Newsreelfilms

In the 1960s, a small group of American film-makers produced a collection of independent films that could define that era. They were not reporters in the narrow sense of the word, but lawyers and activists who used the film medium to bring things to the attention of a mass audience. They called themselves Newsreel. They worked in decentralised film collectives in seven different cities in the US. Countless films were realised, almost all shot on 16mm. Usually in black & white, in a grainy grey style that matched the subjects they chose. Films about human rights, rebellion in neighbourhoods and on university campuses, about the Vietnam war and the battle about it fought on the home front. Some films breathe anger, others solidarity, while others preach social change. The film-makers were not looking for personal recognition. While some later moved on to Hollywood, at that time they chose anonymity and a democratic approach to film-making within a collective. The films are still well worth watching. They do not just tell a story of the era, but an American film tradition.