Last month, BBC4 screened
Alex Gibney’s exceptional documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God. I’m a great admirer of Gibney’s
films and his exploration of abuse within the Catholic church is one of his
most impressive and important achievements to date, so I was thrilled to see it getting its British television
premiere on the BBC. However, I was surprised to see the film scheduled for a 90-minute slot when the film that had screened at both the London Film Festival and at
cinemas around the country earlier this year had been 107 minutes long. It
seems Mea Maxima Culpa had to be cut down in order to be shown as part of the BBC’s
Storyville strand, but failing to show this film in its entirety angered and
disappointed me, and when I complained about the BBC’s actions on Twitter the
response showed I was far from alone.
I emailed Storyville editor
Nick Fraser to get his perspective on the situation, and he responded this
week. Our exchange can be seen below. (Note: After sending this initial email I
had the opportunity to meet Alex Gibney, and during our conversation he
confirmed that he had overseen the Storyville edit.)
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From: Philip Concannon
To: Nick Fraser
Hi Nick
I was
delighted to see Alex Gibney's film Mea Maxima Culpa in the
BBC4 schedules tonight but I was surprised to see the film running from 10pm to
11:30, as I was certain that the film I saw during last year's London Film
Festival was much longer. When I checked the BBFC website my suspicions were
confirmed, as Mea Maxima Culpa was 107 minutes long in
cinemas.
I know
that the BBC have sometimes cut feature films for their Storyville strand
in the past, but I have never really understood the rationale for it and I have
always found the practice infuriating. With a film like this, however, I was
shocked and angered more than ever before, as I think Mea Maxima Culpa is
one of the year's most powerful and important films, and to deem 17 minutes of
footage irrelevant from a film of this nature seems like an insult to me. Would
the BBC cut 17 minutes from a fiction film that didn't fit neatly into their
schedules? I doubt they would, but the narrative of Mea Maxima Culpa is
as thoughtfully constructed as that of any fiction film, with
the painfully honest interviews and eye-opening footage being integral to
the extraordinary story of corruption that it reveals. All of this
leaves me with a number of questions.
If Mea
Maxima Culpa really has to be part of the Storyville strand
(I don't know why it can't stand alone), then why must a time limit of 90
minutes be so rigidly enforced? Who had the responsibility for the deciding
where to cut, and was the director Alex Gibney given approval of the edits? Is
it really so inconceivable that a film could run on BBC4 from 10pm to 11:50,
and for the nature documentary following it to start a little later? Why bother
showcasing one of the most vital films of the year if you aren't going to
display it intact? Does such an act indicate a widespread lack of respect for
film at the BBC, or is it only documentaries that would be treated in this way?
I have
long argued that the BBC should show more intelligent, important and
provocative cinema in prime-time slots on its channels, and it greatly saddens
me to see what happens when they finally do so.
I would
appreciate a response to my questions.
Thanks
for your time.
Phil
From: Nick Fraser
To: Philip Concannon
Dear Mr
Concannon,
I am
sorry you felt cheated when you viewed a shorter version of MEA MAXIMA CULPA.
In fact the cut was made by Alex and his editor. We felt that a 90 minute
version would work for us and they were happy to make one. Many film-makers
will not cut their films but Alex isn’t one of them. We have shown several of
his films and I think all of them were shortened slightly. Sometimes he made
the cut, sometimes I did.
As for
why the film was shown in the STORYVILLE series, my answer would be – why not?
STORYVILLE has become a brand and a device – we use STORYVILLE to show
international non-fiction. And we are proud of STORYVILLE. Most film-makers are
happy to see their work showcased in this way.
I hope
this answers your questions.
With best
wishes,
Nick
Fraser
Editor,
STORYVILLE
From: Philip Concannon
To: Nick Fraser
Hi Nick
Thanks
for getting back to me. I still find the practice of cutting documentaries for
television broadcast unnecessary and troubling, but I appreciate you taking the
time to answer some of my questions.
Phil
From: Nick Fraser
To: Philip Concannon
Well, I can
see your point. But many docs - not Alex's perhaps! - are too long. Try
watching as many as I do. I wrote a pamphlet which you can download at the
Reuters Institute of Journalism website. N
Although I was glad to receive a response to my email, this conversation didn't answer a lot of my questions about the BBC's attitude to films, which still leaves me feeling very uneasy. On a related note, I attended a panel discussion at
the BFI last night that focused on the issue of television’s treatment of film,
both in terms of the features being broadcast and the programmes based around
them. This is a subject that I care about deeply, and it seems to me that an incident
such as this Mea Maxima Culpa situation lies right at the heart of that issue. Storyville
has done some great work in bringing a wide variety of documentaries to the BBC,
but surely the form is not being afforded the respect it deserves when an
award-winning film from one of the most prominent documentarians working today
is deemed too long for television audiences.
Mea Maxima Culpa can be purchased on DVD here.
Nick Fraser’s Why Documentaries Matter can be
downloaded here.
My interview with Mea Maxima Culpa director Alex Gibney can be read here.
