The Story of Documentary Film

The Story of Documentary Film traces the history of documentary from its very beginnings to the present day. Drawing on Mark Cousins’ decades of research, the series re-examines classics of the genre including Hoop Dreams, The Gleaners and I, Shoah, Stop Making Sense and Paris Is Burning. Alongside these celebrated films, it introduces audiences to striking new discoveries and overlooked works from across the globe, with a spotlight on the many great female filmmakers who have too often been written out of the history of documentary filmmaking. Structured chronologically, but interspersed with stand-alone thematic sections, the series challenges prevailing assumptions about what documentary is, offering a captivating new perspective on the history of a form that continues to shape how we understand the world around us.

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