Observations & Obligations in Documentary Filmmaking

Observations & Obligations | Press Release | On Livestream

Friday, June 5, 2015
6:30 pm

A group of documentary filmmakers sit down for a panel discussion about responsibility and obligation when shooting the lives of others, and how new technologies blur the line between observing and participating.

Who owns the image of a person?

What is our role when we are hired to capture and expose the lives of others?

When we go to remote places to observe and document people with whom we don’t share a language or cultural ties, do we create a form of visual colonialism?

Moral dilemmas arise constantly when we take on the responsibility to accurately portray a character’s life. In the editing room we shape the story of a subject in their absence and we then air this film which exposes their personal lives, but our responsibility to our characters afterwards remains unclear. New technology is reshaping the civic obligation of bearing witness, which has been traditionally the role of the documentary filmmaker. With this in mind, we must ask ourselves– what would happen if we were to put down the camera and get involved? Do we need to redefine what documentary film is?

Please join several seasoned filmmakers as they open up a dialogue to discuss their role as an observer in current documentary filmmaking.

Martina Radwan
Martina Radwan is currently in post-production for her latest directorial film, The Roar of a Lion Cub. Martina’s cinematography credits include Saving Face (2013 Emmy for Best Documentary and Nominee for Outstanding Cinematography),Through a Lens Darkly, and Hot Coffee.

Kirsten Johnson
Kirsten Johnson is a cinematographer and director currently editing A Blind Eye, a documentary that investigates her relationship as a cinematographer to those she films. Her credits include Academy Award Winner Citizen Four, The Invisible War, and the Sundance Film Festival’s Thurgood Marshall Award recipient, Deadline.

Tony Gerber
Tony Gerber is a two-time Emmy recipient and has written and directed over a dozen documentaries for National Geographic. His credits include The Notorious Mr. Bout (Sundance 2014) and Full Battle Rattle (SXSW ’08 Special Jury Prize).

Judy Karp
Judy Karp has travelled around the world recording sound on documentaries and independent feature films for over 30 years. Her credits include Citizen Four, 1971, Paris is Burning, The War Room, Hotel Terminus and seven feature films with John Sayles.