Abstract
A relatively new sub-genre of the documentary—ecocinema—is becoming a popular form among theorists and practitioners alike. With global environmental issues like climate change constantly demanding our attention, the environmental documentary, now more commonly referred to as the eco-doc, has achieved significance in the world of activist documentary filmmaking. In addition to the production of several documentary feature films and television programmes in this category worldwide, new semiotic storytelling methods are being employed to strengthen the audience’s connection to the world they see on screen with the same world they live in off screen as a means of encouraging them to adopt behavioural change and to take action.
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Notes
- 1.
Heidegger, Martin. “The Origin of the Work of Art.” Off the Beaten Track, Julian Young and Kenneth Haynes, editors and translators. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- 2.
Cavell, Stanley. The Worlds Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film (Enlarged Edition). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979.
- 3.
Box Office Mojo. Accessed January 1, 2018. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm.
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Filmography
A Sixth Part of the World, Director, Dziga Vertov. Moscow: Sovkino, 1926.
Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis, Director Walter Ruttman. Berlin: Deutsche Vereins-Film, Les Productions Fox Europa, 1927.
Chasing Coral, Director, Jeff Orlowski. Exposure Labs, 2017.
Chasing Ice, Director, Jeff Orlowski. Exposure and Diamond Docs, 2012.
Gasland, Director Josh Fox, International WOW Company, 2010.
Life After People, Director, David de Vries. Flight 33 Productions, 2008.
March of the Penguins, Director, Luc Jacquet. National Geographic Films (as National Geographic Feature Films), Bonne Pioche, Wild Bunch (in Association with), Alliance de Production Cinematographique (APC) (Co-production), Buena Vista International Film Production France (with the Participation of), Canal+ (with the Participation of), L’Institut Polare Français Paul-Émile Victor (in Association with), 2005.
Nanook of the North, Director, Robert Flaherty. Les Frères Revillon, 1922.
Racing Extinction, Director, Louie Psihoyos. Oceanic Preservation Society, 2015.
Romance of the Far Fur Country, Director, H.M. Wyckoff. London: The Hudson’s Bay Company, 1920.
South, Director, Frank Hurley (Uncredited). Australia: Ralph Minden Film, 1919.
Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, Director, Bob McGrath. Conceived and Composed by DJ Spooky/Paul D. Miller. No Production Company, 2008.
The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning, Director, Mark Terry. Toronto: Polar Cap Productions, Inc., 2009.
The Island President, Director, Jon Shenk. ITVS, 2012.
The Plough that Broke the Plains, Director, Pare Lorentz. Resettlement Administration, 1936.
The Polar Explorer, Director, Mark Terry. Toronto: Polar Cap Productions II, Inc., 2010.
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Terry, M. (2020). Ecocinema and Semiotic Storytelling. In: The Geo-Doc. Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32508-4_4
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