Global Documentary Industry Leaders Talk Equity in Nonfiction Filmmaking at Cannes Docs
In a global context described by some as the Golden Age of documentary and by others as the Corporate Age of documentary, the Marché du Film’s Cannes Docs sidebar dedicated its May 20 talk to the question of a “Universal Values System in Documentary: Dismantling Borders for Greater Equity.”
Moderated by Devika Girish, editor of New York-based Film Comment magazine, the high-level panel included Alemberg Ang from Filipino production house Daluyong Studios; Chinese filmmaker and artist Viv Li; Chicken & Egg Pictures Program Director Kiyoko McCrae; and Adam Piron, director of the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program.
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Opening the talk, Girish invited panelists to share a documentary they would describe as a model of ethical filmmaking.
For Piron, it was the debut feature of American visual artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka, “Malni – Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore,” an experimental work about the origin of the death myth of the Chinookan people in the Pacific Northwest.
“Being indigenous myself, the question for me is: whose community are you going into, what access do you have, what can you show or not? It raises so many questions, because Sky is not indigenous to that region. How can we tell our own stories? What’s the protocol?” he asked, opening up the conversation.
Ang cited a film he recently produced, “Tens Across the Border,” about the underground voguing and ballroom scenes in Southeast Asia. “My director wanted our profiles to sign a clause allowing them to pull out of the project any moment they felt their lives were threatened,” he explained.
While she said she was spoiled for choice, McCrae was keen to plug Chicken & Egg awardee “Your Fat Friend” by Jeanie Finlay, about body-positive blogger, activist and author Aubrey Gordon. McCrae praised Finlay’s transparency about the difficulties of filmmaking and her success in connecting with audiences.
“Jeanie has been very creative about distribution, the way she’s been connecting with audiences all over the UK, the US, and soon all over the world. She’s also been thinking creatively, not just about production but about engaging with the audience: she has been contacting cinemas and asking about their seat sizes to understand whether it’s going to be a safe place for audiences,” said McCrae.
On the question of defining a vocabulary of consent, McCrae highlighted the work of the U.S.-based Documentary Accountability Working Group, dedicated to promoting care and accountability within nonfiction filmmaking.
According to her, responsible filmmaking is down to clearly defining the roles throughout the filmmaking process. “It’s not just about a feedback screening. It’s much more than that: it’s about dialogue throughout the process, always going back to check for consent, really defining what your role is together so that you know what you’re looking for in the feedback.”
For Li, whose short “Across the Waters” is nominated for the short film Palme d’Or, the idea is to make the camera disappear and be in front of the camera herself – “I am as vulnerable as the protagonists” – to get the footage she wants. “But I agree that you need to discuss with them afterwards and share with them, it’s a very sensitive stage when you show them your footage,” she said.
In response to the recurring question of a filmmaker’s legitimacy in shooting a community as an outsider, responsible filmmaking is about the aptitude for self-reflection, said McCrae.
“We [at Chicken & Egg] do believe that filmmakers who are not from the community can tell stories responsibly. It’s about the investment you make in understanding, the awareness of your own lens and of where the gaps are in your understanding,” she explained.
“That might mean bringing on a producer or a co-director who can identify our shortcomings, finding who we need to lean on for support to educate ourselves, and bringing that awareness to be more ethical and more responsible.”
Wrapping up the talk, the question of potential damage documentaries can do to communities was raised. McCrae concluded: “Documentaries are not inherently good or bad; they are tools.
“What’s important is the transparency in your intention: it can be a tool for entertainment, it can be a tool for profit, it can be a tool for social change – it can be so many things, and the danger is in the assumption that we’re doing good work. That has to be interrogated. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
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