The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 314 Educational Screen The Film and International Understanding United Nations Film Coverage Policy THE following information, obtained from official United Nations sources, will be of interest to all who are concerned with the availability and use of film footage on the proceedings of the United Nations. The production policy of th^ Film Section of the United Nations is not to enter into competition with existing film companies, but merely to produce and make available (largely to the ready and interested non-theatrical market), basic films which are of the same relative nature as a press release, emphasizing authenticity, objectivity, and the United Nations viewpoint. This consideration of the film record as a documentary record comparable to the written or printed word is commendable and advanced thinking in the field of the function of the film in our civilization. This point of view is emphasized by the editing procedure for film footage on the London Conferences and the New York Security Council meetings. The material on the London and New York meetings is being edited as an official documentary film record of the proceedings for the United Nations own archives. The footage also is being catalogued as a basis for building up a film library for the Film Section of the United Nations. In addition, a short film on the nature, structure and meaning of the United Nations General Assembly is being produced, to be available before the ne.xt meeting of the Assembly. Filming Facilities The care taken to make this film record adequate is evidenced by the provisions which were made for filming both the London and New York meetings. At London an international newsreel pool was set up. British Paramount News filmed the Conference (including meetings of the Executive Committee, Preparatory Commission, General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council) for the pool. This footage was available to all the United Nations, a number of whom made use of the service, including Canada, Australia, China, India, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, and the United States. The Crown Film Unit, working in cooperation with the British Ministry of Information, filmed additional footage, over and above the newsreel coverage, in order to make a full documentary film record. This coverage included closeups of speeches by committee chairmen, summarizing various technical asjiects of the work of the Preparatory Commission and the General Assembly. All facilities for filming in London were carefully planned to achieve an intelligent balance between the necessity for obtaining full coverage and for doing so in an unobtrusive, discreet manner in keejjing with the dignity and gravity of the occasion. In New York installations of filming facilities at Hunter College were planned and built in along with other installations in the Council Chamber. An inter DR. JOHN E. DUGAN, Editor Haddon Heights, New Jersey national newsreel pool was set up on the same basis as in London, except for the fact that arrangements were made for the five local newsreel companies to work on a rotation basis, each company covering for a two-weeks' period. Plans for the Future Various methods of distrinution now are under consideration. A survey has been drawn up on the values of rental and purchase in both 16mm and 35mm, as well as possible channels of distribution. An information and liaison service plans to supply information, documentation and film footage to existing film companies who are interested in making films about the United Nations. This service also is concerned with supplying information about documentary films dealing with United Nations subjects or countries in response to inquiries from non-theatrical users throughout the world. It is expected that this will be an informational service, rather than the distribution of actual films. The above brief survey evidences the intelligent and progressive point of view of the Film Section of the United Nations regarding the use of films as instruments for documentation and education for better international understanding. Series of Discussion Films And Filmstrips Planned A series of international discussion films and filmstrips, entitled "Your World," has been announced by Film Publishers, Inc. Films will be ten to twenty minutes in length, and will be accompanied by study guides, bibliographies and other related materials. Subjects will range from general film statements on individual nations to the analysis of international problems, social, economic, and political. It is planned to make available for each subject one documentary film and one slide film, to be used separately or to complement one another, the former being useful to provide an interest and a better grasp of the overall facts, while the latter lends itself to audience participation and discussion. Five filmstrips, the first in the series, already have been released. They are: The People of France, a presentation of the background and current problems of France and its relation to the United States; United Nations Charter, which explains the organization and functions of the UN ; Fonvard — All Together, a presentation of the nature and reasons for discrimination and what can be done about it in America : Foreign Trade — It's Good Business, a cartoon slide film explaining international trade in terms which high school students can understand; American Counterpoint, a picture commentary on what makes an American. Pearl Buck, famous author and Nobel Prize winner, is writing the script for three further filmstrips now (Cniitinucd nn piific 320)