Project Nim (2011)

This new documentary from director James Marsh tells the story of a chimpanzee called Nim who in the 1970s was part of a language and communication experiment to establish if chimps could learn to communicate with humans through sign language.

Marsh uses extensive archive footage and photos coupled with interviews from key people present throughout the experiment. This is a return to the style that Marsh used so effectively while making the Oscar winning Man on Wire and it is something he clearly does very well. The brief use of short reconstructive sequences works well as a glue to bond the footage together without being imposing enough to bring any of the story into doubt.

While the construction is seamless, its the stories that develop which are this films best attribute. While Nim drives the footage early on, it is the people who really captivate the viewer. Marsh chronicles mistake after mistake made be people whose on ambition, selfishness and sometimes stupidity leave the viewer in disbelief regarding the treatment of an animal. I read that this film has become more a film about human nature than animal rights or academic research and thats exactly what this is.

My Big Fat Influential Gypsy Wedding

It's that time of year again and the second best of all the national newspaper lists, (the first being the Sunday Times Rich List) The Media Guardians Top 100 most influential people in the British Media.

No real revelations apart from a rather questionable entry in at 100, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and The Only Way is Essex. Im not judging, (as I have recently jokingly refereed to such television programmes as low brow) but in what has been a strong 12 months for factual television where do such examples stand? Both shows received criticisms for effectively scripting the story lines and presenting themselves as documentaries. However, this is no worse than films such as Exit Through a Gift Shop, Catfish or Im Still Here whose representations of the truth have also been questioned. What such television shows have done is bring "documentaries" to large audiences (8 million people tuned in for My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) Not only that but both shows also create insightful debate and discussions around what people should expect from factual programming.

These programmes may have been certainly been influential and even damaging in terms of stereotyping groups of people, but they may have also been incredibly influential in the direction of documentaries on british television.

To the Right

Stephen Bannon's documentary The Undefeated (2011) opened in cinemas across the U.S this weekend taking a rather respectable $75,000. Admittedly I did expect more from the conservative film makers portrait of Sarah Palin, once the darling of the American right now on the verge of major TV stardom or the presidential elections 2012.

Its good to see this film out there and I commend Bannon, who in a recent interview identified the need for the right wing media to catch up with that of the left. Liberal film makers are streets ahead of their conservative counterparts in factual film making and in my opinion it is absolutely essential that the right starts to rectify this situation.

At time of publication the film only scores 1.5 on the IMDb rating and reportedly even less on rottontomatoes.com but I think thats besides the point. A figure such as Palin polarises opinions a point which is made more evident by Nick Broomfield's reported yet secretive upcoming documentary focusing on the same figure. Undoubtably Broomfield's film will receive stronger reviews, thats a fact, a sign of a more experienced film maker with an incredible reputation pitching a film to a more likeminded audience

Broomfield's doc will be no less one sided than Bannon's though, it will represent Palin from the view of a liberal film maker for a liberal audience. Palin and other republicans such as Michele Bachmann have reignited the conservative right of America and I believe that now is time for the right conservative film makers and audience to begin a counter.

The Salesman

Ok so I have a finished film, some work experience that Im rather proud of under my belt but now Im worried that everything is coming to a screaming halt around me. With a hectic past few months having plenty to keep me occupied I now need to join thousands of other in the job market.

I have been here once before, at the end of my BA the big bad world was a daunting place. I found a job for a local newspaper selling advertising. It was never what I wanted to do but it was a job that paid well and gave me a car. A week or so later everything went wrong with the banks and suddenly this difficult job got even harder. Im not a quitter though and as others were being made redundant I hung on and battled through. Foolishly I was ashamed of being a salesman, in hindsight there was no tougher welcome to the world of work. The Maysles brothers who made the film Salesman (1968) were of the opinion that everyone should be a salesman at some point. In two years of advertising sales I learnt a great deal about people and how to communicate. Sales gives such a solid foundation not based on fuss or praise but head down and work hard. I found this difficult initially, and I believe there is a place for praise in the workplace of course there is but for a fresh faced youngster its probably good to get the stuffing knocked out of you too.

During two years of selling I still knew it wasn't what I wanted to do, I wanted to create, I wanted challenges and experiences in my work life, variation. Applying for my Masters was the best move I have ever made. Although making documentaries had never really figured on my to do list, I loved watching them and the process filled the criteria of what I wanted in my work life.

So now I am to start the whole process again, this time not as wet behind the ears, but still keen to work hard to progress. I think its going to be a lot more difficult this time around.

Paper Work

After finishing the edit for the documentary Last Tango in Prestwich the film has needed to be prepared for broadcast on Manchester's one and only Channel M. We have run into some rather significant problems not helped by the fact that since finishing my mind has gone onto other important work, (and holidays/festivals.)

Issues with broadcast specifications were sorted relatively easily, however more complicated issues of consent and music have been more difficult to overcome. I am confident that we will get these issues sorted before the impeding deadlines for the documentary to be broadcast before the end of the year. Nevertheless this does give mea valuable lesson, I know now to ensure that all paper work is water tight preventing any sudden changes of heart.

Tea Dancing

So for the last few months, I have been shooting a film about the immensely popular past time of tea dancing. Essentially this consists of old people (although not always) socialising by drinking tea and dancing, in dimly lit dance halls at about one in the afternoon three or four times a week.

A description like that filled me with horror at the prospect of creating a half hour documentary about these people and this past time, however, this is not a film about old folks shuffling, it is filled with, determination, fantasy and even petty teenage jealousy. The people we have met are so full of spirit, and wonder, completely flying in the face of what I imagined before starting out.

We have just finished filming and now embark on the task of bringing all our subjects together into a story that will captivate an audience just like these people have captivated us.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

So as the dust has settled and the red carpet has been rolled away, Banksy has no Academy Award. It would have been interesting to see how the elusive artist would collect the gold statue in front of the worlds' gaze but I guess we will never know.

I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) recently not knowing very much about the film or its background. As far as I was aware it was a film about some guy making a film about Banksy. What I watched on this level of ignorance was a fine documentary that was complex and eye opening about the secretive world of street artists, the flippant nature of contemporary art and the iron fisted security of Disney Land. I watched the film and was very impressed, the hype was justified and then I wanted to find out more.

Recently Thierry Guetta accepted an award on behalf of Banksy for the film at the Independent Spirit Awards in California. This seems an odd thing considering Guetta a.k.a Mr Brainwash seemingly annoyed Banksy considerably through his behaviour in the film. It seems that there is something else going on in Exit Through the Gift Shop. Many people now believe that Guetta and Banksy have constructed the rise of Mr Brainwash in an attempt to show the problems with fashionable art and the money that is spent on what is in vogue.

This then leads to questions regarding this documentary film and the truth. If the events are constructed does the film lend itself to being a true representation of events? Does this really matter? Although the primary vehicle of the film may be constructed, the message that it consequently provokes is certainly not. This film raises real issues relevant about how many times art can reference itself and others and still remain creative. And also when the rest of the world is facing financial hardship, prices of multi coloured skulls and tomato soup spray paints are higher than ever.