Documentaries were once treated as cinematic spinach – films that were good for you – but now, non-fiction filmmakers have transformed a genre with great storytelling
The 1922 movie « Nanook of the North » follows a charismatic real character in a distant land. Though in truth filmmaker Robert Flaherty fudged a few facts, and staged a few scenes, it’s generally considered the world’s first documentary.
For the next 80 years, documentaries were never as popular as fictional movies. They’d earned the reputation of being cinematic spinach – films that were good for you.
« You were supposed to watch them, they would inform you, but you didn’t necessarily want to watch them as entertainment in and of themselves, » said producer Dan Cogan.
But Cogan says that lately, that’s changed. His company, Impact Partners, has produced or funded over a hundred documentaries, including last year’s hit, « Won’t You Be My Neighbor, » about children’s TV icon Fred Rogers, and the movie that won last year’s Best Documentary Oscar, « Icarus, » about the Russian sports doping scandal.
« We are in a Golden Age of documentary filmmaking, » said Cogan. « There has never been as great storytelling in nonfiction film as there is today. »
The numbers prove him right. In the last few years, documentaries are earning more, costing more, and being shown more in mainstream theaters.
But why now?
Cogan credits streaming services: « Netflix played an extraordinary role in making this possible. That algorithm will take you to documentaries even if you don’t ask it to look for documentaries. »
« So, even if you’re not a documentary person, the algorithm may say, ‘You’ve liked these scripted shows. You might like this’? » asked correspondent David Pogue.
« There are people who watched ‘Icarus’ because they were interested in conspiracy films, or thrillers, that the algorithm took them there.
« But there is also HBO, Showtime, NatGeo, Hulu, Amazon. Apple is now entering the space. CNN has done an extraordinary job. I think there are a lot of places that one can now go to watch these films. »
Joe Berlinger has directed 50 documentaries, including « Paradise Lost, » « Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, » and « Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, » which is now on – what else? – Netflix.
