Living films; a catalog of documentary films and their makers (c1940)

— 12— strate "documentary 11 film technique without .knowing one lens from another. The film called "Drifters" ras a nodest record of work on a herring trawler in the North Sea and its success launched Grierson in film production. He soon drew around him a group of young men and women who came into documentary- -production from all the fields of public information and public service, from scientific research men in the government service to avant garde artists, school teachers from G-lasgow and newspaper correspondents. This group grew under his leadership into "the British documentary film movement", and today has to its credit the production of hundreds of films. The British documentary film is of particular interest to any student of the field "because of its continuity, its underlying and consistent purpose of Tmblic information and public service, end its volume. After the Empire Marketing Board was dissolved Grierson took his production unit to the General Post Office where it performed "brilliantly the task of gaining Tmtlic affection and support for an immense and unpopular government service. Grierson went from the Post Office to found Film Centre from which many units making films for private and public sponsors were able to operate in a single continuous line. The British Gas Industries, Petro~ leum Industry, Imperial Airways, Zoological Society, the National Council of Social Service, all "became steady customers of the documentary producers; World Film Ners was founded and published for several years until the outbreak of war in 1939- Since 1933 Griersoii has been on the move. In Canada in 193#~39 he succeeded in securing passage of a bill establishing a National Film Board and early in 19^0 he was appointed to the position of Film Commis- sioner of Canada. Before assuming the Canadian post Grierson travelled to Australia where he also initiated plans for a documentary program under government auspices. Today he is engaged in producing films in Canada. Ten films have already been completed and many more are scheduled. One thing seems clear, since Grierson began to make films in 1929 a force of steadily increasing momentum was released, a, force which has contributed immensely to the progress of documentary films. RICHARD GRIFFITH is a film critic and publicist who today serves as publicity chairman for the Association of Documentary Film Producers. Born in 1912, he was educated at Havorford College, graduating in 1935. After two years as film critic for a small town newspaper he received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation for study of film history and documentary film technique, undertaken at the Museum of Modern Art Film Library under the supervision of Paul Rotha, noted British documentary producer. His film writings h-ve appeared in The New York Times, Life and Letters Today, Survey Graphic, etc. In 1939 he undertook for the American Film Center a survey of documentary, advertising, and educational films shown at the New York World's Fair, a report on which was published this year by American Film Center. In 1939-Uo he wrote the program notes for a. series of documentary films shown at the Museum of Modern Art Film Library under the auspices of the Film Library and the Association of Documentary Film Producers. Griffith is New York film correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and a member of the staff of the Museum of Modern Art Film Library.