> Reviews, essays and the directors, movements and ideas that shape non-fiction cinema. *Source : https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/* --- [Home](https://indianpointfilm.com/) › Documentaries Explore # Documentaries Reviews, essays and the directors, movements and ideas that shape non-fiction cinema. [![A power plant on a river](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/indian-point-doc.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/indian-point-documentary-nuclear-debate/) Documentaries ### [Why 'Indian Point' Still Matters in the Nuclear Debate](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/indian-point-documentary-nuclear-debate/) Ivy Meeropol's portrait of an aging reactor on the Hudson is less about meltdowns than about who gets to decide what counts as safe. 4 Mar 2022 [![A vintage film camera](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/direct-cinema-vs-verite.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/direct-cinema-vs-cinema-verite/) Documentaries ### [Direct Cinema vs Cinéma Vérité: What's the Difference?](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/direct-cinema-vs-cinema-verite/) The fly on the wall versus the provocateur with a camera — the two great observational traditions are closer in look than in belief. 1 Dec 2021 [![A film camera lens](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/documentary-modes-nichols.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/documentary-modes-bill-nichols/) Documentaries ### [The Six Documentary Modes of Bill Nichols, Explained](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/documentary-modes-bill-nichols/) Poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, performative — a working map of how documentaries actually behave. 28 Sept 2021 [![A dramatic wilderness landscape](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/herzog-docs-ranked.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/werner-herzog-documentaries-ranked/) Documentaries ### [Werner Herzog's Documentaries, Ranked](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/werner-herzog-documentaries-ranked/) He'd tell you facts are the truth of accountants. Here's a ranking of the films where Herzog goes hunting for something stranger. 6 Jul 2021 [![Filming on a city street](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/observational-documentary.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/what-makes-great-observational-documentary/) Documentaries ### [What Makes a Great Observational Documentary](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/what-makes-great-observational-documentary/) No narration, no interviews, no music telling you how to feel. So why do the best observational docs grip you harder than anything? 13 Apr 2021 [![Old film archive reels](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/archival-footage-docs.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/how-documentaries-use-archival-footage/) Documentaries ### [How Documentaries Use Archival Footage (and Clear It)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/how-documentaries-use-archival-footage/) That grainy newsreel doing all the emotional heavy lifting? Someone tracked it down, paid for it, and lost sleep over the rights. 9 Feb 2021 [![An interview set in silhouette](https://indianpointfilm.com/images/covers/documentary-ethics.webp)](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/documentary-filmmaking-ethics/) Documentaries ### [The Ethics of Documentary Filmmaking, Explained](https://indianpointfilm.com/documentaries/documentary-filmmaking-ethics/) A documentary is a relationship with real people who can't control how they're shown. That asymmetry is where all the hard questions start. 3 Nov 2020