Component 2b — Documentary Film (Filmmakers’ Theories)

“To what extent can it be said that your chosen documentary is shaped by the filmmaker’s approach? Refer to at least one filmmaker’s theory you have studied.”

The term ‘documentary’ film is a very broad genre and could be argued that every film is a documentary. Bill Nichols explains his theory that “all films are documentaries” as they either fit into the “wish fulfillment” or “social representation” category, identifying how fiction films seek to portray something the audience desires whereas a documentary film focuses on the reality of the subject matter without manipulation to appease the desires of the audience. Nichols defines the multiple styles of documentary filmmaking as the “six modes of documentary”, reflecting how each individual filmmaker approaches the film.

argued that every film is a documentary, bill Nichols, broad genre

Kim Longinotto is a documentary filmmaker who is well known for featuring themes of female oppression and discrimination throughout her films, with a style of filmmaking that allows her to focus on the lives of those who have been exploited and without any rights, constructing an argument based on the harsh personal experiences of others that she shares on screen. Longinotto uses aspect of cinema verite in her films, choosing this style of filmmaking as she believes that we make films based on the types of people we are and so the style of filmmaking she adopted came automatically to her as she feels uncomfortable asking people to do things for the camera, preferring to make films as if she is making it with them whilst they carry on with their normal daily lives whilst she continues her own. She adopts this approach so that people in her film feel that’s its their film as well as hers so that they have complete control of their own stories without manipulation, having the effect of giving her films a unique style, with a editing that appears natural and not forced whilst showing a realistic depiction of the people she is filming through their performances. Her main focus in her films is suffering and defiance, portraying women and girls who she describes as ‘rebels’ who fight for their rights, recognising that while she isn’t able to change the law, her objective is to create a different mentality in all cultures about the mindset towards different groups of people, aiming to make the audience take something away from the film that they will do with their own life.

Longinotto’s style is evident across all her films, especially in ‘Sisters in Law’, where two women in Cameroon work together in a small courthouse to help women in their village who have been perpetrated and feel as though they don’t have a voice. The presence of cinema verite is present throughout the film but is most notable in the courthouse trial scenes. Lum Rose, auntie of Manka, a young girl who had been beaten by her that left her permanently scarred is put on trial for which she is jailed for a combined 4 years with hard labour on 3 counts. The scene requires a multi-cam setup that focuses on each of the key people, the lawyer, judge, Manka, Lum and the people who are witnessing the trial. Longinotto’s favoured style of remaining behind the camera without directly interacting with the people she is focusing on allows for the events depicted on screen to transpire in a more realistic way as if the audience are present at the hearing, allowing us to sympathise more with certain characters and feel resentful towards others. Furthermore, it shows the audience the discrimination against women, showing real conversation without interrupting the people in the scene to achieve a realistic depiction of what they are feeling.

The observational mode of documentary that best fits with Longinotto’s style of filmmaking is often referred to as ‘fly on the wall’ documentary as the filmmaker just sits and observes the events; however, Longinotto doesn’t feel the expression truly reflect the filmmakers process, believing it to sound as though the filmmaker is a non-feeling person that coldly observes. She challenges this as she prefers when people acknowledge her presence as then it a appears like a play within a play as people are speaking to her but they are also directly speaking to the audience too in order to trigger a greater reaction from the audience. A divorce proceeding undertaken by Amina against her brutal husband after she had been beaten and abused demonstrates the characters’ awareness of the camera in the room. Several men sitting across from her in the divorce court are shown to have originally taunted her about what her husband might do to her if he should return, asking explicit details about their sexual relationship, however after Amina is successful in getting a divorce they say how happy they are for her in an attempt to appeal to the audience that they were never on the husband’s side, giving the impression that they were aware of the camera throughout and changed their persona to appear favourable and yet when looking closely, when they are engaged in an argument against the change that is being forced on them by Amina, they move in and out of awareness, revealing their true attitudes and a more realistic representation of themselves as they believe that no one is watching, which allows the audience to come to a reasonable conclusion on their willingness to support women based on Longinotto’s ability to capture the events whilst not intruding on them.

Due to her combination of observational style of documentary and the use of cinema verite, Longinotto creates a style unique to her films that position the audience as spectators of everyday life without feeling as though what is being presented has been manipulated to improve or decrease the perception of certain people. Should another well known documentary filmmaker attempt to recreate her film the same effect on the audience would not be present. For example. Michael Moore is notorious for his participatory style documentaries which involve engaging with the vents he is showing and having a direct impact on them, often becoming the most celebrated part about the film. Sisters in Law creates the effect that everything is occurring as they would naturally in every day life which by talking to and engaging with people, to encourage them to say or do something, the film loses an integral aspect of itself in that what the audience watches, can be taken away from the film and acted upon in our own lives.