Filmmakers Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier of The Jinx reveal how the tools

of narrative filmmaking – in particular, ‘detective stories’ – can serve the documentarian, and share the cinema and television that has most informed their approach to documentary storytelling.

By taking us inside scenes from their landmark HBO docuseries, Smerling and Stuart-

Pontier dissect the techniques and challenges of unravelling a mystery with suspense, character and complexity, and also unpack the ethics of applying the

conventions of fiction to documentary. It provides a unique insight into the relationship between storytelling and truth, and the philosophies and techniques that go into building narratives around real people and real events.

Speakers: Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier

Host: Sari Braithwaite