The first edition of New challenges for documentary provided a major stimulus for teaching about documentary film and television and fresh encouragement for critical thinking about practice. This second edition brings together many new contributions, both from academics and filmmakers, reflecting shifts both in documentary production itself, and in ways of discussing it. Once again, the emphasis has been on clear and provocative writing, sympathetic to the practical challenges of documentary filmmaking but making connections with a range of work in media and communications analysis. With its...

This book addresses one of the most difficult questions facing non-fiction filmmakers today: how do you make a successful documentary in an era of media turmoil, network change and increasing financial restrictions? Alan Rosenthal, an eminent international filmmaker and teacher, provides answers via detailed case studies of seven of his own films, which range from high-budget political documentaries to shoestring observational pieces and hybrid docudramas, and treat subjects as diverse as Joseph Stalin, a transported convict and the history of opera. Drawing on a wealth of experience, he...