Filmmakers Dialogue

Filming Reality: Truth and the Construction of Meaning in Documentaries Documentary filmmaking has often been defined as presenting reality AS IT IS - as being a direct and unfiltered 'window to the world.' In fact, for many, the very authority of documentaries relies on their special relationship to the real world. At the same time it is obvious that any kind of filmmaking always involves a certain amount of construction - choices have to be made, material has to be chosen or discarded, etc. The only question is: how much 'interference' is permissible? How strongly is a documentary filmmaker allowed to 'meddle' with reality and with his/her material and still be considered 'truthful'? We will discuss these issues with some of the most interesting contemporary documentary filmmakers who have brought their films to Prague this year.