New Documentary Issues

Catalog description

This course examines current trends in documentary film, focusing on previous works and their relationship to documentary traditions. Students will view 1-2 documentary films each week and examine each film critically, analyzing theme, structure, style, relationship to reality, and effectiveness. The course explores major issues in non-fiction film including subject/filmmaker relationships, ethics, observational versus performative approaches, new technologies and forms, animated and experimental documentaries, archival-based storytelling, and the relationship between documentary and activism. Students will develop frameworks for critical analysis while exploring questions of truth, representation, and the evolving boundaries between fiction and non-fiction filmmaking.