From Grierson to the Docu-Soap explores a range of issues relating to documentary's achievements over the past decades, and considers its prospects on entering the new millennium. In the first part of the book a number of writers reappraise John Grierson's contribution to the history of documentary. Most focus on his influence on the international development of documentary, with particular reference to his work in the territories that once formed part of the British Empire. In the second part, an overriding concern with documentary's future (as perceived through its present) is reflected in a number of essays devoted to new developments in the genre. Here the major topic for discussion is how, in today's media environment, documentary can preserve some of its fundamental ambitions to give us insights into contemporary and historical realities.Among the matters addressed are the ways in which documentarists have resorted to a wide range of fictional techniques in what is usually categorised as non-fiction work. How are these techniques employed? What safeguards can be introduced to prevent audiences - and nowadays even broadcasters themselves! - from being hoodwinked? Are the boundaries that mark out the factual genre becoming increasingly blurred as film and programme makers come under even greater commercial pressure? Other papers debate the significance of the new technologies for documentary's further development. What implications does the introduction of digital technology have for both the filming and editing process? What role do CD-ROMS play in the dissemination and reception of documentary material? And what new forms of producer/user interaction will be made possible, now that archive material can be made so readily available?