How to Get a Spot in a QWF Workshop
Eight-week workshops: $170 per course ($150 for QWF members)
Quebec City workshop $150
Wakefield workshop and Saturday sessions: $75 each
Arts Journalism workshops $200 (some scholarships available)
Call or email the office to see if there's still space available, and register. Pay for the workshop by cheque, cash or via PayPal.
Pmt by cheque to:
Quebec Writers' Federation
1200 Atwater, Suite 3
Montreal
H3Z 1X4
or by cash at the QWF office (by appointment).
For more information:
(514) 933-0878
info@qwf.org
www.qwf.org
If you're paying with PayPal:
You must contact the office first to get registered. Log on to www.paypal.com and click "Send Money." Recipient's email address is admin@qwf.org In the "Note" box, provide your full name, email address, daytime phone number and the name of the workshop you're registering for.
Note that there is a small service charge for the convenience of paying with a credit card.
Quebec Writers' Federation Workshops
Spring Session 2008
Develop your writing with the mentorship of an acclaimed professional writer and feedback from your peers.
Workshops take place at the QWF office, Suite 3, Atwater Library unless otherwise indicated.
WRITING FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM: BENDING THE RULES OF THE GAME
Eight Mondays, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. (March 3–April 21)
1200 Atwater Avenue, Suite 3
Workshop leader: Paul Cowan
Documentary film writing has evolved considerably in the last twenty or so years – from the Voice of God school of narration to the Voice of Michael Moore. In the VoG school of narration you got just the facts (that were carefully chosen by the writer or the director); in the school of gonzo agitprop, you get just the facts (as chosen by the now writer/director). Stylistically, they’re miles apart, but there is one strong similarity: they are both telling you a story that’s been carefully coddled and crafted – and written. That process often takes months.
Film writing is different than almost any other kind of writing. It is sometimes in the foreground; but often it works best when it supports the images, when it’s invisible.
Filmmaking – whether dramatic or documentary – is almost always about images: images trump words. But words can dramatically alter the meaning of most images. You only have to look at what Don Brittain did with rather banal shots of war graveyards in Memorandum to know the power of words to transform pictures into something iconic. Screen the early films of Lorenz – The Plough the Broke the Plain - and tell me what you remember. I remember his words.
Words are very personal often in ways that images aren’t. Images are the result of happenstance, of the constraints of reality, of budget, of technology, of access etc. Words are where the filmmaker has the luxury of time - not unlimited, but it’s not like shooting - of reflection, of testing his or her thoughts before an audience. They are often where the filmmaker’s point of view is expressed.
There are no rules to film writing, but in my experience there are some guidelines. Words are where it all starts – often with the proposal that gets the funding. Words are often the last thing added. Words are often the difference between a mediocre film and a very good one. Rarely can most film sequences tolerate more than three sentences – two is often better. Finding those twenty or so words can be agony. Words give structure to reality. Words can be journalistic, poetic, personal, or doggerel. They are sometimes, though rarely, great literature. That’s the way it should be. Words, more than anything, express the filmmaker’s point of view.
I will screen various films where I think the writing works, and some where it doesn’t. I will probably use more of my own films simply because I can tell you more intimately what went into the writing of that film. I’ve tried most styles: verité, docu-drama, traditional, hybrids of these. I try to fit the writing to the subject. The challenge is always the same: to make the story work.
I will expect everyone in the class to have ideas – at least three – for films they would like to make. The styles should be different and realizable. You will be asked to write an initial proposal. You will be asked to write something that comes at the end of the research and scripting stage. Eventually, I will ask you to write narration as it might occur in your film imaging the kinds of sequences you would get. Your feedback on each other’s work is as important as mine. The classes will be group efforts. One final thought: I’m a filmmaker by profession. I can’t teach you how to write. I will share with you my real world experiences; it will be up to you to apply them to your own very particular talents and desires.
Paul Cowan is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker, writer and cinematographer. During his 30-year career, he has chronicled the rise and fall of renegade billionaire Robert Campeau (Double or Nothing: The Rise and Fall of Robert Campeau), followed Dr. Henry Morgentaler on his controversial abortion crusade (Democracy on Trial: The Morgentaler Affair), dramatized Donald Marshall's landmark battle against Nova Scotia's justice system (Justice Denied), and stirred up a storm of debate in the Canadian Senate with a hotly contested docudrama about First World War flying ace Billy Bishop (The Kid Who Couldn't Miss). He received an Acadamy Award nomination for his feature documentary Going the Distance. Cowan’s Genie award-winning Westray tells the story behind the 1992 Nova Scotia coal mine disaster that killed 26 men while his latest film, The Peacekeepers, delves into the political wrangling of internationalpolitics, showing how the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations struggle to mount peacekeeping missions.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Eight-week workshops: $170 per course ($150 for QWF members) • Quebec City workshop: $150 • Wakefield workshop and Saturday sessions: $75 each • Arts Journalism workshops $200 (some scholarships available) • Call to register and for cancellation policy • Payment by cheque to Quebec Writers' Federation, 1200 Atwater, Suite 3, Montreal H3Z 1X4, by PayPal (additional fee-please check with office) or by cash at the QWF office (by appointment).
TO REGISTER, CALL (514) 933-0878
QWF gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts.
