Tools of Directing Documentary 2

Subject is not scheduled Not scheduled

Code Completion Credits Range Language Instruction Semester
311TDD2 credit 2 2 hours (45 min) of instruction per week, 29 to 39 hours of self-study English summer

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Department

The subject provides FAMU International

Contents

The list of documentaries is going to be given on a weekly base prior to the class.

Larger exposure to short films.

Learning outcomes

The advanced course Tools of Directing Documentary 2 focuses on the analysis of documentary cinema by acknowledged independent directors, whose original contemporary works have been presented in the documentary festival circuit.

Not representing the mainstream approach to documentary, but rather investigating important issues and exploring complex forms, their films inspire the students by challenging their perspective on „what is independent documentary cinema nowadays“, in its variety of forms.

Going beyond the classical modes of documentary, the course explores the panorama of filmmakers who stood out for their talent in approaching new topics, and brave choices of representation, often characterized by a high degree of ambiguity and arguably success.

The goal is to reflect on the relationship between form and subject, in terms of cinematic language, experimentation with the form, always raising disputable questions about authenticity, stylization and topic choice.

How to distinguish a relevant topic? How to approach it possibly in a new form?

Is the chosen form appropriate to the subject? On which elements did the author fail/succeed?

The selection of films aims to present controversial works, whose impact and degree of success is disputable.

In this more difficult field of representation Tools of Directing Documentary 2 searches to raise awareness and discussion on the contemporary documentary scenario.

Prerequisites and other requirements

Previously acquired knowledge in documentary making.

Preferably completion of Tools of Documentary Directing 1.

Literature

Guy Gauthier - Le documentarie un autre cinéma

Bill Nichols - Introduction to documentary

Bill Nichols - Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary

Evaluation methods and criteria

Conditions to successful completion are active participation to discussions, attendance (max 3 absences) and a written essay of minimum 2 pages (1800 characters per page) on one or more documentaries presented during the course. Focusing on the analysis a few scenes is strongly recommended. No synopsis or mere description of the scene.

Note

francescomontagner17@gmail.com

Further information

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans