Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

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documentary film news VOL. 7 NO. 62 FEBRUARY 1948 EDITORIAL BOARD STEPHEN ACKROYD DONALD ALEXANDER MAX ANDERSON EDGAR ANSTEY GEOFFREY BELL KEN CAMERON PAUL FLETCHER SINCLAIR ROAD GRAHAME THARP BASIL WRIGHT EDITOR DAVIDH BOULTING SALES & ACCOUNTS PEGGY HUGHES Cover design by james boswell CONTEXTS This month's cover still is from Children Learning by Experience reviewed in this issue 13 14 15 16 17 Editorial Notes of the Month What shall it profit a man? Ken Cameron ... Graduation from Newsreel James Harris English Diary Arndt von Raul en) eld New Documentary Films Noted by DFN Reviewing Panel New Books on Film More New Films British Film Academy Children's Cinema D. George Bennell Correspondence ... Published every month by Film Centre ill Soho Sq. London \V1 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 125. SINGLE COPIES 1.5. ... 18 19 20 21 21 22 . 23 24 FEBRUARY FILLDYKE nriu dark, dank month of February is as good a time as any other to look around. There is quite a lot goii Parliament has debated the new Films Bill, and the I «mmittee of Inquiry is completing its investigations into the British Film Institute. Now there is the chance that the industry as a whole may be able to pull itself together and take real advantage of the opportunities offered hv the Films Bill and by the dollar-saving situation, however that works out. From the Film Institute inquiry we ma) hope for the creation, at long last, of a real centre and focus point for all those film activities which deal with the film as an art, as a social force and as an historical phenomenon. 1 1 is to be hoped incidentally that the new British Film Academy will prove a really vigorous and forthright weapon for all those in the trade itself who are tired of extravagance on the one hand and shoddy ideas on the other. As far as documentary is concerned the most important thing needed is a new and lively approach to the problems of tilm-production. We need fewer formula pictures, and more experiment, more reality (look at the Italian films), more social courage, and more gaiety and humour. One of the ways to achie\e this is to widen the horizon by making closer contacts with documentary workers in other countries. A good start in this direction was made during I 947, The setting up of the World Union of Documentary after the Brussels meeting was followed in this country' by the formation of a new organization called British Documentary, designed not only to look after our representation on WUD, but also to be a real actioncentre for all people connected with the documentary movement. Whether British Documentary succeeds will depend entirely on the amount of interest shown in it by its members, particularh the younger ones; and this in turn will depend on the film-making opportunities becoming a good deal more exciting than the> are at present. It w ill be important to seize every chance w hieh may be offered by the new Films Act for v oluntary as opposed to sponsored production. The development of the short-storv type of film along documentary lines for instance is long overdue. Meantime a close watch must be kept on the sponsored field, not least as far as the Government is concerned. Finally no one should forget that at Mexico Cit) the Mass Media side of UNESCO was beavfl) strengthened. In particular there is the plan tor international film production, b) which countries will be asked to produce films for an agreed programme of 48 films, di\ ided into eight series of six films each This countrv can make a big contribution to such a scheme, not only in terms of direct production but also by supplying technicians to othet countries ■ industries are not so full) developed as our own