Documentary Storytellers Chris King
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- Society & Culture
Documentary Storytellers with Chris King explores the photography and filmmaking practice necessary to have meaningful impact on the issues we document and help create positive change in our cultures. A fortnightly series of in-depth interviews with documentary photographers and documentary filmmakers discussing their journies and practices.
W: https://documentarystorytellers.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/documentarystorytellers/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7492458/
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10 - Smita Sharma - Documentary photographer
In this episode I’m speaking to Smita Sharma - a Delhi-based photojournalist and visual storyteller reporting on critical human rights, gender, social justice and environmental issues – both in
India and throughout the Global South.
Smita is actively engaged in public speaking, victim advocacy and international public education, and her work has been exhibited and published globally, including at the UN Headquarters in New York. She recently published her first photo book We Cry In Silence documenting cross-border trafficking of underage girls in South Asia, published by FotoEvidence. Smita’s been organising a
campaign in the region aimed at educating and raising awareness amongst the communities most vulnerable to human trafficking.
We discuss all this and other steps Smita has done to maximise the impact her work, along with her motivation for doing what she does, her experiences with publications and organisations from the Global North, and much more.
Follow Smita
Portfolio: https://bit.ly/3Dn4nOY
‘We Cry In
Silence’ Photobook: https://bit.ly/3XWScll
TED Talk: https://bit.ly/3ryfhi2
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3T7A6wF
Vimeo: https://bit.ly/3GiQjqS
Follow Documentary Storytellers
Website: https://bit.ly/3Qa0k01
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rwK9zr
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Ok2718
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3ryJQnU
Follow me, Chris King
Portfolio: https://bit.ly/3XYvj0I
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3pSYvd3
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Q0AE5R
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/44CWFMr
References
Shillong, India
Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie - The Danger of a single story
Donna Ferrato – I Am Unbeatable
International Center of Photography, New York
Women Photograph
Diversify Photo
FotoEvidence -
09 - Natalie Keyssar - Documentary photographer
Natalie is a documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is interested in inequality, youth culture, and the personal effects of political turmoil and violence, primarily in the US and Latin America.
As always we cover a wide range of topics, including the impact her work as a photographer has had on Natalie’s view of the world, our capacity as documentary storytellers and the potential for photography to create meaningful change, and the need for us to support one another and the ways in which we can do that…and of course much more.
Photography Portfolio | Instagram
Podcast hosted and produced by Chris King
This episode is brought to you by Open Eye Media, which is me. For over 15 years, alongside my photography and filmmaking, I’ve been building websites professionally as a freelancer. So, if you’d like to discuss anything related to your website needs – be it a rebuild, a new build, SEO, writing or editing content, or even help with image and video editing, everything and anything related to your online presence, then email me at chris@openeyemedia.net.
Notes
Daniella Zalcman
Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Stephanie Mei-Ling
Photoville
Steve Sweatpants
Street Dreams
Katie Orlinsky -
08 - Gemma Atkinson - Documentary filmmaker
This week I’m speaking to documentary filmmaker Gemma Atkinson, who is based between London and Barcelona, and co-founded the production company Fat Rat Films 15 years ago where she is the current creative director. Gemma has a vast amount of experience within the documentary filmmaking industry, and has produced countless films and other content for NGOs and international institutions across the globe, as well as her own personal projects.
Gemma and I discuss her motivations for creating a production company over freelancing, how her approach to documentary storytelling and filmmaking has changed over the years, and continues to change, how to be an effective storyteller, and much more.
Portfolio | Instagram | Vimeo
Podcast hosted and produced by Chris King
Notes
Touching the void
Catfish
Act of Terror (animation by Gemma)
Una Marzorati
Equidem
Comic Relief
The Elders
Girls Not Brides
Publish What You Pay
3 Identical Strangers
Tim Wardel
Maite Alberdi
Mole Agent
Dick Johnson is Dead
Simon Chin
The Imposter
Man on Wire -
07 - Michael Snyder - Documentary photographer and filmmaker
This week I’m speaking with Mike Snyder – a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Charlottesville in the US. In his work, Mike explores the dynamic relationship between environmental and cultural change. An environmental and climate scientist by training, Mike uses his combined knowledge of visual storytelling and conservation to create narratives that drive social impact.
Mike and I discuss topics such as how best to approach human stories in a way that maximises the positive impact – through having a considered, rigorous and impact-first approach to planning, implementation, and outputs. We also chat about how Mike goes about getting funding and his approach to pitching his stories, as well as his thoughts on how we can become better storytellers, and how to best prepare for shoots - whether photography and filmmaking.
There’s so much to take away from our chat – both practical, actionable advice, and ideas to reflect on in relation to impact-driven visual storytelling.
Photography and Filmmaking Portfolio | Instagram
Podcast hosted and produced by Chris King
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SUBJECTS & TIMECODES
Inspiration for picking up a camera [2:09]
What is about climate change communication that has failed to inspire meaningful action and behaviour change [6:05]
The multi-dimensional approach to climate change communication that includes both solutions and impacts [10:41]
How to get stories in front of policymakers and inspire them to take action [12:07]
How to explore a human story and having true impact on the issue being documented [15:58]
An example of applying an impact-first approach to documentary storytelling that engages people at a local level – not just national and international [20:52]
Adding layers of impact – particularly at a local level - when you’ve been commissioned by a magazine [23:52]
What has been the inspiration for developing a comprehensive, impact-first approach to documentary storytelling [26:04]
Organisations receptive and support of an impact-first approach [29:20]
Approach to getting funding for impact-first storytelling [30:49]
Approach to pitching new projects [33:32]
How to become better documentary storytellers [35:30]
How to start a start a new project and get the images or footage you want [39:47]
Motivation for long-term project on drag queens in home town [43:52]
How to address the power imbalance that exists when exploring a human story [47:17]
How do we get more people to consider the role we as documentary storytellers play in maintaining or challenging a prevailing narrative [50:48]
The need to compromise but also turning down commissions that aren’t a good fit for whatever reason [57:35]
Mistakes that have been valuable[1:01:37]
What could have been of real benefit if learnt sooner [1:02:55]
Experiences exploring something academic but with a visual dimension [1:05:40]
The choice to become a documentary storyteller instead of committing to being an environmental scientist being the right choice in terms of impact [1:07:33]
Skills being developed and mastered [1:10:28]
Active documentary storytellers who are source of inspiration [1:13:38]
NOTES
Bertha Climate Challenge Fellowship
Bertha Foundation
University of Art Bournemouth
The CRUX Photography Network
Columbia University Earth Institute – Climate Migration Conference
Blue Earth Alliance
Pixar’s Story Spine
Ed Kashi
Social Documentary Network -
06 - Savannah Dodd - Photographer and founder of Photography Ethics Centre
Through Documentary Storytellers I want to help promote a more considered form of documentary storytelling, enhance the positive impact our work has on the issues we document, and to help in some way with decolonising photography and filmmaking, and visual communication in general.
Because of the pervasive influence and insidious nature of forces such as patriarchal and colonial mindsets, which, all too often, go unnoticed or unacknowledged, someone from the Global North, for example, going to the Global South with good intentions to explore an issue is not sufficient to ensure the positive impact they wish to have is actually realised. We need to become conscious of our own role as photographers and filmmakers in maintaining certain power dynamics and prevailing narratives through the way we work and represent the people and communities we document, and impact this has.
As documentary storytellers are one of the groups at the frontline of shaping culture, we can either contribute to maintaining the status quo, or we can challenge it and contribute to its disruption and the creation of a more just, egalitarian, and compassionate world. The only way we are going to help change our cultures for the better, is if we become mindful of our own role within them - to become aware of the biases and prejudices we hold, and work on addressing or managing them – to ensure that when documenting communities of which we are not a part, we act in a way that maximises the potential for our work to have the positive outcome we intended, and not inadvertently contribute to maintaining a narrative that lies at the root of the issue we are documenting.
So, to start this process, in this episode I speak to Savannah Dodd – a photographer and anthropologist originally from the USA, but now living in Northern Ireland – just down the road from my family as it happens. In 2017, Savannah founded the Photography Ethics Centre an organisation dedicated to promoting ethical literacy across the photography industry through workshops, events, online courses, and free multimedia content.
Photography Portfolio | Instagram
Photography Ethic Centre | Instagram
Notes
Photography Ethics Centre podcast
Statement of Ethics Campaign
Susie
Linfield
General Treegan
Melanie King
Hannah Fletcher
Climate Visuals
Smita Sharma
Pietro Masturzo
Anthony Luvera
Tamara Abdul Hadi
Sustainable Darkroom -
05 - Laurel Chor - Documentary photographer, filmmaker, and journalist
This episode and features Laurel Chor – a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and journalist who is exploring a range of different topics – from manta ray conservation to the war in the Ukraine, using a variety of media.
We explore the biases we as individuals have that influence how we explore the stories we document through documentary photography and filmmaking, but also the value of our own unique experiences and perspective. We talk about the challenges Laurel has experienced being a woman of colour, the need for self-care to ensure we’re able to continue to document the issues we care about and push for the change we want to see, and much more.
Photography and Filmmaking Portfolio | Instagram
Podcast hosted and produced by Chris King
References
Arman Dzidzovic
Andrei Kalashnikov
What it’s like being a stripper in Florida during Covid
Coconuts
Vice on HBO
MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management
National Geographic Grant
Julia
Kochetova
Hannah Reyes Morales
Natalie
Keyssar
Hind Hassan