Documentary
Consent, safety and anonymity when filming survivors
How documentary makers can protect survivors of violence on camera: ongoing consent, the right to withdraw, disguise methods, secure footage and aftercare.
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Indigenous documentary in Canada, from Obomsawin to a new generation
From Alanis Obomsawin and the Indian Film Crew to Isuma and Tasha Hubbard, a short history of Indigenous documentary in Canada and where to start watching.
Read the pieceWelcome to Frames North
We write about documentaries and independent films the way a good programmer talks about them in the lobby: what the film is actually doing, who made it and how, and why it might be worth your evening. Some pieces are reviews and essays, some are practical guides to festivals, funding and the craft, and a fair number come back to Canadian screens, where so much of the world’s documentary tradition was invented.
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Filmmaking Craft
Editing a documentary: finding the story in 200 hours of footage
An editor's method for shaping 200 hours of documentary footage into a film: logging, selects, paper edits, structure, honest cutting and when to lock.
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Canadian Cinema
Quebec's direct cinema and the handheld revolution
How Michel Brault, Gilles Groulx and Pierre Perrault took light cameras and live sound into Quebec life, and how cinéma direct differs from vérité.
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Culture
Songs from the sidewalk: music documentaries and the street
Music documentaries about buskers and outsiders: how they record sound on the street, the ethics of filming people without homes, and three films to start.
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Festivals & Distribution
After the premiere: the long life of an independent documentary
Sales agents, broadcast windows, streamers, classrooms, impact screenings and archives: how an independent documentary keeps working after its premiere.
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Culture
Rep cinemas and film societies: how small screens survive
How repertory cinemas and film societies keep going on members, volunteers, smart programming and good rooms, plus a plain guide to starting your own.
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