Barbara Sumner Burstyn: The Documentary Filmmaker Film producer and writer Barbara Sumner Burstyn started her career as a magazine Features writer and a social issue columnist that is commonly published in New Zealand for which she was awarded. Her contribution to the documentary industry has led the people see the things in a new way. What is Documentary Film? A documentary film is basically a movie that efforts to document the real life in reel life. It is also defined as a film or a program that gives a fact-based report on a particular topic or a subject. Its aim is to review something with real evidence. The actors in this movie are not typically actors although the sequence of the scenes is arranged after editing. Also the scenes are not scripted. A documentary film includes interview of the people in attempt to gain more information about the story. It consists of the footage of the stuff and the events happened in the real life. it is different from the other movies in the context that it focus on documenting real life events rather than drama and fiction. Documentaries can be on any topic : cultural, historical, social, political or on anyone personal’s life. There are various features of a documentary: • •
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Observation: This is shown as a sense used as a evidence and it changes the people participating as objects instead of subjects. Interview: Documentaries mostly use interviews to make a distinction between the observed sequences. This can be done in two ways: Either they intercut the observation fragments or they leave the sequence as it is. Dramatization: Although a documentary is not based on drama but it portraits people and events in a way that some drama can be sensed in it as the drama is based on facts. Exposition: It includes the sequences that led the audiences to make their own interpretation. It reveals the discussion being disclosed. Mise-en-scene: It is all that the producers and directors put into the frames like lighting and everything that is needed in an interview. It is very important to the topic of the documentary.
Moreover, there are 6 types of documentaries: • • • •
Poetic: This type of documentary is related personally to the people involved i.e. the presenter and interviewees. Expository: This type of documentary mostly includes non-fiction films. Direct access with the audience is there. Participatory: This type of documentary has the events and the scenes which are being influenced, modified or edited by the presence of the filmmaker. Per formative: This documentary is basically autobiographical in nature. It recognizes the personal and emotional feature of a documentary. It is shown in a way that it is perceived differently by different people.
One Man, One Cow, One Planet Barbara Sumner Burstyn is the writer of the Documentary “One man, One Cow, One planet”.This documentary is about a remarkable journey of Peter Proctor to India. It showed the farming revolution in India and how he single handedly helped in recovering the traditional farming there. This documentary got the Best Non-Broadcast Film in Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. In addition to this, this documentary was appreciated as the Best Environmental Conservation film in CMS, Vatravan and sold to about 16 countries. Her best work: The Way of lifewas shortlisted for an Oscar and it won about 12 international.
This Way of Life This Way of life is one of the Sumner Burstyn’s best work was shortlisted for an Oscar. It was sold to 22 countries. HarperCollins publishers, one of the world’s largest publishing companies publish This Way of Life in 2012. It made the 2011 Oscar Documentary Long List. This book is about a couple who lived in an isolated rural New Zealand and how they raised their seven children. They were raised with no limitations, restrictions and had a simple way of living. They work with horses and hunt for food and their blissful existence. And how they sell their ancestor’s land to a owner who threatened their lifestyle. It also won about 12 international awards from the year 2010 to 2012. List of the awards are given below:
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Shortlist 2011 Academy Awards Berlin International Film Festival, Jury Prize. Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Best Feature Film, Victoria Independent FF, Texas, Best Documentary Bend International FF, Oregon, Best Documentary 2012 Bend International FF, Oregon, Best Feature Film, 2012 Iowa Indie Film Festival 2011, People’s Choice Iowa Indie Film Festival 2011, Best Documentary Docville Official Selection 2011 Belgium DocEdge Festival Outstanding Contribution to New Zealand Documentary 2011 Qantas Film Awards 2010, Best Documentary FIFO 2011 Special Jury Award Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2010, Audience Award Plus Cameraimage nominated Best Cinematography, Poland 2010
Some Kind of Love Barbara Sumner Burstyn’s recent film “Some kind of love” has just been released. This is recently in post-production with production partners Screen Siren in Canada. It is also voted as a runner up for the Cuban Hat Prize by the audience. It is sold to about 5 countries. This story is being told by an aging artist, her scientist brother about the repercussion of passion and the divide between the science and art. It explores the controversial relationship between an aging artist and her brother. It shows the consequences in the old age of the choices we have made when we were young. Various awards for the documentary are listed below:
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Canada-wide theatrical release, May 2015 Official Selection, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, DocAviv International Documentary Festival (Israel) (2015)