DocWest is the centre for the production and research of documentary films at The University of Westminster, London. Established in 2009, it hosts screenings, masterclasses, and conferences involving documentary practitioners.
DocWest's activities include teaching, film production and academic research, focusing on the historical development of documentary discourse as well as its relationship with art and politics. Key areas of study include Visual Anthropology and Human Rights, arts documentary, and the documentary archive. DocWest also explores emerging forms such as interactive and web-based documentaries.
DocWest offers theoretical and practice-based doctoral degrees covering a range of documentary contexts and traditions.
Projects include the film The Act of Killing, the Arts on Film Archive, and the book Killer Images.[1] The Act of Killing was part of a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) research project, directed by DocWest director Prof Joram ten Brink and filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer.
Filmmaker Errol Morris described The Act of Killing as a unique non-fiction film, comparing it to works by Buñuel, Herzog, and Hara.[2] Werner Herzog referred to the film as inventing "a new form of cinematic surrealism."[3]