“Above all, documentary must reflect the problems and realities of the present. It cannot regret the past; it is dangerous to prophesy the future. It can, and does, draw on the past in its use of existing heritages but it only does so to give point to a modern argument. In no sense is documentary a historical reconstruction and attempts to make it so are destined to failure. Rather it is contemporary fact and event expressed in relation to human associations.” GivingHumansDoeFactsUseProblemRealityPastModernDangerousEventsRegretDrawsArgumentRelationHistoricalContemporaryHeritageAssociationDocumentariesDestinedReconstructionPast Regrets Author:Paul Rotha
“To the documentary director the appearance of things and people is only superficial. It is the meaning behind the thing and the significance underlying the person that occupy his attention... Documentary approach to cinema differs from that of story-film not in its disregard for craftsman-ship, but in the purpose to which that craftsmanship is put. Documentary is a trade just as carpentry or pot-making. The pot-maker makes pots, and the documentarian documentaries.” PeoplePersonsStoriesFilmPurposeBehindsAttentionDirectorsApproachTradeAppearanceShipsCinemaSignificanceMakersPotSuperficialDocumentariesDisregardCraftsmanCraftsmanshipCarpentry Author:Paul Rotha
