Kevin Macdonald will talk about his own filmmaking career and the recurring themes within it. He will also review the history of documentary, based on the research he conducted for his book IMAGINING REALITY, co-authored with Mark Cousins (published in 1996). This engaging lecture will offer both professional insights and interactive opportunities for sharing knowledge and experiences.

The rise and development of nonfiction writing in contemporary China, the literary pursuits of the Chinese people since the New Culture Movement and new pathways in contemporary Chinese literature and culture highlighted by the universality of nonfiction writing, personal perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches essential to nonfiction writing and their ultimate transformation into a new aesthetic form.

Documentary shorts are closely related to experimental cinema and video art. In terms of cinematic language, documentary shorts often embrace a more radical approach, blending diverse visual styles into a hybrid experiment.These pioneering efforts are always mind-blowing, constantly pushing us to redefine the boundaries of documentary. This forum will bring together four short film creators, who are also multidisciplinary artists, to present alternative narratives from non-human perspectives while examining the interplay among documentary shorts, visual arts, poetry, and philosophical texts.

For a long time, documentaries have been made to represent and articulate the essence of reality. The relentless camera seeks to conquer the flow of time by capturing moments of actuality. Yet, are realities merely spatio temporal? Are our memories, emotions, and subconscious mind any less genuine?As documentary filmmaking adopts surrealist and fictional approaches, the veil of objectivity is lifted, revealing a distant world of constant external and internal conflicts.When enactment is introduced into documentary filmmaking, the boundary between fiction and reality begins to blur. How does this approach expand our understanding of documentary as a form of visual art? What potentials does it offer filmmakers and their subjects to explore the depths of human nature?What experimental techniques are employed to integrate enactment into real world contexts? And when traditional documentary ethics are challenged, what unique ethical dilemmas might arise for hybrid documentary creators? Several filmmakers have brought their docufiction films to IDF 2024. We will invite them to join the forum for an inspiring discussion.

Folk art is a legacy of human civilization with a long history. It continues to be passed down in everyday life. Archiving folk art through audiovisual media and showcasing its aesthetic value and public significance is an important creative focus for documentary filmmakers. Rooted in anthropological theory and approaches, ethnographic films on folk art highlight its “life history“, especially the chronological inheritance and cultural context. These films narrate and present folk art as a living culture that intertwines collective memories and social changes. This seminar will bring together folk art scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts to examine the “thick description” of culture in ethnographic films on folk art through film screening and discussion.

Anthropology underscores the importance of local knowledge, advocating for an in-depth understanding of cultural fabric through long-term fieldwork, active participation in locallife, and observation of livelihoods, community relationships,festive activities, and rituals. This approach involves embodied experience and reflective outsider perspectives, gradually unveiling the local cultural context in search for a path to intercultural understanding. Ethnographic documentaries intricately depict certain cultural elements and ethnic identities through visual storytelling, aiming to champion cultural pluralism and empower local voices through concrete anthropological narratives for academic research and public engagement. In this seminar, visual anthropologists who are also ethnographic documentary filmmakers will share their long-term practices to explore “Local Knowledge, Cultural Agency, and Ethnographic Film” with scholars, authors, and participants from various fields.

How do documentary creators balance global appeal with the delicateexpression of regional culture? What are the best ways to reach audiences in anoverwhelmingly diverse and oversupply situation?