Film Series: ‘Developing Stories’
The reality of the South

The Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), is a non-profit making organisation set up by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and Central Television, to encourage the production of films on environment and development issues. The original idea for a series of films on environment and development issues came from Robert Lamb, who is the director of TVE. BBC and TVE have worked closely together throughout the production of the series. The series will be seen throughout Europe, both East and West, in North America and Japan, and will be distributed free of charge by TVE to over a hundred countries in the developing world.

The whole principle behind commissioning Developing Stories has been to give film directors from the South an opportunity to voice an opinion on what they fee are the important issues, and to use the technology of the richer humans – global television.

It has been a challenging two year period within which the films were completed. Lino Brocka, the leading Filipino film director tragically died in a car crash just three weeks before the filming dates for "Lucia". Only three weeks earlier, his cameraman had been murdered over an issue unrelated to the film. The biggest volcanic eruption of the century in the Philippines covered the main filming location with 12 inches of ash and the village was evacuated. Filming was delayed by two months, only to get caught by unusually heavy monsoon rain which killed hundreds of people in the Philippines in floods and mud slides.

In India, the film crew cam close to being caught up in terrorist assassinations, not once but twice. Before Christmas, Pan Am went bankrupt, stranding the crew in Miami when they were meant to be in Havana to complete the filming. In Lebanon, the directors came under Israeli shellfire when filming in the south. They had to be always aware of the thousands of anti-personal mines which still litter the ruins of Beirut. In November 1991, just days before Terry Waite was released, the risk of getting hurt in a motor accident was much greater than that of becoming another kidnap victim. All of these problems came over and above the usual complications you have to expect with filming overseas, such as equipment breaking down, money transfers going astray, telephones and faxes not working and film getting lost in shipment – all of which one had to cope with over the months.

So why did the team do it? Certainly, the Earth Summit is the ideal opportunity to introduce a series such as this. Television scheduling is getting increasingly competitive in the 1990s and any television series by directors from the South must compete and justify itself directly with other programmes in the schedules. Without doubt, there is an enormous, untapped film-making talent in the south, which viewers in the North deserve to enjoy and appreciate.

But more importantly, there is a difference between a film made by someone who is an outsider, and a film made by someone who is living the reality in these countries.

Apart from bringing a fresh perspective to the issues (because they come from a different culture), these film-makers also live the life portrayed in their films, every day. As a result, they bring to the series an emotional and personal investment in their films which is very different form what is often a more detached and objective view of the same issues by a film-maker from Europe. This is something that film-makers from the South have to offer audiences in the North, and it is this authentic approach which makes Developing Stories both unique and distinctive. One type of film is not better than the other, but they are different.

Environment and development issues are not simple, and their complexity benefits from a full 50-minute programme. Six full-length films would have had more impact and are therefore less likely to be marginalised in the broadcasting schedules.

The whole philosophy of Developing Stories is that the ideas come from the directors themselves. Both drama and documentary were encouraged because drama has a lot to offer to these international issues in terms of fresh perspective; drama can often get closer to people and emotions than documentary. Ideas that were not only original, but stories in which the directors had either special or unique access were welcomed. Two films from women directors were also commissioned since women directors and women’s issues are often under-represented.

Over 120 invitations resulted in 80 replies from various developing countries the world over. All these proposals were evaluated on their potential as a good film. Some of these proposals were in the native languages and had to be translated also.

Fourteen proposals were shortlisted, any of which would have made a strong film. In the second stage of the process, fourth directors were asked to develop their ideas further with a draft budget. With the revised treatments, draft budgets and cassette copies of their previous work, the longer stage of finalising the six proposals to be commissioned was embarked upon.

The series which has finally commissioned includes two full dramas, a drama-documentary, and three more traditional documentaries.

A film-making partnership with the directors was created. Like any other partnership, it works on trust and mutual respect. The directors had the freedom to make the film they wanted to make. Thus came out a series which would be as diverse as possible, and that would display a wide range of film-making styles, including drama.

Film-makers have a responsibility to their audience not only to guarantee technical quality in the films, but also to provide the structure for both journalistic quality as well as a ‘story telling’ quality. Television is all about communication, and BBC’s main role has been to work with the directors, as a ‘bridge’ between what they want to achieve in their film, and what they believe will work for a Northern audience.

The series has been a constructive and creative partnership between BBC, TVE and the six directors, with a shared objective – to portray the reality of life in the South which will be heard throughout the rest of the world. The film-makers’ passion and commitment shows in their films. Some of the films are very funny and there is light moments throughout the series; nobody wants to sit through a six-part series which leaves them feeling depressed and powerless. But not all of the films make neat comfortable viewing; they are often stories of life and death – sometimes of individuals, at other times the survival of a culture. Yet whatever the subject and whatever the style, these directors have, without exception, committed themselves to reaching Northern audiences with the seldom-heard message of the South.


Excerpt from "Developing Stories" by Peter Firstbrook.

Back to Contents