The Directors Transforming Documentary Film Into Something New

Something is happening in documentary film that has not happened for some time: the form is being reinvented — not updated, not refreshed, but genuinely reconsidered from its foundations.

The most interesting work right now refuses the fundamental premise of observational documentary: that the camera is neutral and that the truth it captures is objective.

“The camera is never neutral,” says one director. “The moment you point it at something, you have made a choice. I would rather be honest about that choice than pretend it doesn’t exist.”