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COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTARY
H. BRUCE WOOLFE
Formerly of British Instructional Films and now Chief of G.-B. Instructional
What is a documentary film? Some people declare it is any film that is non-fictional. With this definition I disagree. In the first place, I know many films that are non-fictional which, in my opinion, are not documentary. Secondly, I maintain that if a film contains fictional elements it does not necessarily become declassed as documentary. On the contrary, I believe that the addition of judicious fiction may considerably increase both the aesthetic value and the point of a film that in the main deals with a non-fictional subject. Further, I maintain that, to get the greatest appreciation from the greatest number of people, judicious fiction is necessary. If I were permitted to apply the word documentary to plays, I should describe several of Shakespeare's histories as documentary; and Shakespeare, being no mean craftsman, never hesitated to employ fiction when dealing with a documentary subject.
The documentary film at its best should depict phases of life and jobs of work as they are done by some portion of our people. By passing this knowledge on to other sections of the community it is definitely doing good work and making a contribution to our national life. By getting knowledge of how other sections of our countrymen work and live we are getting a better understanding of their outlook. No other medium can do this in anything like the same way as the film. I believe that documentary films should be strictly national and that only by being so will they be welcomed by other nations. I do not believe in internationalism in films, having seen the results that have attended the production of bi-lingual, multi-lingual and foreign co-operation productions in the past. Internationalism in Europe during the last ten years has had no better result than has attended internationalism in films. Likewise I believe that documentary films should show the efforts made by all classes in the advancement of our country and not be confined to one class only.
With these ideas firmly implanted in my mind as the result of experience and observation, I have recently put into production a film that will deal with interdependence within the Empire. It shows how co-operation is essential between the Mother Country and the Dominions, and how, in furthering that co-operation, Brains
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