Nu Mettle

A recent spate of high-profile, commercially succesful non-fiction features has led some commentators to suggest that nu-documentary (or popumentary) is becoming the 'new blockbuster'. Niall Kitson chairs a discussion on the state of documentary with contributions from Sé Merry Doyle, Martina Durac, Andrew Keogh and Harvey O'Brien.

It's a hard thing at the best of times to argue about 'the state of the art' - especially when the medium up for discussion is rarely considered as such. In the case of documentary film the climate appears to be changing in its favour through a new generation of directors using the rules of drama and polemic to explore their subjects. But is this resurgent popularity due to the accessibility of the stories or the personalities behind them? And what will be the long-term effects of commercial success on the medium itself? Trying to sift their way through the recurring questions of form, content, voice and process four people in search of the truth met to discuss the here, the where and the why of documentary filmmaking. In attendance were Harvey O'Brien (O'Kane Centre for Film Studies, UCD), Andrew Keogh (Dog Media), Martina Durac and Sé Merry Doyle (Loopline Films) with Niall Kitson moderating for Film Ireland. While some judicious editing has been used we assure you the facts remain unchanged.

Niall Kitson: If it could be said the Eighties gave us the blockbuster and the Nineties independent cinema - is the Noughties the decade of the documentary?

Andrew Keogh: Well it certainly seems to be the case. There are a lot of high-profile documentaries out there right now finding their way into the multiplexes and it's not just Michael Moore. So, yes, on the surface anyway I would agree with that.

Harvey O'Brien: I would say it depends on your perspective. Crisis and opportunity are tied in very closely together on this because documentary is more visible than ever before and there is more reality TV than ever before. The question is how long the public are going to retain interest in what documentary film has to say. Are tastes broadening to accept documentary as another story-telling medium or will it be treated as an entertainment format like Big Brother, which people will get bored with in a short period of time. I think it will certainly survive but what form it will take is another matter.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 100