The Documentary Film Movement is the group of British filmmakers, led by

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's '' ...

, who were influential in British film culture in the 1930s and 1940s.

Principles

The founding principles of the movement were based on Grierson's views of documentary film. He wished to use film to educate citizens in an understanding of democratic society.

History

The movement began at the Film Unit of the

Empire Marketing Board The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...

in 1930. The unit was headed by

, who appointed apprentices such as

Basil Wright Basil Charles Wright (12 June 1907 – 14 October 1987) was an English documentary filmmaker, film historian, film critic and teacher. Biography Basil Wright was born in Sutton, Surrey in 1907. After leaving Sherborne School, a well known i ...

, Arthur Elton,

Edgar Anstey Edgar Anstey (16 February 1907 – 26 September 1987), was a leading British documentary filmmaker. Anstey was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1907, and was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He ...

Stuart Legg Stuart Legg (31 August 1910 – 23 July 1988) was a pioneering English documentary filmmaker. At the 14th Academy Awards in 1941, Legg's National Film Board of Canada film '' Churchill's Island'' became the first-ever documentary to win an Oscar ...

Paul Rotha Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was an English documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Care ...

and

Harry Watt Raymond Egerton Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film '' The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into th ...

. These filmmakers were mostly young, middle-class, educated males with liberal political views. In 1933, the film unit was transferred to the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

. From 1936, the movement began to disperse and divisions emerged. Whereas previously the documentary film movement had been located in a single public sector organisation, it separated in the late 1930s into different branches, as filmmakers explored other possibilities for developing documentary film. By 1937, the movement was spread across four different production units: GPO,

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

(headed by Anstey), Strand (headed by Rotha) and Realist (led by Wright). In 1939, Grierson left Britain to work with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

, where he remained until 1945. In 1940, the GPO Film Unit was transferred to the Ministry of Information and renamed the Crown Film Unit.

External links

BFI Screenonline: Documentary
Movements in British cinema Documentary film organizations {{film-org-stub

Principles

History

See also

Further reading

External links