The Documentary Film Movement is the group of British filmmakers, led by
John Grierson
John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...
, who were influential in British film culture in the 1930s and 1940s.
Principles
The founding principles of the movement were based on Grierson's views of documentary film. He wished to use film to educate citizens in an understanding of democratic society.
History
The movement began at the Film Unit of the
Empire Marketing Board
The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...
in 1930. The unit was headed by
John Grierson
John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...
, who appointed apprentices such as
Basil Wright
Basil Wright (12 June 1907, Sutton, Surrey – 14 October 1987, Frieth, Buckinghamshire, England) was a documentary filmmaker, film historian, film critic and teacher.
Biography
After leaving Sherborne School, a well known independent schoo ...
,
Arthur Elton,
Edgar Anstey
Edgar Anstey (16 February 1907 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England – 26 September 1987 in London, England), was a leading British documentary film-maker.
Anstey was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He spen ...
,
Stuart Legg,
Paul Rotha
Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic.
Early life and education
He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Career ...
and
Harry Watt
Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty.
His 1959 film ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the 9th Berlin Inter ...
. These filmmakers were mostly young, middle-class, educated males with liberal political views. In 1933, the film unit was transferred to the
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
.
From 1936, the movement began to disperse and divisions emerged. Whereas previously the documentary film movement had been located in a single public sector organisation, it separated in the late 1930s into different branches, as filmmakers explored other possibilities for developing documentary film. By 1937, the movement was spread across four different production units: GPO,
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
(headed by Anstey), Strand (headed by Rotha) and Realist (led by Wright).
In 1939, Grierson left Britain to work with the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
, where he remained until 1945. In 1940, the GPO Film Unit was transferred to the
Ministry of Information and renamed the Crown Film Unit.
See also
*''
Documentary News Letter
''Documentary News Letter'' was a magazine about documentary film founded by filmmaker John Grierson. The publication was developed as the wartime successor to ''World Film News'', which ceased publication in 1938, and sought to promote a "docum ...
''
Further reading
*Aitken, Ian (ed.), ''The Documentary Film Movement: An Anthology'' (Edinburgh, 1998)
*Aitken, Ian, ''Film and Reform: John Grierson and the Documentary Film Movement''
*
Fox, Jo, 'John Grierson, his "documentary boys" and the British Ministry of Information', ''
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', 25 (2005), pp. 345–369
*Hood, Stuart, 'John Grierson and the documentary film movement', in James Curran and Vincent Porter (eds.), ''British Cinema History''
*Sussex, Elizabeth, ''The Rise and Fall of British Documentary: The Story of the Film Movement Founded by John Grierson''
*Swann, Paul, ''The British Documentary Film Movement, 1926-1946''
External links
BFI Screenonline: Documentary
Movements in cinema
Documentary film organizations
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