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[ecrea] CfP Special Issue montage AV on Doc Ethics

Fri Jun 26 15:21:25 GMT 2015



Ethical Challenges in Documentary Film Practice

Call for Papers, montage AV (25/1/2016)

The representation of others goes hand in hand with the key definition of documentary film. At the same time it is linked to the problem of documentary ethics. The responsibility of the filmmaker to his subjects as well as to his audience is relevant to the social fabric of documentary film. Unlike the well-established field of research in the United States, Germany still lacks an academic discourse about documentary ethics. In Germany, discussions are conducted either by filmmakers themselves, in TV stations or on film festivals. The focus of our issue of Montage AV, however, wants to take a theoretical stand on documentary ethics.

The following issues can be used as impulses for the discussion:

The concept of informed consent leads to the duty of the filmmaker to enlighten his subjects about possible consequences of being part of a documentary. Is there a legal matter of this concept and where are the practical boundaries of it?

Subjects in documentary film can have various roles: they can be self-promoters, objects of study or accomplices. What does that mean for the filmmaker? What implications arise from this relationship after wrapping up filming? Is there any collaboration with the subject during filming or in post production? Which obligations has the filmmaker towards his own artistic approach and the requirement to entertain his audience? Are there subjects documentary filmmakers should avoid to offer a platform? Is there a reflection of the communicative and social set-up?

Furthermore, is it allowed to mix fictional and documentary material without classifying the approach? Are there images that are not appropriate when it comes to violence or violation of human rights? Is it the filmmaker’s duty to leave the position behind the camera for intervention?

We encourage you to consider that there are also ethical implications of specific audiences like traumatized people, minorities or religious groups. Are there any types of presenting a film that come along with ethical issues, for example film presentations in schools or within political education? Does the filmmaker have liability towards conceptional entities like nature, future generations or the Jewish people? An important and final questions is: What is the mission of documentary film and what is its benefit? Who benefits from the film in personal, social, political and economical terms?

We are looking forward to your submission (35.000 characters max.). Please take our stylesheet into account (http://www.montage-av.de/Stylesheet_fuer_Autoren.pdf).

Don’t hesitate to contact us if there are any questions: Britta Hartmann ((britta.hart /at/ snafu.de)) or Inga Selck ((i.selck /at/ filmuniversitaet.de))

Submission deadline is Nov 9th, 2015. You can also send it to our editorial team address: (montage /at/ snafu.de).

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