Interactive Documentary in Canada

Thompson, Rustin

Borum Chattoo, Caty

MacDonald, Scott

Kim, Jihoon

Aufderheide, Patricia

<p>Interactive documentary emerged rapidly from a constellation of changing technologies and practices to much excitement, yet its history is short and its future uncertain. In the mid-2010s Canada was a world leader in the creation of i-docs. Less than a decade later technological obsolescence has rendered many of these celebrated projects inaccessible, while rapid digital innovation continues to change the i-doc form and its modes of experience. <p/><i>The Interactive Documentary in Canada</i> captures this transitional moment in documentary filmmaking and media production. Bringing together a range of historical, theoretical, and critical approaches, this collection examines the past - and the imagined future - of a nonfiction storytelling phenomenon that has Canadian institutions, figures, and works at its centre. Embracing a polyphonic conception of interactive documentary, the volume includes explorations of web-based, app-based, installation, and virtual reality works that push the boundaries of what is understood as documentary cinema. Leading documentary scholars and makers consider the historical and technological contexts of i-doc production, innovation, and exhibition&#x3b; the political and pedagogical potential of the genre&#x3b; the ethics of the i‐doc experience&#x3b; and the format's future lifespan in the contemporary media landscape. <p/><i>The Interactive Documentary in Canada</i> establishes a place for the i-doc in the history of Canadian film, highlighting the genre's significant impact on the National Film Board of Canada and on contemporary global documentary media.</p>