einen wird dargestellt, wie autobiographischer Film als Erinnerungsarbeit verstanden werden kann, der einen transkulturellen Erinnerungsort für die
Geschichte der Arbeitsmigration nach Deutschland erzeugt. Zum anderen gilt es zu zeigen, wie Akins Film bewusst, zum Beispiel über den Einsatz von Musik, essentialistische
Zuschreibungen, Folklore und den Topos des „zwischen zwei Stühlen“ vermeidet.

Reading Watcher's Watching: Introductory Notes on Ethnographic Cinema (2008, guest lecture)

by Ronald Helfrich, Jnr.

G.M. Höllering életrajz

by Andras Szekfu

Egy készülő hosszabb monográfiából rövidítve - Abridged from a longer Hoellering monograph "under construction".

Georg Michael Höllering (George Hoellering, Höllering György, 1897. július 20. – 1980. február 10.) a Hortobágy (1936)... more Georg Michael Höllering (George Hoellering, Höllering György, 1897. július 20. – 1980. február 10.) a Hortobágy (1936) című filmjével írta be nevét a magyar filmtörténetbe. A puszta addig nem ismert szépségű dokumentum felvételeit (operatőr: Schäffer László) egyesítette egy helybeli pásztorok és parasztok által eljátszott történettel (filmnovella: Móricz Zsigmond), és Lajtha Lászlótól rendelt hozzá népdalokból és eredeti szimfónikus tételekből összeállított filmzenét. Angliába emigrálva, mint mozitulajdonos és filmforgalmazó, ő mutatta be a hatvanas évek legjobb magyar filmjeit, Jancsó, Kovács, Kósa és mások alkotásait.

Florida: The Mediated State

by Julian Chambliss

Co-authored with Denise K. Cummings, this essay serves as the introduction to a special issue of Florida Historical Quarterly titled, “Florida: The Mediated State.” In addition to “The Mediated State,” other essays include “Murders and Pastels in Miami: The role of Miami Vice in Bringing Back Tourists to Miami,” by Alison Meek (Kings University College Ontario); “Is South Florida the New Southern California?: Carl Hiaasen’s Dystopian Paradise,,” by David M. Parker (Los Angeles Pierce College); “Florida Porch Reverie,” by Charlie Hailey (University of Florida); “In Marjorie’s Wake: A Film Voyage Into Florida’s Nature Consciousness,” by Leslie Kemp Poole (University of Florida); and “Miami Stories,” by Jeff Rice (University of Kentucky).

This special issue, part of larger book project, offers a collection of essays that explore the distinctive issues... more This special issue, part of larger book project, offers a collection of essays that explore the distinctive issues that shape popular understanding of Florida. While recent works have explore Florida’s economic, social, and political history, this project seeks to address Florida’s impact on the broader cultural, political, and social transformation that has framed United States since WWII.

Documentary in the Age of Digital Biopolitics: Catfish & the “Aesthetics of Amphibology”

by Gabriella Calchi-Novati

CINEMASCOPE-Indipendent Film Journal
year VIII ~ issue 17 ~ JANUARY-JUNE 2012

Left out in the cold: Wildlife Documentary

by Shani Heckman

Wildlife documentary, documentary study, draft only, 2010

Why are nature films and wildlife films often excluded from the academy's study of documentary film?

more Why are nature films and wildlife films often excluded from the academy's study of documentary film?


“Animals are born, are sentient, are mortal. In these things they resemble man. In their superficial anatomy—less in their deep anatomy---in their habits, in their time, in their physical capacities, they differ from man. They are both like and unlike”
John Berger

“It is because man originally felt himself identical to all those like him that he came to acquire the capacity to distinguish himself as he distinguishes them—ie, to use the diversity of species for conceptual support for social differentiation.”
Levi-Strauss commenting on Rousseau’s reasoning for the Origins of Language

“and he cursed the automobile, said this no place for a hombre like I am in this new world of asphalt and steel […] all that’s left of the old days are damned old coyotes and me.” Don Edwards, “Coyote” theme song of Grizzly Man

Despite their influence on the arts and their importance to our survival, animals have received secondary status in our society and films focusing solely on them, and nature, are more often than not excluded in theoretical discussions of documentary film. Their voice is not debated, because they do not speak the language of humans.

Propaganda in the moving camera: Triumph of the Will and Night Mail

by Debora Scatena

I did this paper for one of my courses, and I plan to publish it next year, since it has been judged fit enough for publication.

I dedicate this paper to the brother I lost to cancer, my husband, my two very kind editors. Without these important people I wouldn't have achieved this.

Many other make my life important, such as close friends and professors, and I thank them all just as much.

I am to present this paper at Words in Edgewise ( gathering organized to/for/by students of the MPhil program at MUN) on January 17, 2011.

How did documentary propaganda film influenced and was influenced by its surrounding in the 1930s?

This is... more How did documentary propaganda film influenced and was influenced by its surrounding in the 1930s?

This is the main question that this paper answer along with its developments up to our contemporary world.

Un buon soldato del cinema

by Cristina Balma Tivola

1999, licensed under CC3.0.

Werner Herzog's documentary filmmaking. His style, his obsessions. Werner Herzog's documentary filmmaking. His style, his obsessions.

Radical Rationalism as Cinema Aesthetics: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in North American Documentary and Experimental Film

by Terri Ginsberg

Situations: Project of the Radical Imagination 4.1 (Fall/Winter 2011): 91-115

Liminality in Love: Reading Ritualized Institutional Practice as Civil Society in Alina Rudnitskaya's Civil Status

by Cassandra Hartblay

Anthropology of East Europe Review, 29:2, 2011

This paper uses Victor Turner's notion of liminal ceremonial spaces and Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Practice to... more This paper uses Victor Turner's notion of liminal ceremonial spaces and Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Practice to examine Anna Rudnitskaya's documentary film Civil Status (2005).  The 29 minute film follows the working lives of civil servants in the Saint Petersburg civil registry office, where couples "come to make their love official."  How do individuals use the apparatus of civil society to enact social transformation, and what do practices of citizenship look like in post-Soviet Petersburg?  How do individuals evaluate and respond to the social status of strangers through embodied practice?  How does the presence of the camera serve to further ceremonialize the civil transactions captured in the film?  I engage with Rudnitskaya's film as ethnographic data to address these questions.

Television Wildlife Documentaries and Animals' Right to Privacy

by Brett Mills

Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 24 (2) 193-202, 2010

This article examines the BBC wildlife documentary series Nature's Great Events (2009) in order to investigate the... more This article examines the BBC wildlife documentary series Nature's Great Events (2009) in order to investigate the ways in which such texts engage with (or ignore) debates about animal ethics, in particular, animals' right to privacy. Through analysis of the 'making of' documentaries that accompany the series, it shows how animals' right to privacy is turned into a challenge for the production teams, who use newer forms of technology to overcome species' desire not to be seen. The article places this analysis within the context of broadcasters' concerns over environmental issues, acknowledging that wildlife documentaries can play a vital role in engaging citizens in environmental debates. However, it is argued that the 'speciesism' which affords humans a right to privacy while disavowing other species such rights is one of the tenets upon which humanity's perceived right to maintain mastery over other species is itself maintained; that is, in order for wildlife documentaries to 'do good' they must inevitably deny many species the right to privacy.