Capturing Reality (2008)

Capturing Reality: Directed by Pepita Ferrari. With Jennifer Baichwal, Manfred Becker, Michel Brault, Nick Broomfield. From cinema-verite pioneers Albert Maysles and Joan Churchill, to maverick movie makers like Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, and Nick Broomfield, the world’s best documentarians reflect upon the unique power of their genre. Capturing Reality explores the complex creative process that goes into making non-fiction films. Deftly charting the documentarian’s journey, it poses the question: can film capture reality?

“This film was quite the undertaking–getting all these documentary makers together for all the interviews. And, on top of this, some were very, very important names in the industry. I am impressed by this and strongly recommend the film to anyone who likes documentaries and wants to find out what these filmmakers think of their craft.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMostly, the film consists of these interviews as well as a few clips of their movies. Many times, certain topics were answered by the filmmakers–and sometimes they disagreed. For example, one said that the only way to make a documentary is to film everything EXACTLY as it is in life–while Errol Morris (one of the top names in the genre) admits to actually creating the set used by the boss of the cemetery–digging the trophies out of the attic and arranging them to give the office a certain look. Another strongly objected to Michael Mooreu0026#39;s style of films and calls them u0026#39;…crimes towards the art form of documentaryu0026#39;. Even seemingly mundane topics as sound and music as well as the importance or unimportance of narration are discussed. Itu0026#39;s like having a microscope that can peer into the minds of these directors–and itu0026#39;s interesting to documentary film lovers–though I could imagine it would be VERY tough going for the average person.”