While documentary films, in their purest form, may not have changed too much over the last 20 years, the environment surrounding documentaries has evolved and expanded.

Playing an instrumental role in this transformation is the passion and commitment of tvontario’s creative head of documentaries, independent productions and science, Rudy Buttignol.

‘What we are experiencing is a renaissance in documentary filmmaking particularly in the auteur or point-of-view documentaries,’ says Buttignol. ‘What we have done here is tried to help promote the renaissance of the auteur documentary, the filmmaker-driven documentary, where the filmmaker has a burning passion to tell a story.’

And he has done just that as his primetime documentary series The View From Here and From the Heart were both nominated for Best Documentary Series at this year’s Gemini Awards. The two series, which feature the work of Canadian independent filmmakers, were also being recognized with a number of nominations for individual programs.

‘It’s really flattering to have two series nominated,’ says the modest commissioning editor. ‘It’s really a testament from my peers that they think what we’re doing is important.’

But Buttignol won’t take all the credit for the accomplishment. He attributes this success to the work of the independent filmmakers themselves who made these two anthology series worthy of recognition.

‘What binds these two series is the fact that they are the independent visions of artists working at the top of their form, so really it’s a testament to the people who have worked to make those individual documentaries that we put under the banner of The View From Here or From The Heart,’ says Buttignol.

An independent documentary filmmaker himself for over 17 years, Buttignol no longer makes his own films, but because of his experiences he understands the milieu and culture of the indie documentarian and works towards helping them create.

Founding chair of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus, member of the Writers Guild of Canada and on the board of directors of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Buttignol is enthusiastically involved in documentary filmmaking on all levels.

Buttignol moved to Canada from Pordenone, Italy, at the age of 11 and in 1980 received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in Toronto. From 1975 to 1993 he independently produced, directed and wrote documentaries for the National Film Board, cbc, tvo, pbs and a&e.

His impact is wide ranging. He is responsible for the expansion of the Genie and Gemini Awards given for documentaries; he was elected to the international board of input as Canada’s national coordinator for Input ’97 in France, and he continuously works to help support the documentary form both in the eyes of government and the public.

‘When this job at tvo came along four years ago it was sort of an obvious marriage between my interest as a documentary filmmaker and my interest in promoting the form to Canadians at large, as well as strengthening our own community of documentarians,’ says Buttignol. ‘It was a great marriage of both.’

As a public broadcaster the goal at tvo is ultimately to make sure there is a diversity of views both political and aesthetic. In order to achieve that, Buttignol puts his faith in the filmmakers, that they can ‘sense with their antenna those things that are important to them to tell.’

‘It feeds one of the most important things that I think documentaries and public television can do, and that is guarantee a diversity of opinion, not always the popular view or the dissenting view but the diversity, the whole range of them.’

Case in point is the Jan. 22 tv debut of Allan King’s 30-year-old daring and disturbing documentary Warrendale, shown uncut and commercial free with all the disturbing images and language that it was banned for 30 years earlier.

‘I stumbled across it having seen it in film school and didn’t realize that it had never been broadcast, so I jumped on the opportunity to show the broadcast premiere of this very controversial documentary,’ he says.

According to Buttignol the public broadcaster’s role is to push forms and to work at the most provocative level, dealing with the kinds of issues that no one else can, or will, deal with because of commercial pressures.

‘We are looking for controversial, we are looking for provocative, we are looking for things that engage the public in areas that they haven’t been engaged in. Chances are, if it has been done on other networks, regardless of its success, we are not interested,’ he says.

In order to stay abreast of where the interest is Buttignol is always looking and keeping track of people and their projects. He explains the process as being one of mutual seduction: ‘You are really trying to find the right partner. Proposals come to the door like blind dates, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.’

In the course of a year at tvo approximately 10 to 13 documentaries are bought, 20 are acquired from around the world and about 13 are original commissioned Canadian projects.

The tvo requirement for Canadian content is 70%, and as a public broadcaster Buttignol feels it is their responsibility to create original programming on Canadian issues which are of direct interest or relevance to a Canadian audience. He says it can be a tough thing to do.

‘That sometimes limits its export value and its appeal outside our borders and it becomes difficult to fund,’ he says. ‘But that is what we will have to do. Telling our own stories is still expensive and difficult and the public sector has a big role to play in that.

‘It is important not to lose sight that in Canada all cultural industries are heavily subsidized. Whether they be private broadcasters or publicly funded agencies, they all take advantage of the public purse one way or another. We can’t lose sight of the fact that the public is giving us tax money in various forms to promote our own culture.’

Buttignol sees tvo being taken off the privatization list as a vote of confidence; it means the public supports the pubcaster overwhelmingly. ‘People realize that it’s a service they use and maybe the cost of the service is quite reasonable.’

However, tvo is still slated for further review, and must continue to be more efficient and look into different ways of working and providing the service.

Despite talks of privatization and cuts to the National Film Board, Buttignol believes there has never been a better time to be making documentaries. With new specialty channels popping up every time you turn on the television there has never been better access to an audience and according to high ratings for documentaries, not only are people making them, the public is responding to them.

‘Documentarians have finally gotten respect in the industry, and I think that over the last 20 years the concept of the documentarian as a second-class citizen – first you make your documentary and then you make your real film – has disappeared in people’s minds,’ says Buttignol. ‘People are starting to recognize documentaries as a legitimate form of artistic expression that is unique in and of itself.’

What They Say:

-‘No Rudy, no film. He works with you but ultimately he makes the film as good as it can be, he gets the film made.

‘He can see the film when you have only an idea and he stays the course and can shepherd you through it. He’s a gift to filmmakers and a blessing as a commissioning editor. He’s been where you are as an independent filmmaker and can understand and make significant contributions by bringing together his broadcasting and filmmaker experience.’ – Simcha Jacobovici, Associated Producers, Expulsion, Northern Justice

-‘He’s been a wonderful resource for documentary filmmakers in Canada and he deserves a lot of credit for what he has done at tvo. His personal involvement in Power and his commitment to the project over the number of years made it possible. – Glen Salzman, producer, Power: One River Two Nations

-‘When I started traveling internationally, everywhere I went everyone knows Rudy Buttignol as sort of Mr. Documentary Canada. He’s always got a smile and he’s there to lend a helping hand’ – Debbie Nightingale, executive director, Hot Docs!

-‘Everyone yearns for the golden age of documentaries that used to be. Many people don’t realize we are going through such a golden era of documentaries right now.’ – Peter Herrndorf, chairman and ceo, tvontario

-‘I’m grateful in the knowledge that through Rudy’s tvo slots the films will find committed viewersviewers who tune to The View From Here knowing they are going to be challenged in an engaging way, week in, week out. It’s critical that there be room on the tv dial for a broad range of documentary choices, and Rudy has created an important window for important films. I suspect, though, that Rudy secretly aspires to be the first commissioning editor in outer space. Perhaps he can hijack a satellite or two for us all when he gets up there.’ – Gerry Flahive, producer, National Film Board

-‘Theatrical shortened documentary, as an entity, is something that has been organic and growing and developing since the Academy has been instituted. What [Rudy] has done, pretty much singularly, has taken the leadership role and liaised with all the members from coast to coast English and French film and television to make sure their needs and requirements were articulated to the rules and regulations committees of the Academy. It is because of his commitment that the whole Academy has evolved and developed.’ – Maria Topalovich, ceo, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television