Whose Story Is It?

At some point in the creative process, all documentary filmmakers ask themselves, “Whose story is it?” and “What impact will my film have on my subjects?” But rarely do their subjects weigh the gravity of these two issues. What is the filmmaker’s responsibility to his or her subject and how does this responsibility shift when the subject is no longer present? How do filmmakers stay true to their vision while respecting their characters? And ultimately, where does the documentarian’s voice lie? Veteran documentary filmmaker, Jon Else, leads a discussion with Festival filmmakers Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans); Deborah Dickson (The Education of Gore Vidal); Jonathan Karsh (My Flesh and Blood); and Lauren Lazin (Tupac: Resurrection) to discuss these ethical questions and examine the fine line documentarians walk between subjectivity and objectivity and the reality of exposing all or part of peoples’ lives. All filmmakers welcome to participate.

Credits

Jon Else
Panelist
Andrew Jarecki
Panelist
Deborah Dickson
Panelist
Jonathan Karsh
Panelist
Lauren Lazin
Panelist
 
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