Key Figures

John Grierson: 1898-1972
- Coined the term 'documentary' in 1926
- Considered the 'father of' the British documentary film

"Grierson's emerging and outspoken film philosophies caught the attention of New York film critics at the time. He was asked to write criticism for the New York Sun. At the Sun, Grierson wrote articles on film aesthetics and audience reception, and developed broad contacts in the film world. According to popular myth, in the course of this writing stint, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in writing about Robert J. Flaherty's film Moana (1926): "Of course Moana, being a visual account of events in the daily life of a Polynesian youth and his family, has documentary value." (from wikipedia)


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Pare Lorentz: 1905-1992


- 1936: The Plow That Broke The Plains
"A short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl."


Leni Riefenstahl: 1902-2003
"A German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aestheticsand innovations as a filmmaker."
- The Triumph of the Will: 1935
Documented the Nuremberg Rallies of 1934, gained her success as well as infamy.