Join The Conversation: What Are We About?

Supriyo Chatterjee argues that...
A fair summary of the meeting on 25 February, I think, is that we decided to go ahead with the proposed Ilkley Documentary Group. Now we need to flesh it out: what should its purposes be, what could be its possible lines of work, what about some immediate programmes and how could everyone participate in it without crippling responsibilities.

Purpose
I suggest we have both a narrow and a broad view. The narrow view first: we are not going to be a film club or society. The group should focus on documentaries, though there are many types of documentaries. It should focus on documentaries that explore the world we live in, our times, the issues that affect us all from the standpoint of 'justice', the hidden structures of power. These together constitute the 'less-told-stories' approach. Documentaries that alert us to another way of seeing. It shouldn't be just about screening either. We could have talks, exhibitions, social events and so on so that the screening becomes a space for people to socialise and communicate.

The broad approach is in recognising that there can be multiple viewpoints on most subjects and that we choose documentaries that make their case rationally rather than through hysteria. We don't wish to be an exclusive club and the documentaries we screen should appeal to a broad section of people, not just the usual faces.

Lines of Work
Monthly private screenings, moving quickly on to public screenings, an informal library, making Ramon's blog the site through which we carry out the conversation, pooling in our ideas and resources to have a detailed programme and for all this to happen have a formal organisation. Should it be an incorporated association moving to seek charity status or should we have it as a co-operative? I suggest we also think of other possible lines of activity (giving ourselves up to imagining or, as middle-aged people like ourselves might say, even daydreaming and then working to make it happen). Let's have suggestions, lots of them, and then debate and prioritise.

Participating
Doing a little is doing a lot. Choosing documentaries for the next screening, sharing information on new releases, helping with publicity, writing for the blog, meeting new groups etc. All of this can be done in surprisingly little time. Let's also have some really boring planning meetings. I think it was obvious to everyone at the meeting that given the quality of the group and with some planning and organisation, we will achieve lot.

Name
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