Produced by Trade Films an edited interview with English documentary filmmaker, film historian and critic Paul Rotha, conducted by Paul Morris and Lynne Fredlund and recorded over two days from his Wallingford flat in Oxford during September 1982. Title: A Trade Films Production The Northern History Television Archive Paul Rotha The interview was conducted by Paul Marris and Lyn Fredlund in Oxford on 23rd and 24th September 1982 Sat in his front room armchair smoking his pipe Rotha...

Produced by Trade Films an edited interview with English documentary filmmaker, film historian and critic Paul Rotha, conducted by Paul Morris and Lynne Fredlund and recorded over two days from his Wallingford flat in Oxford during September 1982. Title: A Trade Films Production The Northern History Television Archive Paul Rotha The interview was conducted by Paul Marris and Lyn Fredlund in Oxford on 23rd and 24th September 1982 Sat in his front room armchair smoking his pipe Rotha begins his interview by explaining why he changed his name from his birthname, who advised him in his formative years and how he chose Rotha. Rotha then discusses how he was influenced by 1920s Soviet cinema and German expressionist cinema. He outlines how he came to see Soviet film Turksib (1929) and its impact and influence on him, Grierson, and his documentary filmmaker colleagues in London at that time. Rotha outlines how he came to direct Shipyard (1935), who asked him, why he was interested in the project documenting the building of a ship at Vickers Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. Rotha explains how from this project onwards he vowed to only make social films and how they differed from Grierson’s approach to filmmaking, and what feels the importance of the film is. Rotha explains how he was also influenced by J.B. Priestley’s book English Journey, which first drew his attention to the ‘ghastly’ put village of Shotton Colliery in County Durham where he shot a lot of material to document the experience of the unemployed and his approach to producing To-day We Live: A Film of Life in Britain (1937). Rotha then explains how National Council for Social Service who funded the film, compromised its structure and themes, and conclusion. As the night grows darker outside Rotha expands upon how as a documentary filmmaker ‘you can fool a sponsor part of the time, but you can’t fool him all of the time’ and how this strategy enabled him to prevent sponsors censoring his films. Whilst now reclined in his chair lighting fresh tobacco in his pipe, Rotha outlines how relations with a film sponsor were different in the 1930s pre-war period and how he ‘beat’ the British Board of Film Censors devising and directing People of Britain (1936) the ‘peace film’, regarding the politics of rearmament, how the interviews were filmed, and its wider distribution strategy. Rotha discusses the fractious relationship between the documentary movement and Labour Party as a distributor whilst his dog can be seen walking through the house in the background. Rotha puts down his pipe to explain how he and his compatriots lobbied the government into employing them for their Ministry of Information (MOI) following the start of World War Two. Rotha outlines how the MOI was funded before discussing the relationship between army cameramen and filmmakers developed by Desert Victory (1943) and why, other than Total War in Britain (1945), he did not wish to concern himself with combat footage when setting up his own production company. Rotha moves on to his film World of Plenty (1943) and the reasoning and influences behind his directorial choices, particularly regarding its commentary, and their impact on British cinema. With pipe in hand, Rotha discusses the role he feels the state should have in filmmaking and the political reasons they were not implemented by politicians in the post war period. Sat up in his chair again Rotha talks through his attempts to set up the World Union of Documentary as elected chairman of the Federation of British Film Units, his run ins with Central Office of Information (COI) Director-General Robert Fraser and how Fraser financially broke Rotha’s company Films of Fact. Refilling his pipe Rotha discusses the anticipated audience for his film Land of Promise (1946) and The World is Rich (1947) and how starvation in third world countries remains to be solved. Rotha then outlines why he does not see himself as a committed political filmmaker, compared to his friend Joris Ivens, why his films are actually ‘social films’ and why he turned down certain party-political projects. Rotha explains his reasoning for transitioning into feature films from documentary filmmaking and reasons for the general crisis of sponsorship for documentary filmmakers and projects in the post war years with the winding up of the MOI. Sticking with his postwar career whilst opening a packet of tobacco Rotha discusses his direction of fiction feature films No Resting Place (1951) and The Silent Raid (1962) and how he utilised his documentary approach, particularly when casting actors. Still holding his pouch of tobacco Rotha discusses his relationship with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and its institutional policies ‘discouraged’ his approach towards filming projects. The interview concludes with Rotha discussing his penultimate film, The Life of Adolf Hitler (1961), particularly the complexity of securing legal clearances for the documentary footage he wanted to use and how the principles of his signature ‘compilation’ technique of documentary filmmaking informed his editing of the project. End credits: Director Stewart Mackinnon Production Ingrid Sinclair Photography Witold Stok Engineer Mike Brennan Sound Dave Eadington Title: This tape was made with the financial assistance of Channel Four Television and the British Film Institute and was produced under the auspices of the ACTT workshop declaration End title: © Trade Films