David Mcdougall is an American-Australian documentary filmmaker who is a respected name in the world of non-fiction movies. He is known to make ethnographical films that deal with social reality and are high of emotion. He made his debut in 1972 and has made some great movies since then.
The Wedding Camels
The Wedding Camels is 1974 film directed by David Macdougall. The film deals with the life of people living in Kenya and their wedding traditions. The film observes the lives of a tribe living in Turkana and their amazing traditions. It is interesting to know that this film was funded by University of California. As a filmmaker, David too faced the issue of funding but due his amazing story, he received finance from different sources.
A Wife Among Wives
As the title suggest, this movie directed by David and Judith is about the complexities of a polymorous marriage. It is regarded as one of the finest non-fiction films ever made that deals with this issue. The film deals with feminism and the issue of women living in Turkana, Kenya. David his called visual anthropologist for his amazing work.
The New Boys
In the film, David has beautifully captured one of the India's most prestigious boys boarding, Doon School. The film focuses on a new group of students who arrive to the premises to start their lives at school. The filmmaker skilfully adds different working people like tailor, hostel staff, driver, carpenters etc. to show that they all contribute in making the school a wonderful place.Everyone has a role to play in functioning of the school. In the opening sequence when the students are about to arrive the film maker keeps on cutting to various staffs belonging to different occupations including tailor, worker, cleaner etc.
Technique
Basically, the filmmaker is using these cutaways to get into the life and practice which was common and prevalent between all of them. Their representation in the initial part of the documentary also focuses on their role and their contribution which we often tend to ignore. They are the ones who contribute effectively to the successful functioning of the organization.The filmmaker keeps cutting to these shots to us their importance and to maintain a smooth flow. We find these characters everywhere and it is very easy to relate to them. Unlike fictional films, we do not get to know about their personalities but their mere existence adds a flavour of realism to screen which is quite important for a documentary.