Between autobiography and the Essay Film: the Documentaries of Ross McElwee

Abstract

This project aims to examine the work of the north-american documentarian Ross McElwee as a whole, conducting a stylistic and thematic study of his films. We will work with concepts that develop analytically questions concerning the construction of an autobiographical representation in Documentary Film. McElwee's work is studied in texts from the perspective of subjectivity and self-reflection and as a reference to the development of issues regarding an essayistic approach towards documentary (Film-Essay). We intend to approach McElwees carreer as a continuous autobiographical process and essayistic development, built through a singular stylistic in which the director became recognized. The bibliographical core of the project relies on works that analyze general issues of representation in Documentary (Bill Nichols, Carl Plantinga, Noel Carroll, Fernão Pessoa Ramos), works that deal with issues of subjectivity and autobiography in Documentary (Michael Renov, Jim Lane) bibliographical material towards the essayistic in Film and Literature (Theodor W. Adorno, George Lukacs, Timothy Corrigan, Phillip Lopate, Laura Rascaroli and others) published books and articles on the work of Ross McElwee, plus interviews with the director himself. The subject-matter of this research can be Justified due to the apparent lack of analysis, in Brazil, on the work of McElwee. His filmography provides material to an analytical study of issues such as subjectivity, autobiography and the essayistc in documentary, subjects that currently are being more studied in brazilian filmic research field. (AU)