Beyond the gleaming limelight, the magazine covers, the million-dollar endorsements, the A-list news interviews, the millions of newfound followers on social media handles, the prestigious accolades and awards success takes on a whole different meaning in the murky, niche world of independent documentary filmmaking. Even the best of documentary filmmakers today don’t reach the acclaim of celebrity as other film producers and directors in the movie industry receive. In fact, see if Alex Gibney gets a modicum of attention if he sat on any line of New York City’s subway system in the midst of hundreds of daily passengers. A person may sheepishly stare at him for a couple of seconds thinking if it is, in fact, him but turn away shaking his head as if the real Gibney is rather a lookalike of a the A-list documentarian. Fame is very little achieved and sought after among those who tread the long, arduous journey of a documentary film career–whether it be a producer, cinematographer, director, or even writer. Documentaries are the least fashionable and entertaining of elements still considered showbiz. Success comes in the form of gratitude for a wide range of novice and experienced documentary filmmakers. It essentially entails the ability for one to continue to work again after one film has reached the can.
After one has successfully completed a project through it’s final film product and has underwent the fickle world of distribution success would be for him or her the ability to use that film journey to propel them into another focused, and, perhaps, painstaking endeavor of a similar nature. The greatest success is when a documentary filmmaker can continue to bring along his or her team for the next pursuit. Success may bring along awards and national (if not international) recognition but rarely is it the end goal. Moreover, documentary film teams will tell you, firsthand, that no one gets into documentary filmmaking for the money forewarning anyone thinking of venturing into this niche genre that rarely will a film recoup the money it cost for producing much less see a profit at the end of the day. Rather a deep introspective and impersonal tangent resides in the idea of success for documentary filmmakers. It’s in the exposing of the truth, the telling of a marginal narrative, the platform of civic activism on a given issue, the shining the light on the voiceless, the connecting with others through raising awareness, and the informing on a pressing subject matter in all its corporeal tidbits and delicate nuances–which all make up the symptoms of a successful journey in documentary filmmaking.
In a movie industry where most popular movies are known more for the stars that are featured and the well-known directors name that are attached to a given movie documentary films rarely prop up the makers and those featured in a given piece–except in bio films of famous celebrities. The storyline and the power of the overall message and theme of an independent work is what is marketed and presented in the distribution model. This aspect is what makes the meaning of success different for this niche genre. The educational, informative component that motivates documentary film teams to go out on their pursuit and what the audience anticipates and takes in when watching documentaries is the essence of the achievement for documentary filmmakers. This notion is not to romanticize all those involved in the business and creativity of documentary filmmaking. Plenty of examples exist that prove producers and directors and their distribution partners who seek unique storylines for documentary film titles as a means to draw a big enough audience for high-dollar exploitation. Examples include documentary films like: Madonna: Truth or Dare, Religulous, Good Hair, and Justin Bieber’s Believe–to name a few. A lot of television programming is hallmark to this tendency. Especially with the ease of producing documentary film or television content with cost-effective equipment and personnel and the low risk of commercial distribution of this content success can indeed be realized through the accomplishment of money and fame. After all, a reality television series can be an asterisk to non-fiction documentary video content. However, success takes on a whole new focus and pursuit in this terrain. While many of these commercial products begin with a sensible feel to inform and inspire these documentary films in the long run lean in the motivation for entertainment and profiteering more so than anything else. So, while documentary films now and into the near future will continue to fall into sub-genres of reality television, mockumentary, docudrama, and so on the term “success” lies in the meaning and mode of documentary film’s truest and most authentic pursuit–informing and educating while for the filmmakers themselves–the ability to continue in the documentary film idiom.