Can Documentary reach the Masses? Does the answer lies in its definition? Is is successful because it provides direct, raw, unmediated access to characters and their stories? Or do we mean the opposite? Find out more in the lecture titled 'PITCHING DOCUMENTARY TO THE MASSES: the conceit of ‘the real’' by Dr. Sabir Haque Asst. Professor, American University of Ras Al Khaimah. The lecture is a part of the series of lectures organized by Sunlit Studio Film Club, (Assam, India ) founded by Dr. Ananya Hiloidari, HOD, Department of English, Nowgong College and film scholar Parthajit Baruah, with the veteran filmmaker Arup Manna as the Chief Advisor. Its chief objective is to create good audience, screening world films and funding young filmmakers.

1. S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B P R E S E N T S
PITCHINGDOCUMENTARY TOTHEMASSES:
theconceitof‘thereal’
• Dr. Sabir Haque
• Asst. Professor, AmericanUniversityof Ras Al
Khaimah, UAE
LIVE

2. Pitching Documentaries
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B
Can Documentary reach the Masses?
Does the answer lies in its
definition?
Is is successful because it
provides direct, raw, unmediated
access to characters and their
stories? Or do we mean the
opposite?

3. This session aims to
question the conceit of
the ‘real’
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B
Sow doubts on the definition of
Documentary
Explore the world of Erol Morris
and how it is essential for
questioning the ‘real’
Pitching Documentary to the
Masses: How to succeed? My
thoughts on it.

4. D o c u m e n t a r y
Errol Morris’s acclaimed 1988 film The Thin Blue Line was rejected for a Best Documentary Oscar
nomination duetoits stylized reenactments of disputed events.
"AstorythatIwastold,whytheAcademyturneditoffafteracoupleofminutes,theysawthefirstquote-unquotere-
enactmentandtheydecided'Thisisnotadocumentary,'"thefilmmakersays,addingdryly,"Manyofthetechniquesthat
I've pioneeredoverthecourseofmy careernowareeverywhere.Gofigure."
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

5. Everyoneknowswhata
Documentaryis:Really?
Becauseeverybodyhasseensometelevisionprogramslabeleddocumentary
neithertelevisual"whitepapers",thatis, so-calledobjectivejournalistic
presentationsofsocialproblems,
orhistoryprogramsthatchronicle certainsocialmovements,or
Portraitsoffamousartistsorhistoricalfiguresandthelike.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

6. Is bbc trust
worthy
enough?
P L A Y C L I P N E X T S L I D E
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

7. BBC: Spaghetti-Harvest in
Ticino
0–1:31 mins
https://youtu.be/tVo_wkxH9dU
2:28 mins
Playfrombeginning

8. D o c u m e n t a r y
Unconsciously embedded in these forms called documentary is the conceitof"thereal",which
substantiates the truth claims made by these film
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

9. Howabout’Documentary’in
Intention
FlahertywasanAmericanminingengineerwhobeganshootingan ethnographic
recordofanEskimofamilyin1915.
While editinginToronto,he inadvertentlysetfiretohis30,000feetof
negative.
Hesawthathemustreshootin sucha waythathecould tellastory.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

10. Participantsneedstoappear
authentic
Themainprotagonistin ‘NonookoftheNorth’believedtheywereplacingon
recordavanishingwayoftheirlife:ofInuitslivingin the ArcticCircle.
Havinggottentoknowhis“actors”oversuch alongperiod,Flaherty’s
relationshipwiththemwassonaturalthattheycould continuetheirlives
quiteunself-consciouslybeforehiscamera.
Thelifeofthefilm’sparticipants. seemedsopatentlyauthenticthatthefilm
transcendedmereactedrepresentation.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

11. Yet while audiences
lined up to see the film, its subject died hungry on a
hunting trip in the Arctic.
DistributorsatfirstrefusedtoacceptthatNanook wouldinterestthepublic,buttheywereprovedwrongwhenit
drewlargecrowds.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

12. The obessesion with
Realism
Thecase of Cinema Veriteand Direct Cinema/Obversational
Cinema
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

13. Cinema Verite
Theoriginsofthetermcome fromtheFrenchfilmmakerJeanRouch. Hewasone ofthefirst
filmmakersassociatedwiththeterm,whichtranslatesto“truthfulcinema.”
Cinémavéritéisalsocalled observationalcinema ordirectcinema.
Some oftheearliestfilmmakersworkingin thestylewereRobertDrew,RichardLeacock,D.A.
Pennebaker
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

14. Redefining Documentary
style
Oneoftheearlyrulesofcinémavéritéstyles —like directandobservationalcinema — was
toremoveanyofthenewsreel-stylevoiceoverortitlecardsand subtitlesfromtheir
documentaryprojects.
Thevéritéstyledevelopedin directoppositiontocontemporaneouswarreportingand
televisionnewsstyles.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

15. Observational Documentary
Originatingin the1960salongsideadvancesin portablefilmequipment.
Observationaldocumentariesattempttogivevoice toallsidesofanissuebyofferingaudiences
firsthandaccesstosomeofthesubject’smostimportant(and oftenprivate)moments.The
observationalstylehasbeenveryinfluentialovertheyears,andyoucan oftenfindfilmmakers
usingitin otherfilmgenrestocreateasenseofrealnessandtruth.
P L A Y C L I P N E X T S L I D E
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

16. Salesman (1968)
11:28 – 12:35 mins
https://youtu.be/RkY6pgrOOOg
14:14 mins
Playfrom

17. The Question of Observational
Cinema
Theyclaimedacertainpurityforthemethod,butunless
thecameraisactuallyhidden—anethicallydubious
practice—participantsareusuallyawareofitspresence
andcannothelpbutmodifytheirbehavior
becauseitsonscreenappearance
is sustainedbyeliminatinganymaterialwherethe illusionis broken,
suchas
when participantsglanceat, oradaptto, the camera. Authenticity
declinesasthecamera becomesmore prominent
thanthosebeingfilmedand
THEY BECOMECONSCIOUSACTORSINTHEIR
OWN STORY.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

18. The Question of Cinema Verite
takesaccount ofthecentralproblembyactivelyinvolving
participantsintheprocess.ItoriginatedinFrancewiththe
ethnographerJeanRouch.
Rouch calledprivilegedmomentsratherthanpassively
awaitthem.
Like Flahertywith Nanook, Rouchthoughtthat authorshipcould
usefullyandlegitimatelybesomethingshared.
Permittingand evenencouraginginteractionbetweenthe subjectand
director, hiscinéma vérité legitimizedthecamera’spresenceand
let thecrew become catalysts for what took
place onthe screen.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

19. THEDIFFERENCE
Thedirectcinemadocumentaristtookhiscameratoasituationoftensionand
waitedhopefullyforacrisis;theRouch versionofcinémavéritétriedtoprecipitate
one.
Thedirectcinemaartistaspiredtoinvisibility;theRouch cinéma vérité
artistwasoftenan avowedparticipant.
Thedirectcinemaartistplayedtheroleofuninvolvedbystander;the
cinémavéritéartistespousedthatofprovocateur.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

20. “one often hasto distort a thing to catch its true spirit.”
Flaherty acknowledgedthiswhenhesaidthat:
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

21. ENTER
TELEVISION
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

22. Camera andmobility–
Televisioncomestothe
picture
Televisionviewinghadeatenintocinemabox-officereturns,and thecinema
documentarywaslookingforanewhome.Itfoundone ontelevision.
Now thedocumentaryexistedcourtesyoftelevisioncorporationswhose
executivesareoftenexquisitelysensitivetocommercial, political,and
moralpressuregroups.
Forbetterorforworse,theever-insecuredocumentarymakernow
dependedon theapprovaland goodwilloftelevisioncompaniesfor
survival.Becausedocumentariestendtoconcentrateonproblems,they
remainaminorityinterest.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

23. Documentary and Commercial Success
Pitchingforthemasses
P L A Y C L I P N E X T S L I D E
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

24. Wormwood
NETFLIX
0:00 –2:44 mins
https://youtu.be/b01DL8DTUGM
2:44 mins
Playfromthebeginning

25. "And Ilovetheideaofmixing dramaand documentary.I lovebeingable toexplorenewwaysoftellingtruestoriesandexploring
themedium.Therearealotofdocumentarypuristswhoarestillinlovewitha handheldcamera,andbeinginthemiddleof
someongoingaction.Butit'sgoodtorememberthatthere'ssomethingspontaneousaboutagoodinterviewtoo,whenit's
happeningin frontofthecamera.And thereismostcertainlyanelementoftheunpredictableandthespontaneous."
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

26. I n t e r r o t r o n
An Interrotronis adevice (invented bylegendarydocumentaryfilmmaker ErrolMorris)thatcreatesaneyeline forasubjectto look
directlyintothe lens,andthuswhatis capturedisamoreintimateinterview thanthe typicaloff-cameraeye line thatismoreprevalent
in thedocumentaryworld.
P L A Y C L I P N E X T S L I D E
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

28. Fog of
War
0:00 –1:00 mins
https://youtu.be/SfPwR00HXM0
6:03 mins
Playfromthebeginning

29. Break downthesubject’s
emotionalbarriers.
TherealgeniusoftheInterrotronisthatit’satwo-waystreet:thesamemechanism
givestheintervieweecontinuouseyecontact withMorris,aswell.Nohiding
behindamonitorwhile lobbingawkwardquestionsforthisdirector
Morris,who’sknowntointerviewpeopleforliterallydozensofhours,
doesn’tfaketheintimacyyou seeoncamera.
It’stherealoutcomeofanintenselyhumanprocess —andthe
Interrotron’ssubtledesigngeniushumanizesthefilmmakingprocess
enoughtobreakdownthesubject’semotionalbarriers.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

30. Do we want more approaches like the one used by Errol
Morris
Sadtosay,thepracticesofmostnon-fictionfilmmakershavecontinuedunchangedsince
the1970’s.
Theessentialclaim thattraditionaldocumentaryfilmsmakeisthatthere's
unmediatedtruthherebecausethiswasnotscripted -becausethematerialsare"found
innature"-thus,thetextbuiltoutofthemistruthfulaswell

31. Thattruth claimisstill at the center of most documentary
work
Ifadocumentaryfilmmakertakesup historicalmaterials,itshouldn'tbetoproduce
and/orclaimtohaveproducedacomprehensivedescriptionofthemovementofevents,
butrathertoengagetheaudience

32. What Errol Morris offers is:
Breakingupthe comfortableandclassiccontractarrangementsthatthe
documentaryfilm usuallyproffersits audience.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

33. D o c u m e n t a r y
the documentary film is not a poorstep-sister to the fiction cinema of entertainment- rated as somehow
inadequate, as a lesser form
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

34. A note about Documentary filmmakers
Most don’texaminetheirtechniques in theoreticalormethodologicalterms.
Certainly,the commercial producersofdocumentaries(the networksand
cablecompanies) haveabsolutelynointerest in suchconsiderations.
Forindependentfilmmakers,productionis long, arduous,andusually
underfunded.
Simplyfinishing theworkandgetting it tothe publicis unbelievablydifficult.

35. A note about Documentary filmmakers
The "sexier" the film, the more likely one is to find
distribution opportunities, which are few and far
between.

36. ‘The actof killing’– ground breaking documentary
making method
USdocumentaryfilmmakers.JoshuaOppenheimer,thefilm’sTexas-borndirector,piecedtogethera budgetin
Denmark,Norway,andEngland,andspentnearlyadecadefilmingreenactmentsofgenocidebyactual
genocidaires.
Essentially,Oppenheimerwasaskingformoneytofundanartisticcollaborationwithmassmurderers.
P L A Y C L I P N E X T S L I D E
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

37. Act of
Killing
0:00 –2:30 mins
https://youtu.be/oZqEzIEWzPk
2:30 mins
Playfromthebeginning

38. “Whenever you talk tosomebody as ajournalist, they stage themselves for you. They think, ‘How doI
want tobe seen by the world?’ And we try toget pastthat andextract fromthose interviews
information that we can treat transparently. But we’re throwing away agreat resource. Because in
the moment ofsomeone presenting themselves, in that self consciousness, is something alsoworth
exposing: What is the image that they have ofthemselves?”
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

39. By indulging the egos ofdeath squad leaders, The Act ofKilling forced Indonesia tolook in the mirror
andsee a nation founded on mass murder.
AND THAT’S HOW YOU PITCH DOCUMENTARY TO THE MASSES
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

40. Reference:
• Shapiro,A.L.(1997).HowRealIstheRealityinDocumentaryFilm?JillGodmilow,in conversationwith
Ann‐LouiseShapiro.HistoryandTheory, 36(4),80-101.
• Scott,A.O.(2010).HowRealDoesItFeel?. TheHollywoodIssue.NewYorkTimesMagazine, 9.
• Ricciardelli,L.(2010).Documentaryfilmmakingin thepostmodernage:ErrolMorris& The Fogof
Truth.Studiesin DocumentaryFilm, 4(1), 35-50.
• Fallon,K. (2015).InterrogatingtheMedia:ErrolMorrisin theInformationAge.In Contemporary
Documentary(pp. 142-159).Routledge.
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

41. Web Resources
• https://archives.cjr.org/reality_check/oscar_nomination_the_act_of_killing.php
• https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/29/world/asia/indonesia-act-of-killing-bali/index.html
• https://www.fastcompany.com/1663105/errol-morriss-secret-weapon-for-unsettling-interviews-the-
interrotron
• https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/magazine/12Reality-t.html
• https://www.errolmorris.com/
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B

42. THANK
YOU
OPEN FOR QUESTIONS
S U N L I T S T U D I O F I L M C L U B