Every review, essay and guide we have published, newest first. 15 pieces so far.
From Alanis Obomsawin and the Indian Film Crew to Isuma and Tasha Hubbard, a short history of Indigenous documentary in Canada and where to start watching.
Keep readingHow documentary makers can protect survivors of violence on camera: ongoing consent, the right to withdraw, disguise methods, secure footage and aftercare.
Keep readingAn editor's method for shaping 200 hours of documentary footage into a film: logging, selects, paper edits, structure, honest cutting and when to lock.
Keep readingHow Michel Brault, Gilles Groulx and Pierre Perrault took light cameras and live sound into Quebec life, and how cinéma direct differs from vérité.
Keep readingMusic documentaries about buskers and outsiders: how they record sound on the street, the ethics of filming people without homes, and three films to start.
Keep readingSales agents, broadcast windows, streamers, classrooms, impact screenings and archives: how an independent documentary keeps working after its premiere.
Keep readingHow repertory cinemas and film societies keep going on members, volunteers, smart programming and good rooms, plus a plain guide to starting your own.
Keep readingSix documentaries about children and war, from Promises to For Sama, and the safeguards that should govern any film that asks a child to bear witness.
Keep readingWhere Canadian documentary makers find archive footage, how licences work, what fair dealing covers, and how to keep a clearance log an insurer will accept.
Keep readingWhat El Mariachi, Clerks, Primer, Tangerine and a Winnipeg film co-op can teach anyone trying to make a first feature film on almost no money at all.
Keep readingHow a one-hour Canadian documentary gets paid for: licence fees, the Canada Media Fund, federal and provincial tax credits, private funds and cash flow.
Keep readingA hands-on guide to documentary interviews: the room, the chair, eyeline, soft light, clean sound, a second camera and the consent paperwork behind it all.
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