Capturing Reality

During his work on Capturing Reality, director Pepita Ferrari interviewed some of the genre's most influental directors to find out where they get their inspiration from and how they view their own work. Over 30 film makers - including Jennifer Fox, Kim Longiotto, Albert Maysles, Errol Morris, Nick Broomfied and Werner Herzog discuss the whole process behind making a documentary, from idea to editing room. Throughout we get clips from their films to illustrate their arguments.

Some of the directors put their emphasis on careful preparation, others want to be surprised by place and their subjects. Many of the argue that more focus should be put on the visual expression - like camera, lighting and even dramatization. Others follow their subjects will small digital cameras, something compromising the cinematographic quality for the sake of the story.

An important discussion is the genre's authenticty and the integrity of the film maker. Can a movie truly capture reality? What ethical questions arise when you portrait people's real lives? What effect does editing and music have on our feelings when seeing a film? It become obvious that a documentary can have many shapes or form but that every individual director is looking for their own personal way to tell a story about reality.