John Grierson - renowned documentary filmmaker, theorist and first master of the British Social Documentary film movement of the thirties, founder of the National Film Board of Canada - helped define and create the art of documentary filmmaking and gave it the push it needed to be accepted by the public.
To Grierson, the purpose and art of a documentary was “to look at ordinary things as if they are extraordinary” - the celebration of the everyday. In his first film, Drifters, the unique camera angles together with the rhythmic flow of action achieved through editing created a stirring visual impression which excited many. The camera had given not just a new language, but a new poetry. In later documentaries, music and spoken poetry were integrated with the visual poetry of the camera. By the use of film clips from some of his best documentaries, and the on-camera commentary of Grierson himself, I Remember, I Remember manages to give a convincing demonstration of Grierson's importance and continuing relevance in classic and contemporary documentary cinema.