How Alan Fentiman works as a filmmaker

My approach is documentary-led rather than promotional. I work by listening carefully, spending time with people and places before filming begins, and building a genuine understanding of the subject before the camera comes out. That groundwork shapes everything that follows — the questions I ask, the moments I choose to film, and the way the edit comes together.

I am interested in complexity, in the texture of how things are actually made and done, in the quiet details that get edited out of most institutional films. I try to make work that respects the intelligence of its audience and does justice to the people it is about.

I work as a solo filmmaker with a lightweight kit, which means I can move quickly, work discreetly in sensitive environments, and build the kind of trust with contributors that produces better material. When a project needs additional crew or scale, I work with trusted collaborators.

Who Alan Fentiman works with as a filmmaker

I work with universities and research centres who need films that communicate complex ideas without flattening them. With museums, heritage organisations and historic sites who need films shaped around atmosphere, care and context. With artists, galleries, theatres and cultural organisations who need films that stay close to the work rather than reducing it to a promotional clip. And with community projects, charities and public bodies who need films that treat their contributors with respect and attention.

I am Filmmaker and Podcaster in Residence at Durham University, a role I have held since 2021. This residency sits within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and involves making films, podcasts and screenings that explore research, academic life and public humanities.

Selected experience as a filmmaker

Alan Fentiman filmmaker has spent more than twenty years making documentary films for cultural, academic and public organisations across the UK and beyond.

Films for Durham University, The Auckland Project, Durham Cathedral, National Trust, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northern Print, Navigator North, Sound and Music, Northumbria University, UCL, the Wellcome Trust, BBC North East, Channel 4 and many other cultural, academic and public organisations. My work has been screened at cinemas, conferences, festivals and galleries, and has been used for public engagement, interpretation, fundraising, education and archive.

In 2017 I made Invented in the North East, a thirty-minute documentary for BBC1 North East. My film Restoring Ratty was used by BBC Countryfile, and False Lights was commissioned for broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the Random Acts series.

Based in Gateshead and Newcastle, working across the North East

I am based in Bensham, Gateshead, and work primarily across the North East of England — Newcastle, Gateshead, Durham, Northumberland, Sunderland and the wider region. Much of my work is made close to home, but I also work nationally and internationally. I have filmed in Germany for the Forgotten Voices project, across England for a range of heritage, arts and academic commissions, and at conferences, screenings and events around the UK. If a project takes me further afield, I am happy to travel.