Say What Happened

by Nick Fraser

Documentary films are the rock and roll of our times. Why are they made? Who are in the tribe of documentary film-makers? Do their films really change the world? Eighteen years ago, Nick Fraser created BBC Storyville, producing films that won Oscars, BAFTAs, and Peabody Awards. He found film-makers from all across the world covering important subjects in documentaries. In Say What Happened he describes the frenzied, intense world of documentary film-making, tracing its history back to the early pioneers, such as Dziga Vertov and his ground-breaking Man with a Movie Camera. The book deals with the British documentary tradition founded by John Grierson, and discusses the work of American masters such as the Maysles brothers, Frederick Wiseman and D.A. Pennebaker, as well as Europeans such as Marcel Ophuls, Claude Lanzmann, Chris Marker, and Werner Herzog. He interviews acclaimed documentary film-makers and discusses the work of Ken Burns, Errol Morris, and Joshua Oppenheimer, among others across the globe, as well as listing his top one-hundred documentaries, and where readers can watch them. In a world beset with 'fake news', he argues documentaries are better at getting at the verities about life and death and that the new journalism will come from films made using new technology.

Genres: Film, History

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Adam]

A flowing, enjoyable, intelligent & cultured review of Documentary Filmmaking from the perspective of a man at the heart of its British tradition, the prime-mover at BBC Storyville, an executive producer/commissioner who has had contact with most of The Greats. Weaving together his broadly chronological survey with his memoir-snippets and perspectives on the world as it now is for better or worse, I found myself jotting down a list of my favourite docs (many of which I hadn't thought about for yonks until Nick reminded me) and another list of stuff I want to watch/rewatch. I started ticking off the 2nd list with Michael Apted's '7 Up' series. So a great way to immerse yourself in Docland for a bit and remind yourself why you love them.

[Danny Doherty]

Incredibly fascinating and well put together. A great overview of the history of docs that spends time exploring some of the mediums hidden gems and titans of the industry. There were times where I wished Fraser spent some more time on certain docs but I do appreciate the idea of it being a push to explore these pieces of work in your own time. Loved the section on Herzog and of course thought the Curtis segments were great. Recommend this to anyone with an interest in documentary filmmaking as it’s inspirational and has the idea ball rolling in my head!

[Andrei]

Isiklik ja esseistlik mõtisklus dokumentaalfilmide minevikust, olevikust ja tulevikust. Palju häid vaatamissoovitusi, kuid kaugelt liiga laialivalguv, hüplik ja nõrgalt struktureeritud, et kellelegi peale pühendunud dokihuvilise soovitada. 2.5/5

[Lara]

Yippeeee here we go! also I think I won't hit my reading challenge hmmmmmmmmmmm