What Is Non-fiction Cinema?

Book excerpt: Trevor Ponech has written a serious and pathbreaking study of how to define non-fiction cinema. Working from the position that no cinematic representation is wholly factual, Ponech argues that what determines whether a film is fiction or non-fiction is the filmmakers intention. Persuasively defending this unique position, the author provides a philosophically rigorous analysis of the communicative practices of filmmakers. In What Is Non-Fiction Cinema? Trevor Ponech has written a serious and pathbreaking study of how to define non-fiction cinema. Working from the position that no cinematic representation is wholly factual, Ponech argues that what determines whether a film is fiction or non-fiction is the filmmakers intention. Persuasively defending this unique position, the author provides a philosophically rigorous analysis of the communicative practices of filmmakers. In making his case, Ponech cogently presents the other major theoretical positions regarding documentary cinema and shows why each is incomplete. The result is a cutting-edge philosophical inquiry into purposiveness in film.