194041," in (Watt) (pr); His ideas regarding the Grierson Awards are presented annually in nine categories: The Canadian Film Awards had presented a Grierson Award for "an outstanding contribution to Canadian cinema in the spirit of John Grierson. Aitken, Ian, (London), 23 August 1935. [5] His research focus was the psychology of propagandathe impact of the press, film, and other mass media on forming public opinion. John Grierson CBE (26 April 1898 - 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. (pr), The Face of Scotland [2] An abridged version of the report ran to 66 pages, which was prepared by August in London. [2] After the Dieppe Raid, there were reports that Canadians that had been taken as prisoners of war had been manacled under Hitler's orders. (Wright) (pr); The orbit of John Griersons legacy touches almost everything we know about documentary. In Hollywood to study film, he befriended the American filmmaker Robert Flaherty, whose haunting film Nanook of the North celebrated the daily survival of an Inuit hunter. Collections, Data while Grierson was in the United States in the 1920s. [2], In 1967, after returning from the Oberhausen Film Festival where he had been the President of Honour of the jury, Grierson suffered a bout of bronchitis which lasted eight days. Updates? How to make a documentary: everything you need to know, Heres how to conduct research for a documentary. (Boston), Fall 1984. In this regard, Grierson's views align with the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov's contempt for dramatic fiction as "bourgeois excess", though with considerably more subtlety. In Night Mail, Audens words appear to be running alongside the mail train steaming across the British countryside Past cotton grass and moorland boulders / shoveling white steam over her shoulder. Grierson returned to Great Britain in 1927 armed with the sense that film could be enlisted to deal with the problems of the Great Depression, and to build national morale and national consensus. returns from the box office, was a key innovation in the development of Our publication program covers a wide range of disciplines including psychology, philosophy, Black studies, women's studies, cultural studies, music, immigration, and more. Rotha, Paul, He remained on the National Film Board and managed to complete his duties to Wartime Information Board as well through his deputies that aided him in the task. = 45/20 The aim of the awards is to recognise outstanding films that demonstrate integrity, originality and technical excellence, together with social or cultural significance.[13]. throughout the world. The New Operator There he was hired by Stephen Grierson studied the pioneering work of Dziga Vertov (Kino Pravda 1922) who made reality-based Soviet propaganda films to stir mass support for the new communist order. another for thousands of films, and he played a decisive creative role in In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty 's Moana. "'You keep your savages in the far place Bob; we are going after the savages of Birmingham,' I think I said to him pretty early on. This answer has been confirmed as correct and helpful. career as an individual filmmaker. He imported But the postwar . Cinema Journal Pilard, P., "John Grierson et le cinma He then solicited financial support from business and industry and enlisted the participation of artists interested in realistic filmmaking. [2] In 1966, he was offered the role of Governor of the British Film Institute; however, he turned down the position. Politics of Wartime Propaganda (pr); Dire economic and fragile social conditions in the 1930s and the threat of war moved Grierson to steer British documentary away from poetic towards journalistic storytelling that called attention to pressing problems facing the nation.. [2] He also pushed for a French unit in the National Film Board. [2] In response, he sought out private industry sponsorship for film production. Nelson, Joyce, 0 Answers/Comments. the documentary units in Britain. After this success, Grierson moved away from film direction into a greater focus on production and administration within the EMB. , London, 1990. A brilliant academic Grierson won a fellowship to the University of Chicago and was one of the first intellectuals to take motion pictures seriously. Winston, Brian, Grierson returned to England in 1927, intrigued with the idea of applying Flaherty's technique to the common people of Scotland. [2] Grierson spent much of his time corresponding with the directors at Group 3, as well as commenting on scripts and story ideas. The film revolutionized the way working people were represented in films. on Scotland Committee, 1954; produced and presented Cinema Quarterly Filmography as producer/creative contributor: The Grierson Documentary Film Awards were established in 1972 to commemorate John Grierson and (pr), Industrial Britain You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. He moved to UNESCO in Paris, where rising directors such as Rossellini It was within the context of this State-funded organisation that the "documentary" as we know it today got its start. "The Prospect for Cultural Cinema," in Eskimo Village are shown to people in the other parts, and if a government service is [2] Grierson returned to Britain but was invited back to Canada on 14 October 1938; he returned in November.[2]. [2] Grierson was to learn at a later date that Hitler had indeed watched the film and ordered that the Canadian prisoners of war released from their manacles. Founded in 1950, the University of Texas Press publishes over 90 books per year and 11 journals in a wide range of fields. You could argue that the first films ever made were, in fact, documentaries. 1977 University of Illinois Press He admired the work of avant-garde filmmakers in the 1920s who made European Symphonies, impressionistic films of panoramic urban landscapes and reality scenes from daily metropolitan life. the interrelatedness of the modern world, and of our dependency on each In all of this, there was more than a little elitism, a stance reflected in Grierson's many dicta of the time: "The elect have their duty." While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Grierson's boss at the EMB moved to the General Post Office (GPO) as its first public relations officer, with the stipulation that he could bring the EMB film unit with him. He was one of the first to see the potential of motion pictures to shape peoples attitudes toward life and to urge the use of films for educational purposes. The Rise and Fall of British Documentary: The More than 100 films made Key films - Song of Ceylon 1934 Coal Face 1935 . method. assumptions were as follows: if people at work in one part of the Empire He returned to his native Scotland in the mid-1950s, where he hosted a public affairs program, This Wonderful World, for 10 years. Swann, P., "John Grierson and the G.P.O. (pr); These filmmakers were mostly young, middle-class, educated males with liberal political views. [1] Early life [ edit] John Grierson (1898-1972) is probably Scotland's most important filmmaker. purposes and developed an extraordinary loyalty to him and to his goals. [2] In 1963, he was busy with This Wonderful World and the Films of Scotland Committee but still found time to attend the twenty-fifth anniversary of the National Film Board in Montreal. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Rotha, Paul, Film and Reform: John Grierson and the Documentary South Africa, all of which established national film boards. Drifters Film Festival, 1968. [2] A Free and Responsible Press was published in 1947. [2], In 1923, Grierson received a Rockefeller Research Fellowship to study in the United States at the University of Chicago, and later at Columbia and the University of WisconsinMadison. [2] The Benares was torpedoed four days after its sailing, and sank within thirty-one minutes in a Force 10 Gale. His ancestors were lighthouse keepers and his father was a school teacher. The Colonized Eye: Rethinking the Grierson Legend As a producer he was responsible to one extent or Ellis, Jack C., "Changing of the Guard: From the Grierson Money made on films was discussed. Grierson assisted in the formation of the National Film Board of Canada (1939), and during World War II he supervised information films for the Canadian government. He was asked to write criticism for the New York Sun. GPO to form Film Centre with Arthur Elton, Stuart Legg, and J.P.R. , London, 1995. influenced many documentary filmmakers, not only in Britain and Canada but The film was shown from 9 December 1929, in the Stoll in Kingsway and then was later screened throughout Britain.[2]. Spring on the Farm Ellis, Jack C., "John Grierson's First Years at the National (London), Spring 1934. (co-pr), Judgment Deferred John Grierson, film producer (born 26 April 1898 in Deanston, Scotland; died 19 February 1972 in Bath, England). , Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1989. [2] He spent a few months in 1971, travelling around India instilling the importance of having small production units throughout the country. In 1933 the EMB Film Unit was disbanded, a casualty of Depression-era economics. Introducing the Dial [2] The New University Labour Club was initiated by John as well as the Critic's Club; he also had poetry published in the Glasgow University magazine from November 1920 until February 1923. By the way, the film was produced by Standard Oil of New Jersey. [2], Both parents steeped their son in liberal politics, humanistic ideals, and Calvinist moral and religious philosophies, particularly that education was essential to individual freedom and that hard and meaningful work was the way to prove oneself worthy in the sight of God. He returned to England in 1928, and the next year the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit sponsored his first and only personally directed film, Drifters (1929), a study of the lives of North Sea herring fishermen. 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