What does it mean to write for documentaries? Alison Duke of Oya Media Group takes us through her experience co-writing and producing the television documentary Mr. Jane and Finch, directed by Ngardy Conteh George — a process that netted her the Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Writing.
We went in-depth into her commitment to honoring the truth of her subjects, the challenges of structuring a story as it unfolds in front of you, and some of the ethical quandaries that come with non-fiction filmmaking.
Our Canadian audience can check out Mr. Jane and Finch for free over at CBC Gems.
In this episode, we discuss:
Story structure in documentary films: what story do we tell, and how to we order our telling of it?
Generating suspense in documentaries.
Present-tense and past-tense storytelling.
The serendipitous nature of arriving at a subject when shooting a documentary.
Ethics of representation in documentaries.
Additional Resources:
Home Feeling: A Struggle for Community by Jennifer Hodge & Roger McTair
About Alison Duke
Co-founder of Oya Media Group, Alison Duke (aka “Golde”) is a storyteller in every sense of the word. Duke is known for telling compelling stories that illuminate history, document the present, and push the culture forward. As an artistic activist, award-winning filmmaker and passionate producer, Alison committed to boldly telling stories of resistance and change.
