Documentary Film Festival

Action / Active

Documentaries that challenge you to actively engage with them and leave with a mindset of action.  

Curators statement

For this year’s film festival, we are using the theme action/active. Not in the sense of the genre, even if some of our selections have action elements, but instead looking at how it applies to you – our audience – in how you relate to films. Documentary is on the rise across streaming platforms, but as Lindahl (2021) comments while documentary is increasing on streamers we are going to see more shallow and salacious films built upon entertainment and not taking up the major issues of our time. They are encouraging passivity in audience – Netflix and chill – and not active engagement. As the world hurtles towards a future beset by climate breakdown, rising inequality and conflict we think it is vital documentary filmmaking tackles these societal challenges and encourages audiences to action. Through this program we are going to look at films that offer a more action orientated perspective on the world’s crisis’s, an historical from a previous generation of cinema that demanded an active audience and emerging forms filmmakers are experimenting with that treats audiences as active participants.

 

Right now, many people are feeling anxious and fearful with climate breakdown happening all around us and constant stories in the news about floods, bushfires, and other climate fuelled disasters. As Garad et al. (2021) writing in the conversation puts it “The high level of concern among young Australians (aged 18 to 34) is not surprising, as they’re inheriting the greatest existential crisis faced by any generation.” The way the mainstream media’s is covering this issue is causing many people to enter a state of doom scrolling that often leads to paralysis and passivity. We believe documentary film can play a role in challenging this passivity, as documentary director Damon Gameau (2022) said in an interview:

“In this time where we're so bombarded with dystopian stories or images of the future... All sorts of things are happening that affect people's capacity to process information, because it shuts down parts of our brain… Really, the narrative (especially in this country) should be addressing the opportunities we have (that are just remarkable).”

 

For this section of films, we are going to view films from practicing documentary film directors that are showing how the medium can take a counter point to the current 24hr news cycle of doom by taking aim at this nexus of not resigning ourselves to a dystopian future and instead educating and inspiring us into action. As documentarian Racheal Lears (2019) says about her approach to filmmaking:

“The ultimate goal is to make sure viewers come away with a sense that their voice matters—that by watching these ordinary people become transformed through organizing, people are inspired to participate however they feel called to do so.”

 

Crafting films with the intention of moving audiences to action isn’t a new idea and stretches back to the 1930’s as Baldwin (2014) says  “American filmmakers during the New Deal era had made some of the world's most powerful political docs. New York's Workers Film and Photo League brilliantly used newsreels to push political causes about people's rights.” For this next section we are going to screen a film coming out of the Third Cinema tradition in the 1970’s. Eileen Jones (2020) describes third cinema as “collaboratively made films dedicated to radical liberation movements.” Third Cinema filmmakers saw their films as counterposed to the entertainment of Hollywood and artistic expression of European auteurs. Third Cinema filmmakers would experiment with the films form and look at ways of engaging with an active audience – including in the screenings themselves by stopping the film at various points to elicit active audience participation. Following this tradition we are going to stop films at various points and have audience participation as the filmmakers indented.

 

For the final part of this festival we are going to be continuing this theme of active audience engagement as an antidote to what Mark Fisher (2009) describes as “‘interpassivity’: the film performs our anti-capitalism for us, allowing us to continue to consume with impunity.” He looks at a number of films that critique society - yet the audience walks away feeling fulfilled and not motivated to take action. This can be seen in the bingeing approach to watching documentary series on streaming platforms. To offer an alternative we are going to invite you our audience to engage with emerging forms of interactive films.

 

What is interactive film form? I hear you ask. Husak (2018) describes it as numerous people participating in the creation of a film such as uploading video accounts of an event that is organised in a central location that creates a sort of people’s history or perspective. In other words taking an active approach in the creation and distribution of the film. For this section we are going to be looking at an example of interactive storytelling and invite you to engage with it.

 

Through this program of films we hope it can lead you to re-imagining how you engage with documentaries in a more active style that leaves you feeling inspired and more connected to the world.

Reference List

  1. Lindahl, C. (2021, December 11). The Future of Documentary Filmmaking is Bright, But it Remains a High Risk Endeavour. IndieWire.  https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/the-future-of-documentary-filmmaking-1234673206/

  2. Garad, R. Enticott, J. Patrick, R. (2021, August 6). Australians are three times more worried about climate change than COVID. A mental health crisis is looming. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/australians-are-3-times-more-worried-about-climate-change-than-covid-a-mental-health-crisis-is-looming-165470

  3.  Allen, T. (2022, May 30). Damon Gameau On How Storytelling Can Inspire Collective Social Progress. Impact Boom. https://www.impactboom.org/blog/2022/5/30/damon-gameau-on-how-storytelling-can-inspire-collective-social-progress

  4.  Roy, N. (2019, November 11). Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: Rachel Lears. International Documentary Association. https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/emerging-documentary-filmmaker-award-rachel-lears

  5.  Baldwin, B. (2004, April 30). Docs That Make a Difference: The Politics of Political Documentaries. International Documentary Association. https://www.documentary.org/feature/docs-make-difference-politics-political-documentaries

  6. Jones, E. (2020, Winter). The Death of Revolutionary Film Form. Jacobin, 36, 90-96.

  7.  Fisher, M. (2009). Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? Zero Books.

  8.  Husak, A. (2018, Summer). Exercising Radical Democracy: The Crisis of Representation and Interactive Documentary as an Agent of Change. Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 15, 16–32.

Program Notes

For selecting films that correspond to theme of action or an active audience for the first section we themed it around climate change as we felt it was important to look at how different films complimented each other’s approach. While we could have looked at how films deal with issues such as labour rights, rising inequality or migration we felt climate breakdown was an issue where there has been a proliferation of documentaries in recent years and we wanted to explore the ones in this space that relate to audience taking action. It was also a good chance to show off a couple of Australia’s recent entries into this space compare with similar works coming out of Europe and the United States.

For our historical selection we wanted a film that has made an impact on cinema history whilst having some of the same ideas behind it as our more contemporary selections around wanting an active and as such we chose one that helped state the Third Cinema movement and is highly regarded in industry publications such as Sight and Sounds best films of all time.

Finally for our emerging style of filmmaking we went with a project that had both strong documentary film elements and included similar elements to some of our other selections around activism so you can imagine how they may have looked if they were reframed in a different form and if that would make you more or less likely to actively engage with them.

Films

1.     I Am Greta 2020 

For the start of the festival what better way to relate to the question of taking action in the face of doom scrolling than the inspiring story of school climate activist Greta Thunberg. Director Nathan Grossman followed Greta for years from her first strike’s outside Sweden’s parliament to leading some of the largest climate strikes giving us a raw look at the challenges Greta experiences behind the headlines. We hope this documentary that shows how one person channelled their fear of the climate future in action can be a metaphor for this festival.

2.     Wild Things 2020 

The problem with figures like Greta Thunberg is what they do is so incredible and can seem larger than life – a superhero and not an everyday person whose footsteps and actions we can follow. So we are pairing I Am Greta 2020 with Wild Things 2020, which includes a sweet moment when a couple of school climate strikers from Australia get to see Greta speaking in New York and feel inspired to continue their activism. Along with footage of diverse activists in involved in ongoing environmental campaigns in Australia and archival footage of successful campaigns we hope it can spark you to imagine yourself taking the same actions as the participants in the documentary.

3.     2040 2019 

Staying with Australian documentaries we are going to screen 2040 where director Damon Gameau travels the world looking at solutions to the climate crisis including localized energy grids in Bangladesh, self-driving electric cars in Europe and sustainable farming practices in Australia among others. This documentary shows how the medium can be used to give audiences hope for the future through an active narrative as Gameau says “It’s not enough just to wake people up and remind them of something. You’ve also got to help them take action and do something about it, as opposed to just watching it passively and then flicking on to the next thing.”

4.     To the End 2022 

Having great ideas for the future – even achievable ones shown in 2040 2019 – is only a first step and history is littered with good ideas not implemented due to politics. This is why we are pairing 2040 2019 with To the End 2022 where director Rachael Lears follows the campaign for a Green New Deal in the United States for two years. We get to see the inner workings from organising meetings, go backstage at major events, taking part in protests, observe debates in the movement and witness its success and failures. By the end of the film you should feel invigorated to have a discussion on how to build a movement.

5.     Hour of the Furnaces 1968 

Our historical selection is the revolutionary Hour of the Furnaces 1968 that makes the argument for people to become involved in national liberation movements in South America. It made Sight and Sounds 2012 poll of greatest films of all time with critic Nicole Brenez writing “The film is not just an act of courage, it’s also a formal synthesis, a theoretical essay and the origin of several contemporary image practices.” The filmmakers of Hour of the Furnaces 1968 would hold screenings where they explicitly asked the audience to have an active role – including stopping the film at various points, helped by the fact it was structured into chapters, for discussion. In the spirit of the film and exploring being an active audience we will be stopping the film and asking you to take part in discussion.

6.   Filming Revolution 2015  

Moving from the past to emerging forms of documentary filmmaking we are going to be exploring Filming Revolution 2015 a meta or collaborative documentary assembled by Alisa Lebow that creates a people’s history of the Egyptian revolution in 2011. The project compiles videos from numerous filmmakers, activists and citizens to paint a picture of the protests, how people related to them and the links between the videos. Audiences are encouraged to build a “pathway” from the tapestry of video clips – in a sense creating their own documentary with their perspective. We believe there is a lot of potential in interactive media to break audience passivity and become more active audiences. We will be crafting a few “pathways” in a special session and encouraging others to do the same.

Audience Statement

We see this festival as appealing to younger generations concerned about their future and climate breakdown. Those that often read the news and take part in doom scrolling yet are seeking an alternative, something different. A slate of films featuring young, relatable, activists will hopefully act as drawcard.

By being a documentary festival with a classic of the genre coupled with recent films from growing names in the genre it should also appeal to the older academic crowd that often seek out documentaries and want to increase their understanding of the world.

Additionally, our focus on ways filmmakers can engage with a more active – instead of passive – audience in documentary form should appeal to screen practitioners who are interested in exploring emerging trends in filmmaking.