Why Documentaries Matter Recognised As an Innovative Cultural Form
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RISJ CHALLENGES CHALLENGES Documentaries have for many decades inhabited the schedules of public Why Documentaries Matter Why broadcasters. They have chronicled the lives and institutions of western democracies. In the past two decades, however, documentaries have become Why Documentaries Matter recognised as an innovative cultural form. Instead of being exclusively funded by television channels, documentaries receive money from a number of sources, including film funds, private investors and foundations. Rather than observing, documentaries are now thought capable of changing the world. Is this what they really do? How do we define a documentary? What does it mean to be the ‘author’ of a film? Nick Fraser has been editor of the BBC’s Storyville series since 1997; here he looks at the history of documentaries, showing how definitions of documentaries have changed – and how fragile is their funding. If we want good documentaries, he concludes, we have to find ways of encouraging their creators. “Nick Fraser writes about documentaries with unique authority. Not only has he made some good ’uns, he has commissioned more than practically anyone else on earth (for the BBC’s Storyville) and - as this book shows - he Nick Fraser has watched docs from their earliest days. His ideas on what the growth of the web and the decline of public service broadcasters mean for doc-makers are informed, imaginative and challenging.” Brian Lapping Chairman and Executive Producer, Brook Lapping “The rise of documentaries over the past two decades owes more to Nick Fraser than to any other single person. For so many of us who make non-fiction films, Nick’s peerless brand of tough love and mischievous curiosity have inspired us to aim higher as we try to promote greater understanding of the major events and issues of our time.” Eugene Jarecki Documentary film maker “This expert lament is beautifully written. Full of telling encounters with documentary makers and documentaries, it provides a narrative account of how the form developed and a shrewd location of its impact. It is the best account of the ‘auteur’ theory I have ever seen.” Jean Seaton Professor of Media History, University of Westminster Nick Fraser has been editor of Storyville, BBC TV’s prize-winning strand of international documentaries, since its creation in 1997. He has written five non-fiction books, most recently The Importance Of Being Eton (2006). Articles by him have appeared in many publications and he is a contributing editor for Harper’s Magazine, New York. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. ISBN 1-907384-09-7 Nick Fraser 9 7 8 1 9 0 7 3 8 4 0 9 7 Guo © Jifeng image Cover RISJ CHALLENGES SELECTED RISJ PUBLICATIONS CHALLENGES present findings, analysis and recommendations from Oxford’s Reuters Institute James Painter David A. L. Levy and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds) for the Study of Journalism. The Institute is dedicated to the rigorous, international comparative Poles Apart: the international reporting of The Changing Business of Journalism and its study of journalism, in all its forms and on all continents. CHALLENGES muster evidence and climate scepticism implication for Democracy research to take forward an important argument, beyond the mere expression of opinions. Each Lara Fielden Tim Gardam and David A. L. Levy (eds) text is carefully reviewed by an editorial committee, drawing where necessary on the advice Regulating for Trust in Journalism. Standards The Price of Plurality: choice, diversity and of leading experts in the relevant fields. CHALLENGES remain, however, the work of authors regulation in the age of blended media broadcasting institutions in the digital age writing in their individual capacities, not a collective expression of views from the Institute. published in association with Ofcom David A. L. Levy and Robert G. Picard (eds) EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Is there a better structure for News Providers? John Lloyd and Julia Hobsbawm Timothy Garton Ash The potential in charitable and trust ownership The Power of the Commentariat Ian Hargreaves published in association with Editorial Intelligence Ltd David Levy Geert Linnebank CHALLENGES John Lloyd Rasmus Nielsen Nicola Bruno and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Stephen Whittle and Glenda Cooper James Painter Survival is Success. 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The Prime investigation into the likely impact of the digital Typeset and printed by Hunts Ministerial debates of 2010: evidence, revolution on the economics of news publishing www.hunts.co.uk evaluation and some recommendations in the UK Richard Sambrook James Painter Text © Nick Fraser 2012 Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant? The Counter-Hegemonic News: a case study of Al- All additional material © Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism changing face of international news Jazeera English and Telesur The moral rights of the author have been asserted. James Painter Floriana Fossato and John Lloyd with Alexander All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or disseminated or transmitted Summoned by Science: reporting climate Verkhovsky in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or change at Copenhagen and beyond The Web that Failed: how opposition politics stored in a retrieval system, or otherwise used in any manner whatsoever without prior written and independent initiatives are failing on the permission, except for permitted fair dealing under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. John Kelly internet in Russia Red Kayaks and Hidden Gold: the rise, challenges and value of citizen journalism © RISJ May 2012 -- ISBN 978-1-907384-09-7 Cover image: © Jifeng Guo Filmmaker Weijun Chen and candidate Xiaofei Xu, Wuhan Evergreen No. 1 Primary School during the filming of “Please Vote For Me”, an observational documentary which was part of the Why Democracy? season shown on BBC4 in October 2007 RISJ CHALLENGES Why Documentaries Matter Nick Fraser RISJ CHALLENGES | Why Documentaries Matter 2 Reality is providence. Al Maysles But they never said how beautiful it was. George Orwell on reading the reviews of Animal Farm The most important modern philosophical problem is attention. Simone Weil 3 RISJ CHALLENGES | Why Documentaries Matter 4 Contents Contents Executive Summary 7 Foreword 9 1 Yes, Documentaries Matter 11 2 Starting Fires 23 3 Indie Documentaries: film as a life’s work 41 4 Place in the Sun 51 5 Future Documentaries: investing to save civilisation 67 6 Conclusion and Recommendations 75 Appendices 83 Bibliography 86 Acknowledgments 87 5 RISJ CHALLENGES | Why Documentaries Matter 6 Executive Summary Executive Summary In appearance the survival of documentaries would not appear to be an urgent topic. They are a staple of broadcast programming, relied on by public broadcasters to secure audiences, and restricted in their formal ambitions. No argument exists publicly about how they should be funded and indeed whether their existence is threatened. But this is far from being the case. Documentaries exist precariously, for the most part under-funded and often neglected by broadcasters. Worldwide the budgets for documentaries are falling. Their creators live a hand-to-mouth existence. But documentaries must also be classed among the remarkable, culturally innovative forms of our time. In the last 20-odd years they have come into their own. They are revered by critics, and celebrities queue to attach their names. Globally, many festivals exist to promote documentary. Some documentaries, though not many, have made substantial profits at the box office. Do documentaries matter? Why do they matter? They do, certainly, but in order to demonstrate their worth it is necessary to revisit their origins. After a first frisson of interest in the capability of film to depict real life, they became poor relations of contemporary fictions. Documentaries subsisted for a long time on state patronage, with very mixed results. A heyday of sorts ensured their survival within busy television schedules. But truly innovative films have been made when funding has been available from a mixture of sources – from television, film funds, private investors, foundations. Nowadays, with the arrival of the internet as a means of distribution, the prospects of documentaries seem bright. But documentaries are threatened, too, by the decline of television funding. In this ‘Challenge’ I argue for the recognition that documentaries are a public good, comparable (in this respect and in others) to serious reporting. They have become one of the means by which we connect to the contemporary world, making sense of it. They do occupy an important place in contemporary media culture, not just in Europe and North America but globally. Something called documentary will survive any mutations in distribution or perceptions 7 RISJ CHALLENGES | Why Documentaries Matter of culture caused by the internet. But good and valuable films will flourish only if we pay more attention to their funding. What is needed is not any radical rethinking of the documentary form, or indeed any alteration in the way films are funded.