Directing the Documentary, 5th Edition

Chapter 1The Director’s Role

Who Makes Documentary and Why

Go to any documentary festival and you will see that filmmakers are a varied lot—old, young, shy, outgoing, haunted, introverted, extroverted, large, and small. Most are friendly, unassuming, and very approachable. You quickly feel at home with them, because they say profound things through their films, yet remain unassuming and natural. Their films—long and short—take you on magic journeys into hidden or unexpected worlds. A 12-minute piece like Pawel Lozinski’s The Sisters (1999, Poland; Figure 1-1) shows nothing more than two elderly ladies arguing on a courtyard bench. The elder wants the younger to walk and exercise her hip implant; the younger smilingly evades her every entreaty. ...