This review examines the importance of creative decision making in various aspects of documentary production, examines whether these decisions contribute to making the film an engaging piece of cinema, and explores the influences it might have on society, cinema and subject matter, in relation to my own experience of producing a 15-minute documentary film Hackney Pirates and my understanding of relevant contemporary filmmaking practices.IntroductionFilms about education Children in critical situations have been seen in cinema since the 1990s. For example, Zhang Yimou's film Not One Less (1999) tells the story of a teenage girl Wei Minzhi who volunteers to teach at an elementary school one-classroom and its relationships with students. And more recently, Monsieur Lazhar, a 2011 French-Canadian film about Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant hired to replace a teacher who committed suicide in his classroom at a Montreal public school, helps his students cope with their grief. Finally, Being and Having, a documentary made in 2002, features a one-room school in a rural region of France where the students (aged 4 to 11) are taught by a single teacher. Likewise, the subject of the documentary --Hackney Pirates--is a charity set up by three experienced teachers for children aged 9-12 from disadvantaged social backgrounds, with the aim of improving their literacy and creativity through individual mentoring with adult volunteers.The story structure and its approachWhen developing the narrative structure, the director draws heavily on Being and Having where we follow the children to their home and learn how they carry out their duties and the role of parents during the process. -maki...... middle of paper ......production, the team managed to establish and maintain good working relationships with each other, and there was good communication between me and the director, director and cinematographer, director and editor. I really enjoy being part of the production team and our mutual efforts to make the film an engaging work. This was also an important learning experience for me, and I am sure that I will be more confident and decisive in handling similar production issues involved in future projects. Finally, I would like us to be able to bring the film to a wider audience with permission from parents, which I hope would in turn attract more volunteers to contribute to Hackney Pirates, spark interest among filmmakers in similar topics related to children's education and, ultimately, would improve the current situation of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.