Documentary film

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record. Such films were originally shot on film stock—the only medium available—but now include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video, made into a TV show or released for screening in cinemas. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.

Defining documentary

In popular myth, the word documentary was coined by Scottish documentarian John Grierson in his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926), published in the New York Sun on 8 February 1926, written by "The Moviegoer" (a pen name for Grierson).

Grierson's principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and "original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the acted article. In this regard, Grierson's definition of documentary as "creative treatment of actuality" has gained some acceptance, with this position at variance with Soviet film-maker Dziga Vertov's provocation to present "life as it is" (that is, life filmed surreptitiously) and "life caught unawares" (life provoked or surprised by the camera).

Latest News for: Political documentaries

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The trouble with Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra

The Spectator 29 May 2023
Queen Cleopatra is the second season of African Queens, a revisionist Netflix strand touting itself as a documentary series on black monarchs ... But if Queen Cleopatra fails as a historical documentary and as entertainment, it fails even harder as a political project, and not merely in its Teen Vogue feminism. ....
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Seymour Library: Juneteenth education and more events this month

Auburnpub dot com 29 May 2023
This documentary series will focus on the life and work of political activist Angela Davis and the Black power movement at 7 p.m ... Development of Political Parties. Trace the roots of today’s political parties with historian Tom Henry at 6.30 p.m....
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Juneteenth education and more events this month

Auburnpub dot com 28 May 2023
This documentary series will focus on the life and work of political activist Angela Davis and the Black power movement at 7 p.m ... Development of Political Parties. Trace the roots of today's political parties with historian Tom Henry at 6.30 p.m....
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Documentary: “The Unseen Crisis, Vaccine Stories You Were Never Told”

GlobalResearch 26 May 2023
. The Unseen Crisis is a feature-length documentary that provides an intimate, uncensored look into the lives of those who live with the debilitating after-effects of the COVID-19 vaccines ... This is a documentary about people, not politics. The patients in the documentary suffered severe reactions to the shot and their health spiraled out of control ... ....
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The best documentaries on Netflix right now

Digital Trends 25 May 2023
No one can be an expert in every single field, but documentaries do offer us a glimpse of the things beyond our comfort zone for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge ... Netflix has a ton of great documentaries if you know where to look ... Genre Documentary ... The most shocking thing about Netflix’s documentary, Anna Nicole Smith ... Genre Documentary....
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Former Cong MLA files plea against arrest in HC, court fixes July 4 hearing

Indian Express 25 May 2023
It has been contended by the petitioner that they have not committed any crime and have been dragged into vigilance inquiry for certain political and vested interest. The petitioners have joined the inquiry and have elaborately explained with documentary proofs all their resources from which they bought and sold their movable and immovable assets ... ....
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Congressman Ro Khanna on DeSantis’ Fatal Flaw, AI Regulation and How the Media Should Cover Trump

The Hollywood Reporter 25 May 2023
While representing Silicon Valley’s 17th congressional district, Democratic congressman Ro Khanna has pulled off a unique political balancing act ... Keli Goff is a longtime political reporter, Emmy-nominated producer of the documentary Reversing Roe and a writer on Mayor of Kingstown, And Just Like That and Black Lightning....
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A Chilling New Documentary With Vermont Connections Chronicles the Growing Threat of Radicalized U.S. Military Veterans

Seven Days 24 May 2023
This real-life footage appears for the first time in Against All Enemies, a documentary, with funding from a Vermont-based organization, that will premiere in June at the Tribeca Festival in New York City ... The political action committee raised nearly $200,000 to help get the documentary made and signed up many of its on-air participants… .......
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MENA films at the Cannes Film Festival 2023

The New Arab 24 May 2023
Tunisian filmmaker recruits two actresses as stand-ins for two young women lost under very dramatic circumstances; the outcome is a hybrid documentary seamlessly blending family tragedy and politics ... Today the premiere of Asmae El Moudir's moroccan documentary film The Mother of ......
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'We’re really picky': New Jersey International Film Festival returns with 35 flicks

Burlington County Times 24 May 2023
... disabilities who find freedom through movement (written and directed by Kelsey McGee); and “The Answer,” a documentary on how Atlantic City fought the legal and political process to demolish the decaying and hazardous Trump Plaza Casino (written and directed by Matt Kliegman)....
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Hyderabad: Passport centres to stay open on Saturdays

The Siasat Daily 23 May 2023
Requests for rescheduling of passport appointments will only be considered on medical grounds, for employment or for admissions outside the country with sufficient documentary evidence....
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Modi documentary row: Delhi High Court issues defamation notice to BBC over ‘India: The Modi Question’

DNA India 22 May 2023
Months after the controversial documentaryIndia ... The documentary by BBC – India ... The Centre, however, had dismissed the details and story displayed in the controversial BBC documentary, terming it as defamatory against PM Modi and calling it a “propaganda film” which displays a “colonial mindset”....

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