Mark Cousins is on a festival takeover mission, and the film world is paying attention.
The Northern Irish director has brought his 16-chapter The Story of Documentary Film to Cannes, following premieres at Sundance and Berlin. At Sundance, Cousins premiered chapter 1; Berlin screened chapters 2-4 (plus a repeat of chapter 1). Now Cannes presents the main event.
The project charts the history and evolution of nonfiction cinema through 16 episodic chapters. Cousins is releasing them across the world's largest festivals rather than all at once — Sundance, then Berlin, then Cannes, each with new material.
Cousins, known for his film essays and personal approach to cinema criticism, has spent his career rethinking how we discuss film. The Story of Documentary Film extends that method across a vast historical canvas, treating documentary as a subject worthy of the same depth he brings to individual works.
The staggered release strategy allows each festival to feel like a genuine premiere. Sundance gets the opening, Berlin extends the narrative, and Cannes hosts the largest installment. It is a calculated approach to sustaining interest across months rather than weeks.
For documentary enthusiasts and festival-goers, the series is significant. According to Deadline, the project amounts to a major statement about cinema's role in culture.
Cannes will see substantial response. Cousins has never worked incrementally — and this undertaking is no exception.
