Eliminating mediocre docudramas from the genre “documentaries” is hardly 
narrowing the definition. I dislike the D-word, perhaps because it has become 
meaningless due to arguments like this. 

I prefer the term “non-fiction.”

Punishment Park is a somewhat clueless exercise using actors, um, enunciating 
their “feelings,” as you point out. 

I suppose one could view it as a “documentary” about actors exploring their 
“feelings,” but it fails as that. 

This reminds me of the Academy awarding “Best Documentary” to a Wolper-produced 
insect-fear film called The Hellstrom Chronicles.  I suppose the insect footage 
might be “real.”  But little else. 

The late-60s and early 70s spawned a lot of faux-documentaries, or films that 
coopted that era’s non-fiction style. Is FACES a documentary?  Wanda?  The 
Candidate?  What about Spinal Tap?

I realize that few people care about these distinctions anymore.  

Jeff Kreines
Kinetta
[email protected]
kinetta.com

Sent from iPhone. 

> On Jul 10, 2018, at 3:43 PM, Scott MacDonald <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Naaah, Punishment Park is not just faux doc style applied to fiction. Watkins 
> devised a fictional situation (based on aspects of the political reality of 
> that moment and a premonition of where reality might go next, as of 1970), 
> set up so that actors playing their real ideological selves (that is, cast to 
> play themselves and improvise their own dialogue) could enunciate what they 
> were actually feeling in 1971 and have their impassioned arguments with each 
> other documented--as the war in Vietnam continued.
> 
> I don't think Sonya is looking for a narrow definition of "documentary." 
> 
>> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 3:47 PM, Jeff Kreines <[email protected]> wrote:
>> None of those Peter Watkins films are documentaries. Faux-documentary style 
>> applied to fiction does not a documentary make.  You should know better. 
>> 
>> Jeff Kreines
>> Kinetta
>> [email protected]
>> kinetta.com
>> 
>> Sent from iPhone. 
>> 
>>> On Jul 10, 2018, at 2:09 PM, luis ? <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 25Cines/seg (2017) Luis Macías
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> El mar., 10 jul. 2018 a las 20:17, Jeff Kreines (<[email protected]>) 
>>>> escribió:
>>>> Demon Lover Diary, by Joel DeMott. 
>>>> 
>>>> Jeff Kreines
>>>> Kinetta
>>>> [email protected]
>>>> kinetta.com
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from iPhone. 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jul 10, 2018, at 12:22 PM, Sonya Mladenova <[email protected]> 
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Looking for documentary films shot with/within a group of people engaged 
>>>>> in an activity or some kind of project, independently or in an organized 
>>>>> environment, in which the filmmaker is a visible and/or an active 
>>>>> participatory presence. I'm especially interested in films from the last 
>>>>> 25-30 years. I'm investigating the relationship between the filmed 
>>>>> person(s) and the person(s) filming, whatever the configuration.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Somes examples, but not limited in scope:
>>>>> Starless Dreams by Mehrdad Oskouei 
>>>>> À ciel ouvert by Mariana Otero
>>>>> La moindre des choses by Nicolas Philibert
>>>>> 
>>>>> Many many thanks,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sonya
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> FrameWorks mailing list
>>>>> [email protected]
>>>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> FrameWorks mailing list
>>>> [email protected]
>>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> FrameWorks mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> FrameWorks mailing list
>> [email protected]
>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
>> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> FrameWorks mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
_______________________________________________
FrameWorks mailing list
[email protected]
https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks

Reply via email to