FULLY BOOKED Insight with Nick Fraser – Why Documentaries Matter

 

In the past two decades documentaries have become recognised as an innovative cultural form. Rather than just observing, they are now thought capable of creating change.

In a publication for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism entitled Why Documentaries Matter Nick Fraser, editor of the BBC’s prize-winning strand of international documentaries Storyville, looks at the history of documentaries, showing how definitions have changed – and the fragility of funding. If we want good documentaries, he concludes, we have to find ways of encouraging their creators.

Editor of BBC Storyville Nick Fraser will be discussing the evolution of documentary, its defining nature and the future for this form of storytelling.

“The rise of documentaries over the past two decades owes more to Nick Fraser than to any other single person. For so many of us who make non-fiction films, Nick’s peerless brand of tough love and mischievous curiosity have inspired us to aim higher as we try to promote greater understanding of the major events and issues of our time.”

– Eugene Jarecki, Documentary film maker