The Documentary Conundrum

One of the earliest motion pictures documented workers panning out the Lumiere factory. They exit the system and jut out into snapshots of history. It spanned 46 seconds. On December 28, 1895, Louis and Auguste Lumiere screened the history they caught on the cinematographe to an enthralled audience at the Salon Indien du Grand Cafe in Paris. A minute later, the viewers wanted it to be screened again. 

Two centuries ticked away. In the meantime, evolution ran its course. We recently saw Viduthalai-I, the latest Vetri Maaran film. “The movie was great but it felt like a documentary more than a feature film,” an elderly man amused by the film told his friend during the interval.

“Documentaries just don’t work for me. Period. I would rather prefer a feature film or TV series to such excesses of reality. Fact-based narration pulls your mood down until and unless the subject in hand arouses curiosity,” says Rahul, a student of arts proud enough to admit to averaging at least two films a day on OTT. “The docu-series MH370 pulled it off. So did All of Those Voices,  which is one of the few documentaries that deserved a theatrical release. Awareness through socially relevant films should not be at the expense of the entertainment factor,” the young film buff adds.

Amid the critical acclaim and attention documentary films have amassed lately, it is high time the makers and the audience call in for a roundtable discussion to hammer out the ways to tackle the stigma around documentaries, film buffs maintain. 

“All That Breathes fared well at the US box office. It was nominated for the Oscars. The audience here would have thoroughly enjoyed watching it on the big screen. Even then, the release would have been limited. A host of factors, including production quality, treatment, and the pre-release buzz, restrain documentary films from making it big at the theatres,” says Shiladitya Bora, film producer and the founder of Platoon One Films.

“Not all are keen on watching non-fiction on the big screen. Perhaps that is why documentaries are still swarming within the bounds of film festivals, workshops, and a niche audience. Just a couple of good documentaries a year would not change the industry. It needs to be a comprehensive process. Over the past three years, we (India) have had a good run in the international arena, with at least one documentary getting nominated for the Sundance or the Oscars. The documentary makers ought to cash in on it. Indian documentaries are generating a buzz with the high footfall; the momentum needs to be on an uptick. Most often, the initial buzz for documentaries on social media and OTT platforms ebbs away soon after the release,” adds Bora.

He then recalled his stint in PVR Cinemas during which he was involved in the distribution of a few documentaries. Based on analytics, “pockets” with a set of dedicated audiences in cities were ferreted out, Bora figures. adding that the PVR Director’s Rare mustered audience from all corners to the likes of blockbusters, non-fiction, and short films

A manager at PVR Cinemas, on conditions of anonymity, said they hardly receive documentary submissions, and, as of now, they have set no strategies to promote documentaries. “The budget and production quality are the primary factors that contributed to documentaries being screened less. First of all, a film needs to get a censor certificate to be released in theatres. It amounts to spending cash. Also, most documentaries have their running length fixed between 40 minutes and one hour, which is not substantial enough excite a regular viewer,” the PVR employee said.