10 Great Documentaries That Challenge the Conventions of the Genre

Created by Igor_Brynner.

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A documentary film is predisposed toward exposition. Whether shedding light on an artifact of popular culture or something more esoteric, the intention is nonetheless to share a slice of life that is assumed to be outside the bounds of common knowledge. By focusing on a subject outside the limelight, a documentary seeks to inform, enrich, and expand the perspective of its audience.

However, certain films achieve these aims with such brilliance as to broaden the definition of documentary filmmaking. This type of film may challenge the conventions of narrative, create a new style, develop new techniques, blur the boundaries between fiction and the real, or some combination of these innovations.

Sometimes the break with tradition is quite radical, as was case with the multiverse of perspectives in William Greaves’ Symbiopsychotaxiplasm. In others, the break may be subtle, as demonstrated by Errol Morris’ befuddling ode to mortality, Gates of Heaven. By challenging the conventions of their medium, the films in this list made an indelible impression on the history of documentary filmmaking.