One constraint for all the films we have looked at in my Art of Persuasion class is that they have to have a political nature, but what does it actually mean for a documentary to be political?

This is something we explored in class which I think was necessary to clearly define and nut out what features of films and filmmaking put them in certain categories. After a class discussion, we made the assessment that political documentaries contain an argument which is the central organising feature of the film rather than a documentary that merely explores something. But then we were asked, can something be both poetic and political at the same time? Can a film express an argument in a serious manner whilst also evoking meaning with an emotional style of expression? Although they don’t seem to be styles that go hand in hand, from the beginning I felt that this was something that has often been achieved and begun searching for examples. The best example I came across was feature film length Unsettled made in 2007 documenting the evacuation of a Jewish settlement from Gaza by Israeli forces. Director Adam Hootnick managed to pull off something that is about conflict, is intellectually complex, emotionally taut and wholly without prejudice. However if anything makes a political comment on the unnecessary pain of conflict.

This in mind, I embark on my next documentary with an approach that is also able to utilise such strong styles to communicate my message as powerfully as possible.