5 Major Influences From Daniel Gordon
I’ve often been asked who my influences are and it’s a question I’ve never been able to answer with any great satisfaction. Directing documentaries isn’t something I’ve wanted to do since birth — that would be professional soccer player, but that dream died around the age of 12, although a part of me has never let it die completely, despite the evidence: my advancing years, the total absence of playing time and the lack of any professional contract coming my way... 1. But as I think about where I am now, it’s clear that early on in my life I was drawn to the work of people like Ken Loach, who made films about real people and the lives they led. Often these were in or near areas where I lived or grew up – northern England, where humor is often used as a way of coping with the drudgery of daily life. Ken Loach’s films drew me to try to understand what made people tick in situations where everything is against them, yet somehow they find a will and a way to carry on. 2. The first documentary I remember being hooked in by from a storytelling point of view was When We Were Kings and this may have been the point where the idea clicked: “I want to make films like that.” Great archive, great characters, a story that most people felt they knew about yet it told so much that was fresh and mesmerizing. In a similar vein, One Day in September did the same.
3. Away from archive based films, documentaries such as Steve James' Hoop Dreams and Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club captivated me, the latter especially was an influence in my first North Korean documentary, The Game of Their Lives. Wenders’ film is simply gorgeous - telling the story of extraordinary people, living in a world about which we know very little. The language barrier and subtitles add to the mystique for me — a total contrast to the commissioners I come across who tell me subtitles are a turn off for their audience (I won’t name the commissioner who once told me “our research has told us that our audience doesn’t like to read”). 4. In terms of directors, I am often drawn to the works of Kevin MacDonald, Paul Greengrass and Michael Winterbottom, British directors who have used their experience of documentaries to enhance the audience’s experiences when they direct drama. It’s a path I’m looking to follow in the near future. 5. The last documentary that’s influenced me was James Marsh’s Man On Wire. What a piece of work. I have no idea how long that film is. I don’t care. From start to finish I was totally absorbed, simply in awe. One day, I told myself, I’ll make a film as brilliant as that. Now that’s a challenge...
[Photo: Daniel Gordon]
