Cristian MIHU - How to write documentaries about post-industrial space

The urban and architectural industrial heritage in the post-socialist European countries are scratched on one hand by the indifference, even hostility of post-communist societies which ignore and reject in-corpore their own recent past, and, on the other hand, by the rapacity of the real estate developers, as well as by the political view which often considers post-industrial space only through its capacity of generating economical profit.
Although quite often subject of public debates about the future of post-industrial urban space - especially in post-socialist countries after their European integration - this concerns haven’t been shared to a broader public and did not mark relevant reconsiderations of the decision-makers’ attitude. Therefore, the documentary film might be seen - everywhere in Europe - as a very efficient way of increasing awareness, generating attitude and preoccupations at a larger public level.
But in what extent might such documentaries been made by people who are not professionals of film industry or television? The development of digital technologies allows nowadays a general access to the required film equipment and consequently, allows shooting at prices that were inconceivable ten or fifteen years ago. But even if today more films are made then several years ago, a lot of them are totally or at least partially uninteresting, un-structured, boring, not enough powerful so that they don’t help at all ideas or debates they are trying to serve.
Our presentation aims to underline the importance of the film script for the final quality of any filmed material. Moreover, it intends to present the main dramatic principles of writing for film in general and for documentary in particular, starting from basic concepts as story, structure, plot, premise, and conflict.

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Yves Lavandier: „La dramaturgie”, Ed. Le Clown et l’Enfant, Cergy, 1997
Irwin R. Blacker: „The Elements Of Screenwriting”, Macmillan, New York, 1996
Michael Hauge: „Writing Screenplays That Sell”, HarperPerennial, New York, 1991