Documentary holds a lot of purpose within society. Documentary is interactive, it is educational, it is a way that can shape the future by changing and engaging in an audiences perspectives of specific topics. This weeks class taught me a lot about how documentary is not just a genre and that is it more a perspective of specific ideas that is expanded and explored for an audience. Through further research I’ve learned that documentary is an organisation of ‘visual research’ [Godmilow, 1999] that expresses creators perspectives of topics. It was interesting to rethink the purpose behind documentaries and why they are created in the first place. With the closure of recreational spaces, creators are limited to online spaces where they can share their films and creations.
This week we researched online film festivals and organisations, with festivals that encourage and liberate indigenous creators, from festival that host empowering discos.
The following festival I chose to deep dive into was Electric Dreams Festival. Electric Dreams ensures the excitement for cinema, concerts and art galleries doesn’t die, regardless of their closures due to Covid-19. Over several platforms, Electric Dreams, focuses and devotes their time to the engagement and exploration of theatre, games and music in a live (online) setting. Its mission is to promote the connection of people through online creativity, during a difficult stage of life.
What I found incredibly interesting was the freedom you had as a user to explore different concepts, such as educational theatre and games. As a music lover, I immediately was drawn to the Microbe Disco which is hosted by Queer Ecologies. Its quirky idea of having the audience act as types of bacteria adds and educational flare to the disco. Through artistic activism, Queer Ecologies is able to engage an audience in an intervention to grow and learn. The easy access to tickets is what stood out most for me. While some tickets were 15 pounds, they had an option to ‘Pay What You Can Afford’ which was only 5 pounds. I found that incredibly inclusive for anyone who would like to participate and support the festival.
The Four Fundmental Tendencies of Documentary [Renov, 1993] can definitely be found within online festivals such as Electric Dreams. Their focus to express ideas and creations and promote a connection between people are some of the fundamentals that contribute to the aesthetic functions of documentary.
Reference: (short readings week 1)
Godmilow, J 2007, ‘What’s wrong with the liberal documentary’. Peace Review 11(1), pp. 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659908426235
Renov, M 1993. Theorizing documentary, AFI film readers. New York
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