Against the Stream: Oppositional Film in the Neoliberal World Order

Show notes

In today's documentary* landscape, issues of race, gender, and other under-represented groups are rightly under scrutiny, yet ‘neoliberalism’ remains largely unexamined in documentary production. Also, the major streaming platforms have increased documentary output but narrowed platformed works to largely align with market-driven interests, favouring 'spectacle' – like celebrity culture and true crime – and conformity to Western storytelling tropes. As these platforms expand their global reach, the spread of neoliberal values has intensified, further entrenching a homogenised cultural landscape. These issues provide the context for this conversation with veteran filmmakers Jean Marie Teno, Pratibha Parmar, and curator Inney Prakash.

They discuss their “oppositional” film practices—in creating works and spaces that challenge the global dominance of Western neoliberalism – and share their histories, highlighting that these practices are more critical now than ever before to counter neoliberalism's influence in shrinking political, aesthetic and cultural imaginaries worldwide.

*Please note that documentary also refers to non-fiction in this text

Length: 76:15 Recorded on August 22, 2024

Moderator: Meena Nanji Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Oras Alchukur Editor: Anne Rethfeldt, Martin Langhof, Rene Bluemel Producer: Anne Rethfeldt

The DOK Industry Podcast 2024 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective and What’s Up With Docs Podcast, and supported by Docs-in-Orbit and film.macht.kritisch - Der Podcast über das andere Kino.

You can find out more about our collaborators here.