In the KUV 'The Art of Social Storytelling' we ask the question: How can we elevate serialized documentary social narratives to the artistic level of the best epic fiction series and at the same time get a broad audience to take an interest in and reflect on complex social issues?

Based on the documentary series “Politikerløftet 2017-2027” - a 10-year-long story about seven young politicians' path to power, this KUV explores the artistic, narrative and democratic potential of the epic social narrative.

In the first part of the KUV, Henrik Vincent Thiesen, Vinca Wiedemann and Lise Birk Pedersen develop “The documentary storyline space”. It is a methodology inspired by the fiction series' author space, working, however, on the works on the documentary genre's terms. The room is physical and is populated by three artistic actors: the Editor, the Script Consultant and the Director.

The “documentary storyline room” is used to examine limited elements of the documentary series' narrative, analyze and develop characters, and to recognize and build thematic currents. Clips are a key development tool that examines, challenges and refines traces in the material based on Walter Murch's thoughts on how the material dictates the narrative.

In the second part of KUV, the use of the storyline space is unfolded to orchestrate characters, determine themes and shape the narrative arc. While the work is in progress, we aim to explore how the involvement of social and media science, as well as early dialog with the audience, can allow the artist to enter into a democratic conversation with its audience. Researchers from fields of film and media science, are invited into the storyline space to identify trends in the development of the politician's role and help bolster the relevance and appeal of the narrative.

Based on the edited material from the storyline room, we will examine what happens when the documentary material enters into a dialog with its audience in the middle of the creation process. What seems relevant and important to the audience? And can the audience's/voter's/citizen's own questions turn out to be a central part of the narrative?

The KUV aims to investigate what it takes to achieve the combination of a seductive and engaging film narrative that also taps into the “democratic conversation”. At the same time, we are working on methodological research and developing a new methodological apparatus for documentary serial storytelling that can be taught at The National Film School of Denmark.