Gerry Flahive is a documentary producer at the National Film Board in Toronto.

Rome, Italy: One could say that Rome is the most historic city on Earth. And so it’s probably fitting that the annual World Congress of History Producers (with a name like that you’d think we’d all be wearing ceremonial sashes) brought three days of intense, creative and simultaneously translated discussions to the Italian capital in December.

More than 400 delegates, from England to Greece, from Israel to Denmark took part in talks on everything from ‘History in high definition’ (I thought it was all in black and white) to ‘Who owns history?’ (The highest bidder?)

It’s ‘a place to meet with decision-makers in a casual, no-sell or low-sell situation, so that we meet as people, over lunch or dinner, and get to know one another,’ says U.S. independent filmmaker Louis Galdieri, attending his first congress with a doc about country singer Woody Guthrie. ‘Beats a meeting in the office of the big and powerful any day.’

Congress programming consultant Rita Carbone Fleury was upbeat about the results. ‘There aren’t a lot of opportunities for history producers to take part in professional development and knowledge transfer,’ she says. ‘We aim to dig deep into the root of a topic so that our audience feels that attendance stimulates them on an intellectual level.’

Oh, for sure. And yet the most popular session was probably The Rules, a lively debate and vote (with two colors of construction paper! two!) presented by the BBC’s John Farren. Among the topics and results:

* ‘Men want facts, women want emotion’ (voted down).

* ‘Reputable history programs don’t use reconstructions’ (ditto).

* ‘History television is a man thing’ (a tie).

* ‘There should be rules for history programs’ (a narrow win for yes).

One ‘rule’ discussion – that ‘counterfactual history does not belong on television’ ­- segued into the final panel talk about ‘what if’ programming – as in, if Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated, would he have pulled the U.S. out of Vietnam?

It’s a respected sub-genre in academic history, but not much embraced by docmakers. Moderator Brian Stewart of the CBC led a sometimes heated debate about whether this approach is even history – or just science fiction in sepia tones.

Panelist John Marshall, a U.K. producer developing a counterfactual series on military what ifs, made the point that, as documentary filmmakers, ‘we are not primarily doing history as academics do. We are, rather, creating entertaining and compelling stories based on historical material.

‘Counterfactual history can inform us about actual events by exposing parallel or possible narratives. The key thing is not to have the intention of fooling the audience into believing a narrative known to be false,’ he said.

At previous congresses – in Toronto, Paris and Berlin – there was debate about the very relevance and appeal of history programming. Was anyone watching? And if so, anyone other than 63-year-old white males with an abiding interest in nothing other than the deployment of German Panzer tanks in the Second World War?

But it seems the history battle has been won, with channels showing up all over the world, like so many Panzer tank divisions, and with primetime audiences, at least in some countries, tuning in. UKTV History was Britain’s fastest-growing channel last year, for example.

Congress delegates expressed real confidence about their audiences – that they want to watch history and would continue to do so if the offerings are fresh, intelligent and connect with contemporary times.

There has also been a move away from ‘pipe-puffers’ (dull experts droning on about great men) towards more social history – programming that connects with contemporary audiences like The Worst Jobs in History by Brit Tony Robinson, which has done well here for Alliance Atlantis’ History Television.

This newfound popularity comes at a high price, though – for elaborate CGI work, for colorizing of stock footage, and, in particular, for meticulously researched and lavishly art-directed dramatic reenactments.

But, as VisionTV’s Alberta Nokes observed, ‘The most important factor in any production is the one you can’t put a cash value on: imagination. The clip from Murder Hotel [a one-hour about a 19th century serial killer] that featured low-tech animation of two very creepy little dolls, was absolutely chilling and held its own with big-budget drama and CGI.’

And yet, wars are still a big draw, with or without the tanks.

‘My highlight was the resonance for Arnie Gelbart’s The Great War project,’ a Galafilm production airing on CBC in the spring of 2007, says Jerry McIntosh, director of documentaries for CBC News.

‘Arnie showed a clip from the footage [director] Brian McKenna has collected – of descendants of World War I vets walking in their relatives’ footsteps in the trenches of France, and it touched an emotional chord. Producers and broadcasters from around the world approached us to talk about the potential format possibilities for our approach.’

The 2006 History Congress will be held in London. Apparently there’s some history there, too.

www.history2005.com