AFDA proudly invites current students, alumni, and future creatives to an exclusive, once-off online masterclass presented by:
Pauli van Dyk
Dean: AFDA Hatfield Campus
Award-winning director, producer and editor
Directing a documentary involves shaping reality through selection, intention, and narrative structure. The filmmaker’s point of view is a central element in documentary storytelling, shaping both content and audience perception.
Authenticity and bias coexist in documentary: filmmakers must be aware of how they influence representation. This session introduces the concept of Point of View (POV) in documentary directing, understanding how a filmmaker’s perspective shapes the narrative, influences authenticity, and defines the purpose of a documentary. It explores how storytelling styles influence meaning, viewer perception, and directorial intention.
In this Masterclass, Pauli will unpack:
Foundational theory on documentary storytelling styles, with a critical framework to analyse and conceptualise different documentary approaches.
Explore six distinct storytelling styles as explored by Bill Nichols (017) —expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, performative, and poetic—each with its own historical context, visual strategy, and ethical implications.
Analyse key characteristics of each storytelling style: visual style, sound use, filmmaker-subject relationship, and narrative voice.
How the storytelling styles help to establish the tone and “point of view” of the documentary
Learn to critically assess the suitability of each style for different stories and contexts.
This framework provides essential tools for students to analyse existing documentaries and to select appropriate stylistic strategies for their own documentary projects.
The modes or “ways to” or styles are based on the historical progression of documentary storytelling.
Modern documentaries usually have a combination of more than one of the style with the film maker tends to become the subject of the documentary. Actively engaging with the situation, they are documenting asking
questions and sharing experiences.
Who Should Attend
Aspiring and emerging documentary makers
Television and Film creatives
AFDA students and alumni
Industry professionals interested in documentary making
Anyone curious about the future of documentaries
Why You Shouldn’t Miss This
This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from a senior institutional leader and practicing designer who operates at the intersection of academic rigor, industry excellence and creative leadership.
✔ Free
✔ Once-off
✔ Exclusive
✔ Insight-driven
✔ Career-shaping