“Doc Street Radio will podcast one-on-one interviews with South African documentary filmmakers, masterclasses, and open pitching sessions. At times, we will also engage audiences, academics and filmmakers on the constantly changing face of documentary cinema,” says Riaan Hendricks, founder of podcasting platform Doc Street Radio (www.soundcloud.com/docstreet), and director of the multi-award-winning documentary film, The Devil’s Lair (2013).
During 2006 and for a period of three years, Hendricks published the briefly popular SADOX, an online newsletter of in-depth conversations with documentary filmmakers.
“This is a continuation of SADOX. Just this time we found the ideal platform – that of the spoken word. It has an immediacy that cannot be matched. The foundation of Doc Street Radio is one-on-one conversations. As time goes on, the podcasts will become highly sought after and appreciated by students, audiences and practitioners of documentary film,” says Hendricks.
Documentary as a genre has a strong role to play in transforming society. Filmmakers, whether they are central to the story or not, are often a catalyst in great socio-political change. Thus the filmmakers’ perspectives and their approach to the dynamics at play in the film is what we want to celebrate.
Landmark documentary films have been made in the past, yet often the filmmakers along with their works disappear into obscurity because of a lack appreciation and exposure. Doc Street Radio will appreciate their work. We will publicise their work and ensure it continued life for future generations. A filmmaker’s voice need not to die because the struggle to make their next film takes too many years. The genius of some of their works contributes greatly to the documentary film movement in South Africa. We will reflect on those seminal films and engage with the directors or / and makers of those films.
This is an open call: to deliver on our goal, we are looking for documentary film critics, academics and students of the documentary movement to propose content for our podcasts over the next year. We are also looking for sponsors / advertisers to lock down key advertising opportunities so we can pay for the production of the content.
Riaan Hendricks can be contacted on 076 483 0502 and info@filmseason.co.za