Capturing Reality: The art of Documentary

33 Filmakers
14 Countries
1 Passion

"Real life is so much more interesting than anything you can make up" - Kevin Macdonald, director of One Day in September, Touching the Void & The Last King of Scotland.

Filmmakers have been turning their cameras on the world since the time of the Lumière brothers — and the idea of documentary has sparked impassioned creative debate ever since.

Some of the genres most influential directors reflect upon its unique power in Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary. Over 30 luminaries — including Albert Maysles, Errol Morris, Alanis Obomsawin, Michel Brault, Nick Broomfield, Kim Longinotto and that great iconoclast Werner Herzog — offer insight into their craft while reflecting on the nature of representation and the perennially contested status of the truth.

Can film capture reality? What ethical issues arise when portraying real lives? How does editing or music condition our emotional response to film? More than 100 clips enliven the discussion, offering a panoramic overview of contemporary documentary cinema, from Grey Gardens and The Thin Blue Line to The Day I Will Never Forget and Darwins Nightmare.



Capturing Reality: The art of Documentary
National Film Board of Canada





With the participation of:
Jennifer Baichwal
Manfred Becker
Michel Brault
Nick Broomfield
Joan Churchill
Eduardo Coutinho
Paul Cowan
Molly Dineen
Jennifer Fox
Denis Gheerbrant
Serge Giguère
Patricio Guzmán
Werner Herzog
Scott Hicks
Heddy Honigmann
Sylvain L'espérance
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Jean-Pierre Lledo
Kim Longinotto
Kevin Macdonald
Albert Maysles
Errol Morris
Stan Neumann
Alanis Obomsawin
Laura Poitras
Velcrow Ripper
Hubert Sauper
Rakesh Sharma
Barry Stevens
Sabiha Sumar
Nettie Wild
Peter Wintonick
Jessica Yu