I did an independent study in documentary film as an undergraduate, and my professor allowed me to choose my textbook. I chose Collecting Visible Evidence edited by Jane Gaines and Michael Renov. Well, neither my professor nor I were quite sure what to do with that book. The essays are dense, to say the least, and unfortunately I haven’t yet made it to a Visible Evidence conference to see if an in-person interaction with the folks who write these essays would prove more fruitful. But for theorizing documentary, this is were its at.

I just read via H-Film that Visible Evidence is launching a listserv that “aims to continue to grow the community by providing a forum on documentary images, sounds, and situations in film, television, on the internet, in journals, in museums, in galleries, and on billboards (to name just a few).” I’m not sure if anyone who reads this blog keeps their eye on the academic film community, but there is a lot of great stuff going on at conferences and in film writing, outside of festivals and the larger marketplace. If you wish to join the listserv, go here for directions.