Can documentary film really bring about change?
Saying it does and proving it does can be quite difficult in the short term.
But what happens when we review a documentary over 3-10 years in light of events and view it with a global perspective.
This illustrated talk focused on three documentaries, that in my opinion, demonstrate at the very least they informed the debate and motivated people to take action.
We looked at the climate change debate and review the ground breaking documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth‘ by former US Vice President Al Gore from 2006. Did Al Gore’s predictions become reality over the proceeding 10 years and did the public take real action to change their habits?
Burma VJ took us inside the ‘closed’ Myanmar (Burma) of 2008 and a world that most of us will never experience. But with Aung San Suu Kyi now in power after 15 years ‘house arrest’, how did the films call for change in Myanmar pan out for those seeking to elect their national heroe.
Finally, we looked at 2013’s surprise box office hit Blackfish. The social media storm around the film did real damage to SeaWorlds business with its shares halving in value. How did this low-budget $76,000 film help the plight of captive whales and other animals around the World?”
5pm-6pm Doc Media Centre, 1st Floor, 10 Bishop Street, Leicester LE1 6AF.
The 2017 Documentary Media Month theme is global citizens dedicated to showcasing real people, real places and real events from around the world.
The documentary film programme is the 8th Leicester Docfilm Festival.
The Documentary Media Centre project organises events, education based activities and workshops covering 4 areas:
- documentary film
- documentary photography
- documentary audio
- documentary new media
The pop-up Documentary Media Centre will be hosted on the 1st Floor of 10 Bishop Street, Leicester LE1 6AF.
For further information please email John Coster, Journalist on docmediacentre@gmail.com
Twitter @docmediacentre @citizenseye @docfilmfestival @conflictreportr
#docmedia2017
Doc Media Centre 
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