Documentary film often fails to garner the attention it deserves. People assume it lacks narrative, creativity, excitement, and most of all, a story. Yet documentary film can be all those things, and often more. It has the thrill of the "real," which can sometimes prove far more fascinating than anything invented. This weekend, documentary film hits the Duke campus in all its comedy and curiosity with two talented filmmakers: Lowell Handler and Ross McElwee.

Handler co-wrote, co-produced, and narrated Twitch and Shout, a probing yet entertaining look at Tourette's Syndrome, a condition which he himself suffers from. Director Lauren Chilton's film follows Handler, a photojournalist, as he captures numerous levels of the gentically-transmitted neurological disorder. The symptoms of Tourette's are as diverse as those it afflicts. It most often manifests as muscle tics, verbal spurts, compulsive behavior, and obscene outbursts - all involuntary and uncontrollable. These instances can be frustrating and often embarassing.

Each individual Handlers speaks to deals with these "inconveniences" in a different way. A professional basketball player channels it into the intensity of the game and standard behavior. An artist converts the spontaneous energy into his creative work. A beautiful actress attempts to control her mild "eyebrow thing" in order to receive parts.

Having Tourette's herself, Chilton deals with the serious subject through the right blend of humour. She never succombs to the didactic, distant approach that some documentaries suffer from. Instead, she approaches each scene with a light hand and an even lighter, compassionate spirit, while still generating the vulnerability of her subjects.

Handler brings this entertaining and powerful film to Griffith Film Theater at 8 pm on Friday, February 28. He will provide more background to the actualities of Tourette's as well as take questions from the audience. The evening begins the Center for Documentary Studies and Duke's Film and Video Programs' Second Annual Film and Video Happening. On Saturday, Handler will facilitate a workshop on "Autobiography in Pictures." Other workshops ranging from technical aspects such as sound, finance, and photography to more theoretical issues such as legalities and quality will be taught by local professionals and filmmakers. Following these seminars, North Carolina filmmakers and videographers will screen their documentaries spanning subjects from ostrich farms to interracial relationships. Ending the day, Freewater Presentations will present McElwee's latest film, Six O'Clock News, after which he also will entertain questions.

McElwee's film uses a similar interviewing approach as Twitch and Shout. He encounters people who have briefly appeared on local news broadcasts, for either attracting or barely avoiding disaster. Interested in how the media constantly chooses to portray the bad aspects of society, he probes further into how much reality that portrait actually contains.

His interviews cover the lucky and the unfortunate. One worker barely escapes death when a parking deck collapsed on him. An old friend's house avoids Hurricane Fran's destruction. A Korean immigrant's wife is murdered soon after they arrive in America. A trailer park resident's home is ravaged in a tornado.

McElwee's cinema verite style and reflective nature gives this "meaning of life" portrait a slightly philosophical feel, not unlike many of his previous films. He maintains a significant place in changing the voice and feel of documentary film by allowing everyday occurances to receive intense consideration. This consideration resists seriousness for a more reflective, eccentric point-of-view.

Sherman's March, McElwee's best known production, reflects this unusual approach. He set out to document the damages and repercussions of the Civil War in the South, focusing mainly on General W. T. Sherman's march to the sea. Before filmimg, however, his girlfriend abandoned him and the film transformed into a personal exploration. Through his interviews about Southern life, he meets up with former girlfriends and encounters new women. The film combines the Southern complex with his own misgivings. Similarly, Six O'Clock News intertwines the philosphies of victims and near-victims with his own reflections on the meaning of life.

If you usually forgo on the documentary option, either of these two films will prove an accessible chance to enter the non-fiction realm of film. Creative and exciting, both films share their stories in a straight forward yet interesting fashion. If you have already discovered the merits of documentary film, welcome the chance to talk to two innovative filmmakers behind the work, as well as the informative opportunity of the Happening.