The history of television documentary drama genesis, its ontological characteristics

Abstract

The article analyses the genesis of television documentary drama and its dual nature that causes much controversy among film theorists. The ontological characteristics of docudrama are considered, in particular its intrinsic connection with documentary theatre. Docudrama originated at the junction of feature films and documentary films at the time when directors raised important social and historical issues that occurred in the state. The docudrama prototype emerged long before the invention of television and is associated with the first newsreels and films of E. Curtis and R. Flaherty. This experiment had developed greatly with the advent of television, which is characterized by a combination of intimacy, focus on close-ups and the ability to tell stories based on real events. The article highlights the formation of documentary drama on BBC that explored all spheres of life with great interest - from British culture and history to social and political topics. The article traces the popularity and relevance of docudrama at the present stage and its settlement into a stable form. This allows to establish docudrama as an independent form of screen arts. The article studies also the formation and development of docudrama in Belarus that is first of all connected with the director Vladimir Bokun.