Teaching documentary: Between academia and the media industry

Abstract

This article focuses on the relationship between different contemporary approaches to teaching documentary and the conditions of production and distribution of non-fiction in specific national contexts. The analysis of three programs in Spain, the United States and Cuba will allow us to assess the tension resulting from the double affiliation of documentary with both film and media and show singular forms of interdependence between the academic world and the industry. We will examine pedagogical approaches that, merging theory with practice, interrogate and cross the boundaries between academic fields, media and cultural categories as well as production and distribution techniques.

Keywords

• representation
• teaching documentary
• media industry
• transmission
• creative documentary