Seventh Row

A place to think deeply about movies

A book of interviews with some of the most influential documentary filmmakers working today

Calling all documentary fans

Get this carefully curated selection of interviews

With this ebook, discover how some of the most talented documentary directors from around the world, each with different (and sometimes conflicting) approaches and opinions, approach their work.

It will change how you think about documentaries and whether there’s any “right” way to make them.

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Read excerpts from In Their Own Words: Documentary Masters Vol. 1 here:

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Why we wrote the book

About Documentary Masters Vol. 1

If you want to understand, soup to nuts, how documentaries come to life, this book is for you. You’ll get specific insights into the craft and philosophy of filmmaking from a wide range of critically acclaimed filmmakers — and learn things about filmmaking that you haven’t seen written down elsewhere.

Inside, Frederick Wiseman breaks down his editing process; Alanis Obomsawin re-imagines documentary as a means of listening; and Joshua Oppenheimer discusses the use of magical realism in processing “unresolved trauma.”

Over and over, we drop you into the minds of some of today’s most influential documentarians, and, with our eBook exclusive foreword, we equip you to put these perspectives in conversation and share in their wisdom.

Inside In Their Own Words: Documentary Masters Vol. 1

In Their Own Words: Documentary Masters Vol. 1 is divided into four chapters:

Chapter One: Creative nonfiction

  • Joshua Oppenheimer on The Look of Silence
  • Hubert Sauper on We Come as Friends
  • Sophie Fiennes on Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
  • Penny Lane on NUTS!

Chapter Two: Political Cinema

  • Steve James on ABACUS: Small Enough to Jail
  • Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker on Unlocking the Cage
  • Alanis Obomsawin on Our People Will Be Healed

Chapter Three: Frederick Wiseman

Chapter Four: Gianfranco Rosi

  • Rosi on Fire at Sea
  • Rosi on editing Fire at Sea
  • Two opposing sensibilities: Rosi and Wiseman

Praise for In Their Own Words: Documentary Masters Vol. 1

Brilliant, insightful, fun

This book is brilliant, insightful, fun, beautiful, revelatory, and exceptionally well written.
Per M. Mjølkeråen
Film Critic

The Paris Review of film interviews

“Seventh Row’s interviews with filmmakers offer specific insights into the craft and philosophy of filmmaking from a wide range of critically acclaimed filmmakers. I’ve learned things about filmmaking from reading Seventh Row that I’ve never seen written down elsewhere.”
Shaula Evans
Reader

About the authors

Alex Heeney

Alex is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. She is fascinated with how documentarians approach their subjects and are constantly innovating within creative nonfiction.

Elena Lazic

Elena is an Associate Editor at Seventh Row. She is fascinated by how cinematographers work and think and has been instrumental in starting our Behind The Lens series. Elena wrote the final chapter, in which she interviews cinematographer Joshua James Richards.

Brett Pardy

Brett is a Ph.D. Candidate in Education, focusing on how films can create empathy. He is a regular contributor to Seventh Row and a fan of Alanis Obomsawin’s wide-ranging work.

Purchase your copy of Documentary Masters Vol. 1

The ebook is available as an ePub and PDF, which are readable on all tablets, smart phones, and eReaders.

Buy the book here for $19.99 CAD, which is roughly $15 USD and 10 GBP. Sign up for our newsletter to access sneak peaks and exclusive deals.