Sheffield DocFest Podcast

The Channel 4 Interviewee for 2006 is Stephen Lambert, one of the iconic figures of modern British documentary - a lightning rod for praise and criticism alike. Few figures elicit such strong reactions. For some, he represents the selling of the soul of documentary to business. For others, he is the most inventive and creative figure working in documentaries over the past fifteen years. After Wife Swap first aired The Guardian wondered whether the ITC should simply switch off the Channel 4 transmitter and The Telegraph called it an "abuse of TV's Godlike power". At the same time his work has been lauded both in Britain and abroad "as truly groundbreaking" and showered with awards. Today Stephen Lambert is the Chief Creative Officer of the RDF Media Group where he has been responsible for Faking It and Wife Swap among many others. Before joining RDF, documentaries department, where he produced and directed many films for 40 Minutes and the Inside Story strand. He then became the Modern Times documentary strand, which he ran for four years. What cannot be denied is his central influence on the shape of the modern documentary on television - an influence which the Channel 4 interview will provide a unique opportunity to explore. 

This masterclass celebrates the work of brilliant cameraman Paul Otter. In a career of spectacular work on award-winning films like The House, The Last Peasants with Angus Macqueen; The Lost Boys and Pimp Snooky with Clive Gordon; Tsunami - Six Hours on Boxing Day and the film he is presently making with Kevin Sim, Paul has held on to the values of collaboration and complete immersion in the subject, which are of immense value to future filmmakers. He will take us on his journey helped along by examples of his work. 

The documentary genre is currently undergoing an intense period of scrutiny and reassessment. Damaged by accusations of fakery, charged with unfair manipulation and increasingly marginalised and subject to cutbacks, is it the end of the line for the genre? Once the pride of British television, have the channels and the public lost their appetite for documentaries? In an age of celebrity-smitten, format-crazed factual, who is commissiong them now? This year's Question Time tackles these and other key issues with a panel of leading documentary makers and commissioners.

The relationship between filmmaker and contribution is fundamental to the success or failure of all documentaries. But we rarely hear directly from the people who, for whatever reason, agree to appear in our films. This session allows some very different contributors, in the presence of their filmmakers, to talk about how it was for them. Alexis Arquette was filmed as she went through a sex change and at one point withdrew access. Gary was cast as a bigot in Joe Bullman's docu-drama 'The Seven Sins of England', while Monthy and Betty had their lives scrutinised in Mark Isaac's observational documentary 'All White in Barking'. Would they do it again if they had known what they know now?

Presenter-authored documentaries have been around for almost 40 years. At its core the genre tries to turn serious debate into informative entertainment by the power of the presenter's personality and on-screen presence. In this session we look at the current rise of celebrity and cultural commentator fronted documentaries. Is this new form of authorship just a trend that pulls in viewers or is it the savior of the dying television documentary?

How vital to the DNA of modern television is the documentary? The BBC currently produces more factual programmes and documentaries than any other broadcaster in the world, yet Mark Thompson, the new Director General of the BBC, has cut budgets for indies and in-house alike and announced fifty per cent cuts in the BBC Documentary Department. So what does he think about the modern documentary? Mark Thompson will select those films that he thinks best illustrate television's changing relationship with the documentary form and reveal what they say to him and the present, the past and the future of the genre.

We are honoured that this year's Channel 4 Interview is with Michael Moore, the celebrated American film maker, Moore has applied his unconventional approach to documentary films since his famous debut Roger and Me. Stuart Cosgrove, head of Programmes, Nations and Regions, Channel4, discusses with him his past work, his creative approach to storytelling and his latest projects. 

How far can you go before you’ve crossed the line, broken the code and made yourself the next poster-boy of TV fakery? In this interactive masterclass More4 chief Peter Dale and Channel 4's legal guru Prash Naik bring together a panel of producers and broadcasters to examine both clear-cut cases or wrong doing and the dilemmas from the grey area. With producers caricatured as reckless and broadcasters caricatured as arse-coveres we put both parties to the test. The masterclass will reveal lessons for all - production teams and commissioner alike. 

How far can you go before you’ve crossed the line, broken the code and made yourself the next poster-boy of TV fakery? In this interactive masterclass More4 chief Peter Dale and Channel 4's legal guru Prash Naik bring together a panel of producers and broadcasters to examine both clear-cut cases or wrong doing and the dilemmas from the grey area. With producers caricatured as reckless and broadcasters caricatured as arse-coveres we put both parties to the test. The masterclass will reveal lessons for all - production teams and commissioner alike. 

How far can you go before you’ve crossed the line, broken the code and made yourself the next poster-boy of TV fakery? In this interactive masterclass More4 chief Peter Dale and Channel 4's legal guru Prash Naik bring together a panel of producers and broadcasters to examine both clear-cut cases or wrong doing and the dilemmas from the grey area. With producers caricatured as reckless and broadcasters caricatured as arse-coveres we put both parties to the test. The masterclass will reveal lessons for all - production teams and commissioner alike.